YIVO-Bard Winter Program on Ashkenazi Civilization


Held annually in January since 2012, the YIVO-Bard Winter Program on Ashkenazi Civilization invites students to delve into Ashkenazi Jewish life and culture during its thousand-year history in Eastern Europe and in many Diasporas. The Winter Program courses explore connections between Jewish life and the national, political, philosophical, and artistic identities Jews have historically inhabited, illuminating the fact that Jews have always been influenced by, and influencers of, the cultures in which they’ve made temporary or permanent homes.

Courses are open to all; a credit option is available through Bard College. All classes meet on Zoom.


2024 Course List


Morning Classes:

Masters of Yiddish Prose

Instructor: Curt Leviant
6 sessions, Tuesdays & Fridays
January 9-26, 2024 | 9:00am-10:15am ET

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The Food Culture of Ashkenaz: On Two Sides of the Atlantic

Instructor: Hasia Diner
6 sessions, Tuesdays & Thursdays
January 9-25, 2024 | 10:45am-12:00pm ET

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Two Visions: Stalingrad and the Human World

Instructor: Jonathan Brent
6 sessions, Wednesdays & Fridays
January 10-26, 2024 | 10:45am-12:00pm ET

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Afternoon Classes:

Jews in Pop and Rock Music

Instructor: Jonathan Karp
6 sessions, Tuesdays & Thursdays
January 9-25, 2024 | 12:00pm-1:15pm ET

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Conquering the Space: Symbolic Topography of the Former Warsaw Ghetto

Instructor: Elżbieta Janicka
6 sessions, Wednesdays & Fridays
January 10-26, 2024 | 12:00pm-1:15pm ET

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Jews and American Radicalism in the 20th Century

Instructor: Tony Michels
6 sessions, Tuesdays & Thursdays
January 9-25, 2024 | 1:00pm-2:15pm ET

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The Jews of Argentina

Instructor: Ilan Stavans
6 sessions, Tuesdays & Thursdays
January 9-25, 2024 | 2:30pm-3:45pm ET

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Yiddish Culture in the Ghettos and Camps

Instructor: Samuel Kassow
6 sessions, Tuesdays & Thursdays
January 9-25, 2024 | 4:00pm-5:15pm ET

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Evening Classes:

The Final Draft – A Creative Writing Workshop

Instructor: Irena Klepfisz
6 sessions, Tuesdays & Thursdays
January 9-25, 2024 | 6:30pm-8:00pm ET

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American Hasidism

Instructor: Nathaniel Deutsch
6 sessions, Tuesdays & Thursdays
January 9-25, 2024 | 8:00pm-9:15pm ET

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Questions? Read our 2024 Winter Program FAQ.


Related Events

WINTER PROGRAM KEYNOTE LECTURE
Holocaust Distortion in Poland and Beyond
Monday, January 8, 2024 | 1:00pm ET

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