JDS 690SEM - Jewish Identity in Modern Jewish Literature

Over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Jews began to increasingly take part in literary production in a non-Jewish cultural setting. Some Jewish authors opted to write in non-Jewish languages (such as German, Russian, or English), whereas others sought to forge a modern literary style in exclusively Jewish languages (Hebrew and Yiddish). Others still could not find a place for themselves in either Jewish or non-Jewish languages. The course will introduce the major critical approaches to the consideration of modern Jewish literature and the modern Jewish literary canon, and examine how authors negotiated Jewish identity in their writings. Credits: 3