Advanced Topics in Yiddish Literature & Grammar: What is Modern about the Yiddish Classics?

Class starts Sep 8 12:00pm-1:30pm

Tuition: $480 | YIVO members: $375**
Students: $240 (Must register with valid university email address)

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: Sonia Dratwa-Pinkusowitz

Who should take this course?
This course is appropriate for those who have completed Advanced I Yiddish or equivalent coursework.

What topics will this class cover?
Students will continue to exercise their fluency in the listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills covered in previous Advanced Yiddish classes. Grammar will be discussed as it appears in the selected texts to be studied. Poetry, short stories, newspaper articles, and excerpts from literary criticism will be read to increase and reinforce both vocabulary and understanding of idiomatic expressions. The universal themes found in the different texts will be discussed within their cultural context. Students will be expected to prepare short oral presentations to practice the language skills they have acquired.

Is knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet required?
Yes, knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet is required.

Course Materials:
All course materials will be provided digitally on Canvas.

Questions? Read our 2024 Fall Classes FAQ.

Sonia Dratwa-Pinkusowitz is an associate professor at the Institute of Jewish Studies, The Free University of Brussels (U.L.B.). She has taught Yiddish at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Columbia University, and YIVO where she was responsible for the creation of the Yiddish Teachers Resource Center. While living in N.Y., Sonia conducted a teacher training program as part of YIVO’s Summer Program. She is the founder of the Yiddish intensive summer course “Yiddish on the Continent,” held in alternate years in Brussels, Paris, and Berlin. Sonia regularly teaches in the Ot Azoy program organized annually by the Jewish Music Institute in London.

**Become a member today, starting at $54 for one year, and pay the member price for classes! You’ll save on tuition for this course and more on future classes and public programs tickets.