This course will open with an introduction to historical, sociological and literary contexts of Yiddish in South Africa. We will then study a selection of stories, poems and monologues from some of South Africa’s finest Yiddish writers. Course content will include courageous, critical and thought-provoking materials that will inspire meaningful discussions about race, class, language, representation, and Jewish and Yiddish community responses to oppression and discrimination. These short stories and poems will be interwoven with aesthetic poems on life, love, lust and local landscapes. Humorous monologues will round out the materials.
The course content will provide a snapshot of a significant, yet rarely-studied Yiddish community. This content is highly relevant today. As we witness the global rise in white supremacy and the far-right, grapple with issues of racism, apartheid and allyship, and experience deep rifts within Jewish communities, South African Yiddish writing presents parallels that offer illumination, insight, and perhaps inspiration for the work before us today.
Level: The class is suited to advanced readers and speakers of Yiddish, including students in previous BWC Advanced classes, and intermediates ready to make the leap to a new level. We will read and discuss a selection of Yiddish writing from South Africa in a supportive environment that encourages each person to speak Yiddish freely and fearlessly to the best of their ability.
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