NOTE: All information from the folkhögskola will be sent in Swedish.

The Singers – A Family of Yiddish Writers (online) 

The course examines the works of the Yiddish writers Ester Kreitman (1891-1954), Israel Joshua Singer (1893-1944) and Isaac Bashevis Singer (1903-1991). The Singer siblings, except for the youngest Moyshe (1906-1944), rejected their ultra-orthodox family and became secular Yiddish writers. They contributed prolifically to the transnational Yiddish culture as novelists and short story writers, journalists, and playwrights. Their works and lives will be discussed and used as a fascinating prism of Yiddish culture and literature in interwar Warsaw, London and New York, and post-war America and Israel. The course will focus on the literary and personal relationships between the Singers regarding gender, translation, literary aesthetics, and politics.

The course is given in English, in collaboration with Jiddischsällskapet i Stockholm and Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.

Course structure
The course offers a mix of lectures, chevruta (a way of studying text in pairs or small groups) and brief student presentations.There is some homework that will consist of reading the works of the three writers and preparing answers to questions that will be presented in the class.

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
Jan Schwarz, prof. Lund University, Yiddish literature and language see: https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/jan-schwarz

Photo: Esther Kreitmans, Israel Joshua Singers and Isaac Bashevis Singers (collage by Paideia folkhögskola).

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