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.
2025 Course List
Morning Classes: |
Outside the Synagogue: Traditional Songs and Nigunim of Eastern Yiddish Speakers
Instructor: Michael Lukin
6 sessions, Tuesdays & Thursdays
January 7-23, 2025 | 9:00am-10:15am ET
In the Aftermath of the National Origins Act, 1924-1928
Instructor: Hasia Diner
6 sessions, Tuesdays & Thursdays
January 7-23, 2025 | 10:45am-12:00pm ET
Encounters with Mephistopheles
Instructor: Jonathan Brent
6 sessions, Wednesdays & Fridays
January 8-24, 2025 | 10:45am-12:00pm ET
Afternoon Classes: |
Desire in Yiddish Literature
Instructor: Anita Norich
6 sessions, Tuesdays & Thursdays
January 7-23, 2025 | 12:00pm-1:15pm ET
Entertaining America: Jews and Hollywood
Instructor: J. Hoberman
5 sessions, Monday, Wednesdays & Fridays
January 8-17, 2025 | 12:00pm-1:30pm ET
Whitewash: Holocaust Distortion in Poland and Beyond
Instructor: Jan Grabowski
6 sessions, Tuesdays & Thursdays
January 7-23, 2025 | 1:00pm-2:15pm ET
Making and Unmaking Jews in our Post-Pandemic Age of Antisemitism
Instructor: Sander Gilman
6 sessions, Tuesdays & Thursdays
January 7-23, 2025 | 2:30pm-3:45pm ET
Jewish Languages
Instructor: Ilan Stavans
6 sessions, Tuesdays & Thursdays
January 7-23, 2025 | 4:00pm-5:15pm ET
Evening Classes: |
Jewish Intellectuals and the Birth of the Nuclear Era
Instructor: Alex Wellerstein
6 sessions, Tuesdays & Thursdays
January 7-23, 2025 | 6:30pm-7:45pm ET
Questions? Read our 2025 Winter Program FAQ.
Related Events
BOOK TALK
On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice
Wednesday, January 15, 2025 | 1:00pm ET
YIVO-BARD WINTER PROGRAM KEYNOTE LECTURE
Autocracies in the 21st Century
Wednesday, January 22, 2025 | 1:00pm ET
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