Yiddish In and Out of Context

Despite rumors of its demise, Yiddish continues to exert a powerful influence on Jewish culture and consciousness. Yiddish today performs a variety of new functions as a post- and trans-vernacular language in addition to its role as a language for daily communication. It is evoked, cited, and nostalgically remembered; it is used in art, music, theater, and literature; it is studied, theorized, spoken by enthusiasts, and admired by new generations who never spoke the language at home. In this symposium we explore Yiddish in both its traditional contexts and in these surprising new contexts. By considering Yiddish in and out context we hope to reach new understandings of how the role of Yiddish has changed and what these changes tell us about contemporary culture.

Symposium Schedule
Two panels that begin with the participants presenting their objects of analysis for around 10 minutes each, followed by a dialogue between all the panelists.
1:00 pm: First Panel with Eve Jochnowitz & Mikhail Kruitkov
3:00 pm: Second Panel with Justin Cammy, Sunny Yudkoff & Saul Zarrit

The front entrance of Rackham, located on East Washington, is accessible by stairs and ramp. There are elevators on both the east and wends ends of the lobby. The conference room is on the fourth floor. If you have a disability that requires an accommodation, contact the Judaic Studies office at judaicstudies@umich.edu or 734-763-9047.