1998 COLUMBIA/YIVO YIDDISH SUMMER PROGRAM

[Rich <rd125...>]

 Contact:  Jeffrey Salant (212) 246-6080, ext. 123; 
fax (212) 292-1892 YIVOsummer (at) aol(dot)com  

 1998 COLUMBIA/YIVO YIDDISH SUMMER PROGRAM ACCEPTING
 APPLICATIONS 

NEW YORK CITY--January 30, 1998--Applications are now being accepted
for the Uriel Weinreich Program in Yiddish Language, Literature
 and Culture, which will take place on the Columbia University
 campus from June 29 to August 7, 1998.  The program, jointly
 sponsored by the Max Weinreich Center of the YIVO Institute for
 Jewish Research and Columbia University, is a six-week,
 non-matriculating, three-credit college course offered on four
 levels: elementary, intermediate I, intermediate II and advanced.

 The program proper will be preceded by an optional two-week
 review session for intermediate and advanced students beginning on
 June 15.  Elementary students with no reading or writing knowledge
of the Yiddish alphabet are required to attend a one-day reading
and writing workshop on Sunday, June 28. 

People worldwide have discovered the importance of Yiddish as a key >to 
understanding a
significant component of the Jewish heritage. Every summer since
1968, several dozen people from diverse backgrounds, professional
 pursuits and places as far-ranging as Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, 
Slovakia, Argentina, Chile, China and Australia make
 their way to New York City to study Yiddish in the world's first
and most acclaimed, college-level Yiddish-language program. 

Many summer program students have gone on
to become fellows of the Max Weinreich Center, an accredited
institute for advanced study of East European and American Jewish
history and culture.  Others have entered graduate programs in Jewish
studies offered by major universities throughout North America,
Europe and Israel.  The program has thus served as an essential
stepping stone in the careers of such prominent scholars in the field
of Yiddish as Janet Hadda, Irena Klepfisz, Jack Kugelmass and Michael
Stanislawski. 

Participants in the program learn Yiddish grammar and read Yiddish
literary classics, but also explore the riches of East European and
American Jewish culture through lectures in Yiddish and English,
Yiddish films, Yiddish conversation groups and a variety of workshops
in translation, theater, folksong and traditional dance. 

As a means of expanding the opportunities for verbal practice and
creating a feeling of camaraderie, out-of-towners are given the
option of staying in single rooms in Yidish hoyz, a Yiddish dormitory
suite on campus.  Excursions to Jewish points of interest in and
outside of New York City add depth and immediacy to subjects covered
in the classroom.  

Dr. Allan Nadler, Director of Research at YIVO, has
called the program "an intensive, intellectually stimulating
experience, whose rewards remain throughout one's lifetime."  

For an application including information on housing and partial
scholarships, call, fax or write to Jeffrey Salant, Director of
Yiddish Language Programs, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, 555
West 57th Street Suite 1100, New York, NY 10019, (212) 246-6080, ext.
123, fax (212) 292-1892, e-mail <YIVOsummer (at) aol(dot)com>.  The deadline
for receipt of scholarship materials is March 25.>
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