Jews and Science Fiction

Class starts Jan 4 8:00pm-9:15pm

Tuition: $300 | YIVO members: $225**

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This is a live, online course held on Zoom. Enrollment will be capped at about 25 students. All course details (Zoom link, syllabus, handouts, recordings of class sessions, 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, and any readings will be in English.

Instructor: Ilan Stavans

Jewish science fiction is fiction written by or about Jews, or with an expressed Jewish sensibility, addressing scientific, technological, futuristic and speculative themes. This course, nurtured by an assortment of visionaries from multiple diasporas (Europe, Russia, the U.S., Israel, Argentina, etc.) explores the way Jews have used the hard-core tradition to explore time, space, and themselves. Participants will do contextual and close readings of works by Itzjok Leib Peretz, Sholem Aleichem, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Stanislaw Lem, Jorge Luis Borges, Theodor Herzl, Harry Turtledove, Michael Chabon, Ruthanna Emrys, Isaac Asimov, Stan Lee, Harlan Ellison, Philip Roth, Angelica Gorodicher, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Bernard Malamud, and others. The range of material goes from the biblical prophets, the Sheol, and Merkabah mysticism to false messiahs, doppelgängers, Chelm, Zionism, galactic travel, Superman, AI, and disquisitions on Olam ha-Bah.

Course Materials:
Students should purchase the following book before the first date of class:

Jewish Literature: A Very Short Introduction, by Ilan Stavans (Purchase)

The instructor will provide all other course materials digitally throughout the class on Canvas.

Questions? Read our 2022 Winter Program FAQ.

Ilan Stavans is Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities, Latin American, and Latino Cultures at Amherst College, publisher of Restless Books, host of NPR’s podcast In Contrast, and a regular contributor to the New York Times en Español. An international bestselling author, his books include On Borrowed Words (2000), Spanglish (2002), Dictionary Days (2010), and Quixote (2015). Among his graphic novels are Latino USA: A Cartoon History (2000), El Iluminado (2012), Angelitos (2017), and an adaptation of Don Quixote of La Mancha (2018). He is the editor of, among others, The Oxford Book of Jewish Stories (1998), The Schocken Book of Sephardic Literature (2008), Norton Anthology of Latino Literature (2011), Becoming Americans (2013), and Oy Caramba!: An Anthology of Jewish Stories from Latin America (2017). His work, adapted into theater, TV, film, and radio, has been translated into twenty languages.

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