Learn Yiddish at UT Austin
Through a partnership between UT Austin's College of Liberal Arts and the Yiddish Book Center we are excited to offer a three-course series to help students achieve intermediate proficiency in Yiddish, covering two years of material in three semesters, thus fulfilling most college language requirements.
COURSE 1 is now open for registration: Fall 2024 - First-Year Yiddish I
This class is designed to introduce students to Yiddish language and culture. Students develop proficiency as speakers, readers, listeners, and writers of Yiddish by using the language actively with their peers and instructor. By the end of the course, students will be able to provide basic information about themselves; understand and participate in conversations on a variety of everyday topics; read short texts; and write simple sentences on familiar subjects.
The class will also delve into the culture of Yiddish as it has been shaped and expressed in places as diverse as Eastern Europe, Argentina, and New York. Topics may include Yiddish literature and folklore (including humor, golems, and dybbuks), the Hasidic world, the Jewish labor movement, and Soviet Yiddish culture, among others. In addition to engaging with Yiddish through the textbook, the class will sing Yiddish songs, play Hasidic board games, and read and perform Yiddish poems.
About Enrolling In University Extension Courses
University Extension courses are open enrollment and everyone pays the same registration fee, $850 for this course, regardless of residency status.
Funding support may be available to a limited number of students who are unable to use other education funding resources to pay the registration fee. For more information about funding support, please email Gretchen Fiordalice, Director of Education Administration, gfiordalice@yiddishbookcenter.org.
Review step-by-step enrollment instructions for information about how to register for the course.
Meet the Professor
Adrien Smith is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in UT's Department of Germanic Studies, where she teaches Yiddish, Jewish folklore and Eastern-European Jewish history. She has a Ph.D. in Slavic languages and literatures from Stanford University. Her research looks at Yiddish speech style in Russian literature and performance in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as at Soviet science fiction.
Class Schedule
This course is 100% online and includes live streaming video. Real-time participation is required during scheduled meeting times.
Class will meet online Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 11 a.m.-Noon CT.
First class day: Monday, August 26, 2024
Last class day: Monday, December 9, 2024
Required Course Materials
In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol I & II by Asya Vaisman Schulman, Jordan Brown, and Mikhl Yashinsky. Available from the Yiddish Book Center ($54 PDF edition or $100 print edition).
Need advising?
It is always a good idea to consult with your academic advisor or a University Extension advisor before registering.
Upcoming Courses
COURSE 2: Spring 2025 - First-Year Yiddish II will be available for registration in November 2024.
COURSE 3: Fall 2025 - Intermediate Yiddish I will be available for registration in April 2025.
