YIVO Launches New Yiddish Civilization Lecture Series This Summer

(New York, NY) – The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is pleased to announce the Yiddish Civilization Lecture Series, a new ten-part lecture series commencing on Monday, June 24, 2019. The series will introduce audiences to some of the breadth and depth of Yiddish civilization in Eastern Europe, New York, and around the world.

The lectures will take place on Mondays and Thursdays from June 24 to July 29. They will cover topics ranging from history and historiography to literature, poetry, folklore, and theater, and feature some of the field’s leading scholars: Naomi Seidman, Eugene Orenstein, Anna Elena Torres, Itzik Gottesman, Steven Zipperstein, Cecile Kuznitz, Daniel Soyer, Edna Nahshon, Dovid Braun, and Samuel Kassow.

The new lecture series was conceptualized as an extension of YIVO's Uriel Weinreich Summer Program in Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture, the longest running Yiddish intensive program in the world. The 6-week Summer Program offers Yiddish language classes from beginner to advanced levels and a wide variety of cultural and enrichment activities.

In addition to being part of the Summer Program curriculum, the lectures are also open to the general public. This year’s summer program student cohort is one of the largest in decades, with approximately 70 students coming from Argentina, Canada, England, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United States.

Learn more about the lecture series.   

For any media inquiries please contact:

Alex Weiser
Director of Public Programs
(212) 294-6152

LECTURE SCHEDULE

In the "Freud Laboratory": The Yiddish Translation and Reception of Psychoanalysis
Monday, June 24, 2019 | 4:00pm-5:30pm
Naomi Seidman | Delivered in English

A Birdseye View of the Development of Yiddish Literature and Culture
Thursday, June 27, 2019 | 4:00pm-5:30pm
Eugene Orenstein | Delivered in Yiddish

Radical Traditions of Yiddish Poetry
Monday, July 1, 2019 | 4:00pm-5:30pm
Anna Elena Torres | Delivered in English

The Folklore of Ashkenaz
Monday, July 8, 2019 | 4:00pm-5:30pm
Itzik Gottesman | Delivered in Yiddish

Myth and History in the Russian Jewish Past
Thursday, July 11, 2019 | 4:00pm-5:30pm
Steven Zipperstein | Delivered in English

The Rise of Yiddish Scholarship and the History of YIVO
Monday, July 15, 2019 | 4:00pm-5:30pm
Cecile Kuznitz | Delivered in English

Yiddish New York
Thursday, July 18, 2019 | 4:00pm-5:30pm
Daniel Soyer | Delivered in Yiddish

Yiddish Theater in America – An Overview
Monday, July 22, 2019 | 4:00pm-5:30pm
Edna Nahshon | Delivered in English

What Yiddish is that?
Thursday, July 25, 2019 | 4:00pm-5:30pm
Dovid Braun | Delivered in Yiddish

The Keeper of the Flame: Rachel Auerbach and Holocaust Witnessing
Monday, July 29, 2019 | 4:00pm-5:30pm
Samuel Kassow | Delivered in English

YIVO

The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is dedicated to the preservation and study of the history and culture of East European Jewry worldwide. For nearly a century, YIVO has pioneered new forms of Jewish scholarship, research, education, and cultural expression. Our public programs and exhibitions, as well as online and on-site courses, extend our outreach to a global community. The YIVO Archives contains 24 million unique items and YIVO’s Library has over 400,000 volumes—the single largest resource for the study of East European Jewish life in the world. yivo.org / yivo.org/the-whole-story