Jewish Studies

SPJS UN3303 JEWISH CULTURE IN TRANSL IN MED IBERIA. 3.00 points.

The course explores both the practice of translation (the rendering of texts from one language into another) and the idea of translation (as a medium of cultural transmission) in medieval Iberia. Jews were not only the paradigmatic translators of texts from Arabic to Latin and Castilian but were also translators of literary phenomena into the Jewish literary cultures of Iberia. Further, Hebrew texts made their way into Romance languages, rendered by both Jewish and non-Jewish writers. Theoretical materials on translation and historical background on translation practices of the period will accompany readings. All readings are in English, but all texts will be made available in the original language, and students are encouraged to read in the original whenever possible. Sources in bold are primary sources. Students are expected to spend three hours preparing for each class session

JWST GU4155 Auteur Study: Steven Spielberg. 3.00 points.

The world’s most influential living film director and the most impactful creator of popular culture in the last quarter of the Twentieth Century is a Jewish-American. Steven Spielberg’s uncanny grasp of visual storytelling and his auteurist signature can be found on every film he has directed, as well as many he has produced. This course will analyze the content and formal construction of Spielberg’s films by following their thematic through-lines – family ties (strained and healthy), the implacable threat, humanity at war, man vs. the natural world, the child’s perspective, Jewish identity and others – in films as disparate as Jaws and The Color Purple. Each class meeting will include a complete screening of a feature film directed by Steven Spielberg, as well as clips of related films by Spielberg. Readings will include critical essays, histories, and interviews which elaborate on in-class screenings and cover additional topics and films. Written assignments will be three analytical essays which will encourage critical thinking, close analysis of film texts, and independent research beyond the materials presented in class

HIST GR8132 THE JEWISH BOOK IN EARLY MOD WORLD. 4.00 points.

This course will situate the Jewish book within the context of the theoretical and historical literature on the history of the book: notions of orality and literacy, text and material platform, authors and readers, print and manuscript, language and gender, the book trade and its role in the circulation of people and ideas in the early age of print

HIST UN2611 JEWS ＆ JUDAISM IN ANTIQUITY. 4.00 points.

  Field(s): ANC

CLSL GU4029 Bible, Literature, Theory. 3.00 points.

This class aims to introduce the students to the field of Bible and Literature, with special attention to the Hebrew Bible and to Literary Theory. We will read portions of Genesis, Numbers, Jonah, Hosea, Ezekiel, Esther, Mark, and Revelations, and discuss it in tandem with literary theory as well as 20th Century literary texts. Literary theory, this class will argue, is central for our understanding of the Bible, and, at the same time, the Biblical text is essential for the manner in which we theorize literature. Our discussion will be guided by four loosely interconnected questions: What insights can we gain about the theology of the Biblical text from a literary analysis? What happens to theological ideas once they are dramatized and narrativized? In what way can modern literary adaptations of the Bible contribute to our understanding of the Biblical text? How does the Bible challenge and trouble some of the perceived ideas of literary theory? The syllabus is divided into three units. The first unit —Bible and Literature in Theory, offers a survey of some of the scholarly approaches to the intersection of literature and theology. We will read theory that interrogates the intersection of theological and literary concepts, focusing on omniscience, authorship, temporality, characterization, and plot. The second unit —Literature as Biblical Exegesis, shifts the focus to a reading of Biblical texts in tandem with their modern literary and cinematic interpretations, focusing on Job and Esther. What, we will ask, happen to the Biblical world once it is being refracted through a modern sensibility? How can we take literature seriously as Biblical hermeneutics? The third unit —Recent Directions, introduces some of the recent directions in the field, focusing on how literature imagines the relationship between Bible, archeology, and modernity, as well as on the intersection of Biblical literature, fantasy, and science fiction

CLSL GU4012 Holocaust Literature: Critical Thinking in Dark Times. 3.00 points.

How do you write literature in the midst of catastrophe? To whom do you write if you don’t know whether your readership will survive? Or that you yourself will survive? How do you theorize society when the social fabric is tearing apart? How do you develop a concept of human rights at a time when mass extermination is deemed legal? How do you write Jewish history when Jewish future seems uncertain? This course offers a survey of the literature and intellectual history written during World War II (1939-1945) both in Nazi occupied Europe and in the free world, written primarily, but not exclusively, by Jews. We will read novels, poems, science fiction, historical fiction, legal theory and social theory and explore how intellectuals around the world responded to the extermination of European Jewry as it happened and how they changed their understanding of what it means to be a public intellectual, what it means to be Jewish, and what it means to be human. The aim of the course is threefold. First, it offers a survey of the Jewish experience during WWII, in France, Russia, Poland, Latvia, Romania, Greece, Palestine, Morocco, Iraq, the USSR, Argentina, and the United States. Second, it introduces some of the major contemporary debates in holocaust studies. Finally, it provides a space for a methodological reflection on how literary analysis, cultural studies, and historical research intersect

MDES UN1502 1ST YR MOD HEBREW:ELEM II. 5.00 points.

Prerequisites: MDES W1510, or the equivalent, based on performance on the placement test.
Prerequisites: MDES UN1501, or the equivalent, based on performance on the placement test. Continued introduction to Hebrew, with equal emphasis on all languages skills. (See MDES UN1501.) No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class

MDES UN1502 1ST YR MOD HEBREW:ELEM II. 5.00 points.

Prerequisites: MDES W1510, or the equivalent, based on performance on the placement test.
Prerequisites: MDES UN1501, or the equivalent, based on performance on the placement test. Continued introduction to Hebrew, with equal emphasis on all languages skills. (See MDES UN1501.) No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class

MDES UN2502 2ND YR MODERN HEBREW II. 5.00 points.

Prerequisites: MDES W1512.
Prerequisites: Second Year Hebrew: Intermediate I or instructor permission. Equal emphasis is given to all language skills. Irregular categories of the Hebrew verb, prepositions and syntax are taught systematically. Vocabulary building. Daily homework includes grammar exercises, short answers, reading, or writing short compositions. Frequent vocabulary and grammar quizzes. (Students completing this course fulfill Columbia College and Barnard language requirement.) No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class

MDES UN2518 HEBREW FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: MDES W1517
Prerequisites: Hebrew for Heritage Speakers I Hebrew for Heritage Speakers II forms the second part of a year-long sequence with Hebrew for Heritage Speakers I. The course is intended for those who have developed basic speaking and listening skills through exposure to Hebrew at home or in day-school programs but do not use Hebrew as their dominant language and have not reached the level required for exemption from the Columbia language requirement. Heritage speakers differ in the degree of their fluency, but their vocabulary is often limited to topics in daily life and many lack skills in reading and writing to match their ability to converse. The course focuses on grammar and vocabulary enrichment, exposing students to a variety of cultural and social topics in daily life and beyond. By the end of the semester students are able to read and discuss simple texts and write about a variety of topics. Successful completion of the year-long sequence prepares students to enroll in third-year modern Hebrew. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class

MDES GU4511 3RD YR MODERN HEBREW II. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: MDES W4510 or MDES W1515 or the instructor's permission.
Prerequisites: Third Year Modern Hebrew I or Hebrew for Heritage Speakers II Focus on transition from basic language towards authentic Hebrew, through reading of un-adapted literary and journalistic texts without vowels. Vocabulary building. Grammar is reviewed in context. A weekly hour is devoted to practice in conversation. Daily homework includes reading, short answers, short compositions, listening to web-casts, or giving short oral presentations via voice e-mail. Frequent vocabulary quizzes. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class

MDES GU4501 READINGS IN HEBREW TEXTS I. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: (MDES GU4510) and (MDES GU4511) MDES W4510, MDES W4511, or the instructor's permission.
Prerequisites: (MDES GU4510) and (MDES GU4511) 3RD Year Modern Hebrew or the instructor's permission. This course focuses on central identities shaping Israeli society and is designed to give students extensive experience in reading Hebrew. Through selected readings of contemporary literary works and media texts, students will increase their proficiency in Hebrew and enhance their understanding of Israeli culture and society. All readings, written assignments, and class discussions are in Hebrew. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class

MDES GU4532 Beyond Human in Modern Hebrew Literature. 4.00 points.

“The possibility of pogroms,” claims Theodor Adorno, “is decided in the moment when the gaze of a fatally-wounded animal falls on a human being. The defiance with which he repels this gaze—’after all it's only an animal’—reappears irresistibly in cruelties done to human beings.” This course traces the development of Modern Hebrew literature, from its fin-de-siècle revival to contemporary Israeli fiction, through the prism of animality and animalization. We will focus on human-animal relations and animalization/dehumanization of humans in literary works by prominent Hebrew authors, including M.Y. Berdichevsky, Devorah Baron, S.Y. Agnon, Amos Oz, David Grossman, Orly Castel-Bloom, Almog Behar, Etgar Keret, and Sayed Kashua. Employing posthumanist and ecofeminist theoretical lenses, we will analyze the bio-political intersections of species and gender, as well as animalization as a process of otherization of marginalized ethnic groups. Throughout the course, we will ask questions, such as: why animals abound in Modern Hebrew literature? Are they merely metaphors for intra-human issues, or rather count as subjects? What literary devices are used to portray animals? How has the depiction of human-animal relations changed in Hebrew over the last 150 years? How do cultural and political frameworks inform representations of human-animal relations? No prior knowledge of Hebrew is required; all readings and class discussions will be in English. Course participants with reading knowledge of Hebrew are encouraged to consult the original literary texts, provided by the instructor upon request

YIDD UN1101 ELEMENTARY YIDDISH I. 4.00 points.

This course offers an introduction to the language that has been spoken by the Ashkenazi Jews for more than a millennium, and an opportunity to discover a fabulous world of Yiddish literature, language and culture in a fun way. Using games, new media, and music, we will learn how to speak, read, listen and write in a language that is considered one of the richest languages in the world (in some aspects of vocabulary). We will also venture outside the classroom to explore the Yiddish world today: through field trips to Yiddish theater, Yiddish-speaking neighborhoods, Yiddish organizations, such as YIVO or Yiddish farm, and so on. We will also have Yiddish-speaking guests and do a few digital projects. At the end of the two-semester course, you will be able to converse in Yiddish on a variety of everyday topics and read most Yiddish literary and non-literary texts. Welcome to Yiddishland!

YIDD UN1102 ELEMENTARY YIDDISH II. 4.00 points.

This course offers an introduction to the language that has been spoken by the Ashkenazi Jews for more than a millennium, and an opportunity to discover a fabulous world of Yiddish literature, language and culture in a fun way. Using games, new media, and music, we will learn how to speak, read, listen and write in a language that is considered one of the richest languages in the world (in some aspects of vocabulary). We will also venture outside the classroom to explore the Yiddish world today: through field trips to Yiddish theater, Yiddish-speaking neighborhoods, Yiddish organizations, such as YIVO or Yiddish farm, and so on. We will also have Yiddish-speaking guests and do a few digital projects. At the end of the two-semester course, you will be able to converse in Yiddish on a variety of everyday topics and read most Yiddish literary and non-literary texts. Welcome to Yiddishland!

WMST GU4310 CONTEM AMER JEWISH WOMEN'S LIT. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 15 students. Sophomore standing.
The seminar will focus on trends that have emerged over the past three decades in Jewish American women's writing in the fields of memoirs, fiction and Jewish history: the representation and exploration through fictive narratives of women's experiences in American Jewish orthodox communities; reinterpretation of Jewish history through gender analysis; the recording of migration and exile by Jewish women immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Morocco, Iran, and Egypt; and gender transformations. Texts will be analyzed in terms of genre structures, narrative strategies, the role of gender in shaping content and Jewish identity, and the political, cultural and social contexts in which the works were created. The course aims for students to discuss and critically engage with texts in order to develop the skills of analytical and abstract thinking, as well as the ability to express that critical thinking in writing. Prerequisites: Both one introductory WGSS course and Critical Approaches to Social and Cultural Theory, or Permission of the Instructor

YIDD UN2102 INTERMEDIATE YIDDISH II. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: YIDD W1101-W1102 or the instructor's permission.
Prerequisites: YIDD UN1101-UN1102 or the instructor's permission. This year-long course is a continuation of Elementary Yiddish II. As part of the New Media in Jewish Studies Collaborative, this class will be using new media in order to explore and research the fabulous world of Yiddish literature, language, and culture, and to engage in project-oriented activities that will result in creating lasting multi-media online presentations. In addition to expanding the command of the language that has been spoken by the Ashkenazi Jews for more than a millennium, i.e. focusing on developing speaking, reading, writing and listening skills, and on the acquisition of more advanced grammatical concepts, students will also get some video and film editing training, and tutorials on archival research. The class will continue to read works of Yiddish literature in the original and will venture outside of the classroom to explore the Yiddish world today: through exciting field trips to Yiddish theater, Yiddish-speaking neighborhoods, YIVO, Yiddish Farm, and so on. And we will also have the Yiddish native-speaker guest series. Welcome back to Yiddishland!

JWST GU4145 Topics in Israeli Cinema. 3.00 points.

Israel has a unique and constantly-evolving national cinema, the product of its diverse immigrant population, influences from neighboring nations, and dramatic national history. Beginning with artistic influences from abroad and culminating with native self-examinations, this course will provide a survey of Israeli film history, recurring foci of Israeli cinema, and introductions to influential filmmakers from early director and impresario Menahem Golan to Orthodox writer/director Rama Burshtein. Each class meeting will include a complete screening of an Israeli feature film, as well as clips of related works. Readings will include critical essays and histories which elaborate on in-class screenings and cover additional topics and films. Written assignments will be three analytical essays which will encourage critical thinking, close analysis of films, and independent research beyond the materials presented in class. All readings are in English. All feature films and film clips are in Hebrew (some include Arabic), and will be presented with English subtitles. Students fluent in Hebrew and Arabic are encouraged to interpret the dialogue for additional meaning that may not be translated in the subtitles

JWST GU4990 Topics in Jewish Studies. 4.00 points.

This course approaches Jewish Studies from theoretical and pedagogical standpoints. In addition to looking back at ancient, medieval and Early Modern approaches to the study of Jewish topics and examining the theoretical, historical and religious underpinnings of Jewish Studies as a modern discipline, we will also read theoretical writings from related disciplines. The course will balance these materials with pedagogical materials and exercises. Faculty from disciplines related to Jewish Studies will visit the seminar to offer perspectives on current approaches to the field, and the class will visit the Rare Book and Manuscript Library with Jewish Studies Librarian Michelle Chesner. This course is required for students in the Jewish Studies MA program. It is open to graduate students, and advanced undergraduates may register with permission from the instructor. Please note that faculty visits will be added to the syllabus as they are scheduled

JWST GU4158 Zionist Thought: Center and Periphery. 4.00 points.

In this course, students will learn about some of the many manifestations of Zionist thought and organizing from the nineteenth century to the present day. The term “Zionism” is much-debated, but usually with little direct reference to its myriad meanings over time and space. The priorities, concerns, and ideas of Zionists in 1940s Algeria might differ greatly from contemporaneous Egyptian Zionist circles. On the other hand, twenty-first century American Zionists might have more in common with 1910s Ottomanists than one would expect. Each week, we will explore a different region of the world, examining Zionism in the Ottoman Empire, ‘Iraq, Iran, India, Yemen, ‘Aden, Europe, North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, and Egypt), Sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Nigeria), South America, the United States, and Israel. Doing so will allow us to develop an expansive understanding of Zionist thought, shedding light on critical debates and current events in Israel and around the world

MDES UN1501 1ST YR MOD HEBREW:ELEM I. 5.00 points.

This is an introductory course for which no prior knowledge is required. Equal emphasis is given to listening, speaking, reading, writing and grammar. Daily homework includes grammar exercises, short answers, reading, or paragraph writing. Frequent vocabulary and grammar quizzes. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class

MDES UN2516 INT HEBREW:INTENSVE GRAMMAR REV. 4.00 points.

This course focuses on Modern Hebrew grammar, and verb conjugation in particular. It is designed for students with substantial knowledge of Modern Hebrew. Over the semester, students will systematically review the grammatical patterns of regular verbs (shlemim), and learn the grammatical patterns of the irregular verbs (gzarot), as well as several other grammatical topics. After successful completion of this course, the foreign language requirement will be fulfilled (for students of Columbia College and other academic units that require a 4th-semester proficiency). Successful completion of this course also allows students to register in third-year Modern Hebrew

MDES UN2517 HEBREW FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS I. 4.00 points.

Fee: Language Resource Center Fee - 15.00

Prerequisites: Permission of instructor. Hebrew for Heritage Speakers I forms part of a year-long sequence with Hebrew for Heritage Speakers II. The course is intended for those who have developed basic speaking and listening skills through exposure to Hebrew at home or in day-school programs but do not use Hebrew as their dominant language and have not reached the level required for exemption from the Columbia language requirement. Heritage speakers differ in the degree of their fluency, but their vocabulary is often limited to topics in daily life and many lack skills in reading and writing to match their ability to converse. The course focuses on grammar and vocabulary enrichment, exposing students to a variety of cultural and social topics in daily life and beyond. By the end of the semester students are able to read and discuss simple texts and write about a variety of topics. Successful completion of the year-long sequence prepares students to enroll in third-year modern Hebrew. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class

MDES GU4510 3RD YR MODERN HEBREW I. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: Hebrew W1513 or W1515 or the instructor's permission. Students are expected to have basic familiarity with regular and irregular verbs in five categories of the Hebrew verb system: Pa'al, Pi'el, Hif'il, Hitpa'el and Nif'al.
Prerequisites: 2nd Year Modern Hebrew II, Hebrew for Heritage Speakers II, or the instructor's permission. This course is designed to take students from the intermediate to advanced level. Students will further develop their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills in Hebrew through an examination of a wide range of sources, including short stories, poems, visual arts, popular music, television shows and films. All readings, written assignments, and class discussions are in Hebrew. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class

MDES GU4502 READINGS IN HEBREW TEXTS II. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: MDES W4501 or the instructor's permission. Students must have a good familiarity with the Hebrew verb system, and the ability to read a text without vowels.
Prerequisites: MDES W4501 or the instructors permission. Students must have a good familiarity with the Hebrew verb system, and the ability to read a text without vowels. This course focuses on central identities shaping Israeli society and is designed to give students extensive experience in reading Hebrew. Through selected readings of contemporary literary works and media texts, students will increase their proficiency in Hebrew and enhance their understanding of Israeli culture and society. All readings, written assignments, and class discussions are in Hebrew. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class

MDES UN2501 2ND YR MOD HEBREW:INTER I. 5.00 points.

Prerequisites: MDES W1511 or the equivalent.
Prerequisites: 1st Year Modern Hebrew II or the equivalent and instructor's permission. Equal emphasis is given to listening, speaking, reading and writing. Regular categories of the Hebrew verb, prepositions, and basic syntax are taught systematically. Vocabulary building. Daily homework includes grammar exercises, short answers, reading, or short compositions. Frequent vocabulary and grammar quizzes. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class

HIST GU4607 RABBIS FOR HISTORIANS. 4.00 points.

This course introduces the central historical issues raised by ancient Palestinian and Babylonian rabbinic literature through exploration of some of the crucial primary texts and analysis of the main scholarly approaches to these texts

HIST UN3180 RELIGIOUS CONVERSION IN HIST. 4.00 points.

Priority given to majors and concentrators, seniors, and juniors.

Prerequisites: the instructor's permission.
Boundary crossers have always challenged the way societies imagined themselves. This course explores the intersection between personal identity, narrative, and the historical-political, religious, economic, and social aspects of religious conversion. While the course will focus on Western (Christian and Jewish) models in the medieval and early modern periods, we will also look at antiquity, the role of conversion in the spread of Islam, and the complexities of religious conversion through the prism of colonial relations

HIST GU4388 The Holocaust in the USSR. 4.00 points.

Following the trials of the immediate postwar, and the Historikerstreit of the 1980s, the study of the Holocaust has another significant turn with the opening of the Soviet archives beginning in the 1990s. The Holocaust in the USSR expands our knowledge of the catastrophe, situating the latter phases of emblematic extermination camps like Auschwitz-Birkenau against a longer continuum of personalized, individual violence. The “Holocaust by Bullets” as coined by Father Desbois has parallels to other colonial violence and further explains the genocidal process from dehumanization to militarily crafted murder to institutions of extermination. This course specifically addresses the Holocaust in the USSR with a focus on historical research methods, expanded victim groups, testimony, archival research, denial, and rigorous historiographical grounding. Materials include testimonies from the USC Shoah Foundation and Fortunoff Archives, historiographical surveys like Wachsmann’s KL and Friedländer’s Years of Extermination, and important books with new turns in Holocaust scholarship specifically on the USSR like Lower’s Hitler’s Furies and Snyder’s Black Earth. Our class will be supplemented by field trips to YIVO, the Bukharian Jewish Center, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage, giving students hands-on experience with archival materials and research methods. Together, diverse research methods and materials present students with a more complete understanding of the Holocaust and an excellent foundation to continue research in atrocity studies

RELI UN2306 INTRO TO JUDAISM. 4.00 points.

A historical overview of Jewish belief and practice as these have crystallized and changed over the centuries. Special attention to ritual and worship, the forms of religious literature, central concepts, religious leadership and institutions, Israel among the nations

RELI GU4637 TALMUDIC NARRATIVE. 4.00 points.

  This course examines the rich world of Talmudic narrative and the way it mediates between conflicting perspectives on a range of topics: life and death; love and sexuality; beauty and superficiality; politics and legal theory; religion and society; community and non-conformity; decision-making and the nature of certainty.  While we examine each text closely, we will consider different scholars’ answers – and our own answers – to the questions, how are we to view Talmudic narrative generally, both as literature and as cultural artifact?

YIDD UN1101 ELEMENTARY YIDDISH I. 4.00 points.

This course offers an introduction to the language that has been spoken by the Ashkenazi Jews for more than a millennium, and an opportunity to discover a fabulous world of Yiddish literature, language and culture in a fun way. Using games, new media, and music, we will learn how to speak, read, listen and write in a language that is considered one of the richest languages in the world (in some aspects of vocabulary). We will also venture outside the classroom to explore the Yiddish world today: through field trips to Yiddish theater, Yiddish-speaking neighborhoods, Yiddish organizations, such as YIVO or Yiddish farm, and so on. We will also have Yiddish-speaking guests and do a few digital projects. At the end of the two-semester course, you will be able to converse in Yiddish on a variety of everyday topics and read most Yiddish literary and non-literary texts. Welcome to Yiddishland!

YIDD UN2101 INTERMEDIATE YIDDISH I. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: YIDD W1101-W1102 or the instructor's permission.
This course is a continuation of Elementary Yiddish II. In addition to expanding the command of the language that has been spoken by the Ashkenazi Jews for more than a millennium, the course continues to explore the rich world of Yiddish literature, language and culture in a fun way. In the course of the two semesters, we will review and expand grammar and focus on improving speaking, reading, listening and writing skills, mainly through encounters with primary texts of modern Yiddish literature. Supplementary texts may be selected based on students’ interests and may include historical pedagogical materials, past and present newspaper articles, polemic, poetry, historical and scholarly articles. We will also venture outside the classroom to explore the Yiddish world today: through field trips to Yiddish theater, Yiddish speaking neighborhoods, Yiddish organizations, such as YIVO, and so on. We will apply our reading and translating skills to contribute to the Mapping Yiddish New York online project, and will also have Yiddish speaking guests. At the end of the two-semester course, you will be able to converse in Yiddish on a variety of everyday topics and read most Yiddish literary and non-literary texts. Welcome back to Yiddishland!

YIDD UN3333 ADVANCED YIDDISH. 3.00 points.

May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: YIDD W1201-W1202 or the instructor's permission.
Course Description and Goals: This course focuses predominantly on developing reading comprehension skills, as well as on listening, writing, speaking, and some more advanced grammar. It explores literary and scholarly texts examining the modern Jewish experience in the context of the twentieth-century history and culture of the Ashkenazi Jews. Supplementary texts will be selected based on students’ interests and may include historical pedagogical materials, past and present newspaper articles, polemic, poetry, historical and scholarly articles. We will also venture outside the classroom to explore the Yiddish world today: through field trips to Yiddish theater, Yiddish-speaking neighborhoods, Yiddish organizations, such as YIVO, and so on. We will apply our reading and translating skills to contribute to the Mapping Yiddish New York online project, and will also have Yiddish-speaking guests. At the end of the semester, you will be able to converse in Yiddish on a variety of everyday topics and read authentic Yiddish literary and non-literary texts. Welcome back to Yiddishland!

YIDD UN3520 MAGIC ＆ MONSTERS IN YIDD LIT. 3.00 points.

A Serious Man, the 2009 movie by the Coen Brothers opens with a Yiddish folk tale featuring a dybbuk. Dybbuks, golems, magicians, and monsters haunt not only Yiddish literature but also the contemporary cinema, as illustrated by such recent films as The Unborn and The Possession. Why are we so attracted to dybbuks, spirit possession, magic, and monsters in the twenty-first century? This course will focus on magic, monsters, dybbuks, demons, and golems in Yiddish literature and beyond, including film and popular culture. We will approach the supernatural motif from the perspective of gender, body, and performance studies, and will explore the questions of memory, trauma, and identity. The aim of the course is to encourage students to discuss and critically engage with the various texts and film adaptations listed on the syllabus in an attempt to answer the following questions: In what ways do these works explore, interrogate with, and reflect on human experience? What do they tell us about the powers of good and evil? How relevant are they in the twenty-first century? The course puts emphasis on developing the skills of critical, analytical, and abstract thinking in relation to the discussed works, as well as the ability to express that critical thinking in writing. No knowledge of Yiddish required