About this course
What happens when ethnic and religious groups immigrate to new lands and pick up new languages? This class explores language contact using the case study of the Jewish Diaspora. Hebrew and Yiddish are widely associated with Judaism, but most people are not aware of the many languages Jews have spoken throughout history, including Ladino (Judeo-Spanish), Judeo-Italian, Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Malayalam (India), and Judeo-Shirazi (Iran).
This course is .5 credits towards smicha
Course Objective
Through this Jewish case study, students will gain an understanding of the hybrid language practices of Jewish immigrant and religious groups.
Course overview
Unit 1 – Do American Jews Speak a Jewish Language?
Unit 2 – Mensch, Bentsh, and Balagan: Language as a Marker of Jewish Identity
Unit 3 – Becoming Frum: How Newcomers Learn the Language and Culture of Orthodox Judaism
Unit 4 – Ruach in the Chadar Ochel: Language at American Jewish Summer Camps
Unit 5 – Jewish Surnames and Name Changing Around the World: Diversity and Unity
Unit 6 – Jewish Personal Names Around the World: Tradition and Creativity
Required Viewing
Each unit includes a video. There is no reading.
Additional videos (not required) can be viewed here.
Assessment
Assessments for this course will include one quiz for each unit.
Meet Your Instructor
We are grateful to Dr. Sarah Bendor for allowing us the use of her instructional content.
This course is proctored by Rabbi Patrick Beaulier, with support from Benjamin Kweskin, Middle East Studies and International Affairs expert, who put the assessment materials together for this course.
