Modern Yiddish Literature: The Worlds of East European Jews

5 credits

Examines modern Yiddish literature from its origins in the Russian Empire's western borderlands (today's Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania) to its responses to ruptures of the twentieth century: world wars, revolutions, and the Holocaust. Written in the diasporic and stateless language of East European Jews, Yiddish literature deals with migration, ethnic violence, challenges to religious customs, gender norms, sexualities. Readings in English. Offered: jointly with JEW ST 340.