Zhargon: Histories of Yiddishkayt (2025)

Program Description

What was Jewish life like in Eastern Europe? How did the political and economic upheavals of the 19th and 20th centuries change Eastern European culture, and how do these changes still inform historical and cultural memory today? How did the changes in traditional Jewish life relate to gender and the place of women in society (and importantly, how do we queer these historical narratives)? Who were the Bund, and what was their relation to socialist movements of the time? What is a Shtetl, and how was it distinct from other types of communal settlement in Europe? In this course, we will explore these (and other) questions, focusing on the social, cultural and political changes that shaped the lives and cultures of Jews in Eastern Europe. Drawing on a wealth of literary, musical, and visual materials, as well as archival and historical documentation, we will encounter poets, radicals, artists, musicians and revolutionaries who lived, created and dreamed in Yiddish, and learn how they thought about their world and sought to change it for the better! ***Schedule & Fees*** This course includes 6 in-person classes from Oct. 21 to Nov. 25 (Tuesdays from 7-9pm) PLUS full access to the Zhargon Speaker Series (4 online talks by leading scholars in Yiddish Studies) on the following tentative dates: November 2, November 20, December 7, January 25. The course fee is $50. We acknowledge the support of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation with funding provided by the Government of Canada. ***Instructor Bios*** Jess Goldman (they/them) is a writer, comics artist, and amateur puppeteer based on the traditional, unceded lands of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Musqueam peoples. Their writing has been published in Maisonneuve, the CBC, and Room Magazine. A graduate of University of British Columbia’s MFA in Creative Writing Program, their writing explores that sweet spot where Yiddishkayt and queer culture joyfully collide. Itamar Manoff (He/Him) is the co-executive director of the Peretz Centre. A PhD in Educational Studies, Itamar is a community educator, language teacher and learner, and Jewish history enthusiast. He is a graduate of the Wallis Annenberg Helix-Yiddishkayt Fellowship (2018-2019), and is a Yiddish Pedagogy Fellow at the Yiddish Book Center. Itamar is also the co-founder of This is Not an Ulpan, a grassroots, cooperative language school dedicated to the principles of critical pedagogy and emancipatory education in Palestine and Israel.