YDSH 101

Fall 2025

Part of Term 1
Aug 25-Dec 10
Beginning Yiddish I
Course in Catalog
List of Terms offered
Register for Classes

SHOW FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE

Credit: 4 hours.

Course develops basic conversational and reading skills as well as the essentials of Yiddish grammar.

My Favorites
My Schedule
Section Status updates every 10 minutes.
CRN Type Section Time Day Location Instructor Section Details
40424
Online
Online
BTA
BTA
11:00AM -12:00PM
1:30PM -3:00PM
F
TR
n.a.
n.a.
Blazek, K
Blazek, K
Part of Term:
1
Date Range:
08/25/25-12/10/25
Credit:
4 hours
Section Title:
First Year Yiddish I (Elementa
Section Info:
This is the first semester of a two-year Yiddish language sequence which leads to an active engagement with an intergenerational and transcontinental community and builds a future rooted in the past. In this class we will learn the basics of Yiddish grammar and acquire basic reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Through playful immersion in Yiddish theater, music, poetry, comedy, games and cuisine, students will engage with a traditional Yiddish culture and a modern, thriving Yiddish movement. This course will enable you to form deeper connections with diasporic life and embrace a part of the Jewish identity. The primary goal of this course is to establish a strong foundation in Yiddish and a platform from which you can further pursue your interests, within and outside of class. Yiddish has been spoken in Europe for almost a thousand years, covering a large territory unlike any other European language, and is now spoken by both secular and religious communities all over the world. While Yiddish has a lot in common with Hebrew, German and Slavic languages, no prior knowledge of these is required. The class is structured around a Yiddish textbook, weekly exercises, and many Yiddish texts from various times and places— age-old Eastern European folk songs, Jewish-American poetry, Yiddish tax-filing (it’s legal in New York!), Swedish Yiddish cartoons, and so much more. Casual schmoozing, encounters with guest speakers and authentic materials will reflect family relationships, queer history, tension between tradition and modernity, immigration trauma. We will explore how labor, social justice and religious movements from the past inspire modern ideologies. Self-exploration will continue in collaborative creative projects. This section is offered through the BTAA Course Share Program and will be taught via video-conferencing/Zoom/online by University of Michigan.
COURSE EXPLORER
Email: Course Explorer Feedback

OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR | 901 W. Illinois Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801

Site developed by: Technology Services at Illinois | UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
1102 Digital Computer Laboratory | MC-256 | Urbana, IL 61801 | phone 217-244-7000