Modern Jewish Literature (279-0-1)

Topic

Short History of the Jewish Short Story

Instructors

Guy Ehrlich
Crowe, 5-163
Office Hours: Wednesday 1:00 - 2:00
Guy Ehrlich is a postdoctoral fellow at the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies at Northwestern University. He is interested in modern Hebrew literature and culture, gender studies, and queer theory. His book, titled “The Empty Places of Yehudit Hendel,” won the Yaacov Bahat Prize for Best Original Scholarly Book Manuscript in Hebrew and was recently published by Haifa University Press (2024). His articles were published in “Mikan: Journal for Literary Studies” (2019), “Jewish Social Studies” (2020), “Ot: A Journal of Literary Criticism and Theory” (2021), “Shofar” (2024), and “Queer Kinship and Comparative Literature” (Palgrave Macmillan Press, 2024).

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-335: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

This course explores short stories written by Jewish writers across different languages, countries, periods, and contexts. Is there such a thing as a "Jewish short story"? How do different writers explore and portray Jewish identity and life? What does the short form enable that longer literary works cannot? Throughout the course, we will explore these questions - as well as themes related to social and historical shifts, identity formation, and gender and sexuality - by reading works by Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Franz Kafka, Grace Paley, Etgar Keret, Ida Fink, Isaac Bashevis Singer, J. D. Salinger, Orly Castel-Bloom, and others. All literary texts will be read in English translation.

Registration Requirements

None

Learning Objectives

• Explore the literary form of short stories, their characteristics, and narrative techniques;
• Examine and interpret literary texts using practices of both close reading and comparative reading;
• Critically evaluate and analyze literary, cultural, and theoretical texts;
• Identify and analyze key themes and trends in Jewish short stories;
• Draw connections and correlations between and across literary texts;
• Consider why these stories are called "Jewish" and what elements contribute to defining a short story as "Jewish"; Develop writing, collaboration, and interpersonal communication skills

Evaluation Method

Attendance & Class participation: 10%
Final paper: 40%
4 Short Response Papers/Mini quizzes: 20%
Long Response Papers: 30%

Class Materials (Required)

Materials will be provided by instructor.

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area