Interdisciplinary Teaching of Sholem Aleichem: Rewards and Challenges

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

Solomon Rabinowitch (1859 – 1916, born in Pereyaslavl, Ukraine), better known under the name of Sholem Aleichem, was one of the most important Jewish writers of the modernity. Author of numerous novels, short stories, sketches, plays, a book of memoirs, a strong advocate for Yiddish language, and for its speakers, ordinary, everyday Jews living in Eastern Europe and across the ocean, in North America, he created a body of work that arguably, can be seen as representing the important, if not a comprehensive slice of the Jewish culture and social life of the late 19th-early 20th century. Anyone studying Jewish history, culture, literature, society and of course Yiddish has to learn about Sholem Aleichem.
But just as universally as scholars of Jewish studies acknowledge the importance of Sholem Aleichem works, professors and teachers complain that students do not like, understand, and appreciate Sholem Aleichem. They do not laugh at his humor, they do not sympathize with characters and their dilemmas. Even students in advanced language classes, who read Sholem Aleichem in original Yiddish complain about too many Slavic words, and lobby for switching to another Yiddish author.
The participants of the proposed pedagogy panel discuss both successful and failed strategies of including Sholem Aleichem’s work into curriculum. In addition, some participants are suggesting that studying Sholem Aleichem enriches other disciplines, ranging from European History to African Studies to Diaspora Studies. The roundtable brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars, all experienced pedagogues, all with a strong commitment of keeping Sholem Aleichem on syllabi.
Comparative literature scholar Marc Caplan (CJH, New York) will discuss teaching Sholem Aleichem in the context of world literature. Literary scholar Jeremy Dauber (Columbia) will address the context of Jewish literature. Post-colonial literature scholar, Ato Quayson (University of Toronto) discusses the place of Sholem Aleichem in the African Studies classroom. Cultural historian and Yiddish literature specialist Anna Shternshis (University of Toronto) will share experiences of teaching Sholem Aleichem in the context of Diaspora Studies and Yiddish literature. Finally, historian Keith Weiser (York University) will speak about Sholem Aleichem in the context of teaching Modern Jewish history.

Sub Unit

• Pedagogy

Moderator

• Olga Gershenson, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Discussants

• Anna Shternshis, University of Toronto

• Ato Quayson, University of Toronto

• Jeremy Asher Dauber, Columbia University

• Marc Caplan, Center for Jewish History

• Kalman Weiser, York University