This course will trace the development of Yiddish culture from the first settlement of Jews in German lands through centuries of life in Eastern Europe, down to the main cultural centers today in Israel and America. The course will examine how changes in Jewish life have found expression in the Yiddish language. It will provide an introduction to Yiddish literature in English translation, supplemented by excursions into Yiddish music, folklore, theater, and film.

Who are the Jews? Yiddish culture holds one set of answers. Yiddish, the heritage language of Ashkenazic Jews in Europe, is the key to 1,000 years of Jewish history and culture. This course traces the development of Yiddish culture from the first settlements of Jews in German lands through centuries of life in Eastern Europe, down to the main cultural centers today in Israel and the Americas. Through transnational Yiddish folklore, literature, music, drama, and more, we examine how the Yiddish language became a powerful tool to respond to changes and challenges to Jewish life. We will consider the Jewish encounter with travel, exile, race, violence, and politics across several centuries, especially in the modern period. And we will consider more recent representations—and reinventions—of Yiddish culture in contemporary film, television, digital media, and popular culture. By the end of the course, students will be able to unravel the mystery, the wit, and the beauty of the mameloshn (mother tongue).

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