Lunch and Learn 2023

The Literature of Jewish Modernity

Co-sponsored by Fairfield University’s Bennett Center for Judaic Studies and The Jewish Federation of Greater Fairfield County

Taught by Glenn Dynner, Carl and Dorothy Bennett Professor of Judaic Studies and Director, Bennett Center for Judaic Studies, Fairfield University

The Literature of Jewish Modernity course description: 
As Jews were emancipated in Europe and freed from the ghetto, some began to grapple with the challenges of modernity through modern literary genres like poetry and fiction while others did so through more traditional genres. Writers like Franz Kafka, Isaac Babel, and Sholem Aleichem (whose Yiddish short stories formed the basis of Fiddler on the Roof) achieved universal acclaim; others, particularly women writers, have only recently been rediscovered. The path of the modern Jewish writer entailed alienation, nostalgia, and regret while contending with increasingly virulent forms of anti-Semitism, culminating in the Holocaust. In America and Israel, the Jews’ improved power status yielded a different kind of ambivalence, reflected in works by such authors as Philip Roth, Cynthia Ozick, and Amos Oz. Meanwhile, Hasidic and other Orthodox writers produced a powerful counter-narrative that reaffirmed their traditions. Despite a certain tension and anguish, we will discover works of beauty and poignancy that yield profound insights into the modern experience.

Class will meet in person at Fairfield University, Canisius Hall, Room 304.

Time: 12:30-1:45 pm on Thursdays

Dates: Feb. 16, 23 | Mar. 9, 23 | Apr. 6, 27 | May 4 (Snow day: May 11)

Registration  $100/person

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