Treasures of 20th-Century Yiddish Literature from Latin America

This advanced reading course offers an introduction to the rich and multifaceted corpus of Yiddish literature produced in Latin America during the twentieth century. Designed for students with intermediate to advanced proficiency in Yiddish, the course is intended for those who have some experience reading literary texts in the original and wish to further develop their skills and deepen their engagement with modern Yiddish prose.
The selected texts offer a broad spectrum of themes and culturally specific settings that reflect the diverse migration experiences and shifting identities of Jewish communities across Latin America. At the same time, the course encourages a rethinking of the traditional geographical frameworks of Yiddish literature—typically centered on Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and North America—by exploring lesser-known literary activity in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, and Uruguay. Special attention will be given to marginalized voices, particularly women writers such as Mimi Pinzón (Argentina) and Rosa Palatnik (Brazil), whose works have received limited scholarly attention to date.
Lexical and grammatical structures will be drawn directly from the readings and analyzed in class. Primary sources include Yiddish-language anthologies of Latin American literature published in Argentina between 1972 and 1982 as part of the Musterverk fun der yidisher literatur series. In addition, Alan Astro’s English-language anthology Yiddish South of the Border: An Anthology of Latin American Yiddish Writing (2003) will serve as a supplementary guide, particularly useful for comparative reading and discussions of translation.
Text selection may be adjusted according to participants’ interests. The primary language of instruction and discussion will be Yiddish, though English will be used as needed to support comprehension and clarify complex passages.

When: Sundays, June 29, 2025 – August 3, 2025 : 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. PT / 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CT / 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. UK / 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Central Europe

Cost: 6 classes for $250 (early bird, if paid before June 15, 2025)

Regular price $280

Teacher: Julia Koifman

Julia Koifman studied Slavic and German Studies in Berlin and Moscow, as well as Yiddish and Jewish Studies in Potsdam, Haifa, and New York. She worked at the Institute for Slavic Studies at Humboldt University and served as a tutor for Yiddish language and literature at the University of Potsdam. Her MA thesis is a comparative analysis of short stories by the Yiddish authors Rokhl Brokhes and Roze Palatnik. Julia also translates Yiddish literature into German and English.