For all meeting days and times please see the Online Schedule of Classes
Yiddish 101A: Elementary Yiddish
4 Units
Instructor: Noa Tsaushu
In this beginners’ course students will learn to speak, read, and write Yiddish, the original language of East European Jews. Using the communicative method and the new textbook In Eynem, students will focus in class on speaking by playing out short dialogues. Grammar will be taught inductively, through examples. The course will introduce Yiddish culture through a variety of songs, stories, film clips, and illustrations.
Mode of Instruction: Online.
Yiddish 104: History of Yiddish Civilization
4 Units
Instructor: Noa Tsaushu
Prerequisite: at least one semester of Yiddish language instruction.
This online course will examine key moments in the evolution of Yiddish civilization, from its ancient origins to its modern post-vernacular speech communities, while delving into significant themes, ideas, and events in Jewish history. We will trace the development of Yiddish culture and traditions, analyzing how changes in Jewish life have been reflected in Yiddish literature, folklore, press, visual art, music, and film. The material will be explored both chronologically and thematically, focusing on issues such as national identity, multiculturalism, violence, migration, and gender. Through engagement with primary texts in Yiddish, students will gain a critical understanding of Jewishness and Yiddishkeit, and the underlying assumptions that have shaped these concepts over the centuries.
Mode of Instruction: Online