NOTE: All information from the folkhögskola will be sent in Swedish.
Yiddish Women’s Poetry in the First Half of the 20th Century (online)
In the first Yiddish women’s anthology, “Yidishe Dikhterins,” published by Ezra Korman in 1928, over 100 authors were collected in one volume. Prominent poets like Celia Dropkin, Kadia Molodowski, Fradl Shtok, and Anna Margolin were among the contributors. Throughout the course, we’ll explore their writing as well as other six exceptional women poets from the early 20th century. These sessions will delve into their works, contributions, and significance within the Yiddish literary world of the time. We will explore poetry as a vehicle for the creation of a new female identity and an emancipatory attitude toward love, marriage, family, work, politics, the body, and religion.
The course is given in English, in collaboration with Jiddischsällskapet i Stockholm and Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.
Course structure
Each session unfolds with a brief lecture, providing insights into the life of the author and an overview of their literary works. This sets the stage for an exploration of the text at hand, introduced with thought-provoking questions aimed at guiding our discussions. Following this, participants will engage in breakout rooms – chevrutas, fostering intimate dialogues and deep dives into the texts. Finally, we reconvene for a comprehensive group discussion, weaving together diverse perspectives and interpretations.
Prior knowledge
No prior knowledge in the subject is required to join the course and participate in the discussion.
To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.
Course material
Course material is included in the cost for this course.
About the teacher
Urszula (Ula) Chowaniec is a literary and cultural scholar specializing in literature and women’s history. She lives in Stockholm, where she lectures on Jewish Women’s Literature at Paideia Folkhögskola, at the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden, and at Lund University, where she lectures Polish language and culture. In Poland, as a professor at the Andrzej Frycz-Modrzewski Cracow University, she lectures on popular literature, film adaptations, and language in the media. She is the author of the monographs “In Search of a Woman: About early novels by Irena Krzywicka” (Jagiellonian University Publishing, 2007) and “Melancholic Migrating Bodies in Contemporary Polish Women’s Writing” (Cambridge Scholar Publishing, 2015). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urszula_Chowaniec
Photo: Image from the Project “Lider” https://lidermusicaltributes.com
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