Laughter Through Tears: Classic Yiddish Fiction in Translation

This course will survey the lives and traditions of East European Jews in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from a historical and literary perspective. The works of the three classical Yiddish writers, Mendele, Sholem Aleichem and Peretz will serve as a prism through which we will view the lives, laughter and tears of shtetl inhabitants.The course may be used as an elective within the Comparative Literature minor, the Jewish Studies minor, or as an elective for the BA, BBA, and BS degrees.Prerequisite: ENG/CMP/LTT 2800 or 2850.