Tapestry of Tongues: Modern Israeli Literature

Literature was the main art form for the Jews until the 20th century: the story of Jewish literature is the story of the Jews. Modern Hebrew literature is, in fact, an amalgam of the languages of the Jews – Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino and Judeo-Arabic. The course will utilize “Ha’Ivrim – The Hebrews,” an exciting new documentary series created by Israeli filmmaker Yair Qedar. The film series has won eighteen awards so far and has reached millions of viewers in and outside Israel (https://ivrim.co.il/ – in Hebrew – and https://www.docaviv.co.il/2019-en/events/levantine-and-the-hebrews-projects-10th-anniversary/ – English). Course participants will view the documentaries at home (with English subtitles) and immerse themselves in class in each writer’s world using both close-reading techniques and historical-cultural background. Writers featured: the canonical Chaim Nachman Bialik and Lea Goldberg, Sephardi and Mizrahi writers David Buzaglo and Jacqueline Kahanov, and Yiddish poet Avraham Sutzkever. Readings in English translation but knowledge of Hebrew an asset.

Course presented by HaMaqom, formerly Lehrhaus Judaica. Taught by Danny Luzon and Prof. Chana Kronfeld. Thursdays, March 5 – April 2.