Di Froyen Velt: Eastern European Textile Heritage within the United States

Tuition: $400 | YIVO members: $325**
Students: $215 (Must register with valid university email address)

This is a live, online seminar held weekly on Zoom. Enrollment will be capped at about 15 students. All course details (Zoom link, syllabus, handouts, etc.) will be posted to Canvas. Students will be granted access to the class on Canvas after registering for the class here on the YIVO website. This class will be conducted in English.

Instructor: Elena Solomon

Course Description:
Communal textile traditions are often tied to the land, as the land provides the source materials for craftspeople to work with. What do traditional textiles look like for a diasporic people? This course explores the handmade, everyday textiles produced in the United States by Eastern European Jews during the major period of their migration from 1892 to 1924. Primary sources will be a main focus of this course. Historical texts include an autobiography about life in the Pale of Settlement, magazines for Jewish American women, and a pamphlet from a Jewish craft fair. Textiles will be viewed within the course as a microcosm of the contemporary sociopolitical scene within the American Eastern European Jewish community.

Who should take this course?
This class is open to anyone interested in the topic as outlined in the course description. The class discussion will be conducted in English, and all course materials will be read in English or in English translation. No previous background knowledge or specific education level is required.

Course Materials:
This course will read The Promised Land by Mary Antin (Purchase or read online or at a local library). The instructor will provide all other course materials digitally throughout the class on Canvas.

Elena Solomon (b. Chicago) is a researcher studying the textile history of Ashkenazi Jewish communities and its legacy in modern craftwork. She has recently completed her master’s thesis, titled “The Embroidered Tablecloth: How Locale Influences Eastern European Jewish Textile Production.” The thesis examines craft practices, social trends, and cultural memory among Eastern European Jewish immigrants to the US and their descendants. She is currently researching the shpanier arbeit, a braided lace technique unique to Ashkenazi Jews. With her creative craftwork, Solomon uses heritage lace techniques to suspend heavy metal objects. Solomon holds an M.A. in Art History and Curatorial Studies from the University of Western Ontario in Canada and is a two-time alumna of YIVO's Yiddish Summer Program.

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