Readings in Yiddish Prose
Tuition: $480 | YIVO members: $375**
Students: $240 (Must register with valid university email address)
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This is a live, online course held weekly on Zoom. Enrollment will be capped at about 15 students. All course details (Zoom link, syllabus, handouts, assignments, etc.) will be posted to Canvas. Students will be granted access to the class on Canvas after registering for the class here on the YIVO website. This class will be conducted in Yiddish and English.
Instructor: Vera Szabó
Who should take this course?
This course is appropriate for Yiddish students at the high intermediate/low advanced level.
Course Description:
In this class students will read, listen to, and talk about various texts, primarily short stories, essays, journalistic writing, folklore, and more from a literary and linguistic point of view. Authors featured will include Y. L. Perets, Rokhl Auerbach, Melekh Ravitsh, I. J. Singer, and I. B. Singer. Relevant grammatical structures will be discussed in detail, and various oral and written exercises will strengthen all language skills. All print and audio material will be provided by the instructor (students will have free digital access).
Is knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet required?
Yes, knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet is required.
Course Materials:
Required:
- Bochner/Beinfeld, Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary (verterbukh.org)
- Schaechter-Viswanath/Glasser, Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary (englishyiddishdictionary.com)
- Yitskhok Niborski, Verterbukh fun loshn-koydesh-shtamike verter in yidish, Paris, 2012 (Purchase)
Recommended:
- Iber der grenets / Über die Grenze / Crossing the Border (Purchase or access through your institution)
- It is highly recommended to purchase the print version of both Comprehensive Dictionaries.
Vera Szabó was born and raised in Budapest, Hungary. She holds an M.A. in Yiddish Studies from Columbia University as well as an M.A. in English and German Studies from ELTE University, Budapest.
She has taught Yiddish language, literature and folklore at various universities in the US (University of Michigan, Stanford, the University of Washington) and in Israel (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) as well as in various intensive summer programs (NYU/YIVO, Vilna, and Tel Aviv University.) She currently teaches various levels of Yiddish at Beth Shalom Aleichem.
Vera also translates literary and non-literary texts from Yiddish and Hungarian into English. Her research interest is Yiddish folklore. A certified yoga teacher, Vera has been teaching yoga in Yiddish for the past five years in Jerusalem, where she resides. More information on her website: www.verele.com
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