STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM
POLAND – FOLLOWING THE FOOTSTEPS OF ISAAC BASHEVIS SINGER
Department: TBD
HUNTER COLLEGE – CUNY
Semester: Summer 2014
Course #: TBD
Dates: 8/02/ - 8/25/2014
Instructor: TBA
OVERVIEW:
Isaac Bashevis Singer – the only Yiddish language writer to ever win the Nobel
Prize in Literature (1978) – was born in Poland in 1902 and died in the United
States in 1991. His lifespan included the fall of the Russian Empire, rebirth of
Poland, the rise of Hitler, the tragedy of the Holocaust and the birth of the state of
Israel. Born in a small village of Leoncin, he grew up in Bilgoraj, Radzymin and
Warsaw, before emigrating to New York in 1935. His father was a rabbi and the
mother Basheva – hence Bashevis – came from a rich in tradition rabbinical family.
The role of religion, tradition and the secularism will play an important role in his
future writing. His works have been translated into many languages and adapted to
screen and theater. His most memorable titles include: The Family Moskat, The
Magician of Lublin, The Slave, Enemies - a Love Story, Shosha, Yentl the Yeshiva Boy
and The Penitent. His last published book was Shadows on the Hudson in 1997 – six
years after his death. The course will trace the footsteps of his life from his
birthplace all the way to the Upper West Side of New York, the influence of his
upbringing on his writing as well as his importance in the modern literature across
the globe.
FORMAT:
Lectures – (3 or 4 hours per day – 15 sessions)
Workshops
Excursions
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
In this course the student will:
- Learn the importance of Isaac Bashevis Singer as a world writer
- Familiarize themselves with his life by physically visiting the most important
places of his upbringing
- Learn about the Jewish history in Poland – once the biggest settlement of
Jews in the World
- Study some of the selected works of Singer
- Analyze his place in Yiddish literature of the 19th and 20th Centuries
- Experience the world as seen by Singer in his youth
SCHEDULE:
8/02 Saturday – Departure from New York
8/03 Sunday – Arrival to Warsaw
8/04 Monday – Warsaw: Museum of Jewish History – Lecture: Introduction to a
1000 Year History of Jews in Poland - Instructor: TBD
8/05 Tuesday – Warsaw: Jewish Historical Institute – Lecture: The Jewish Culture in
Poland Throughout the Centuries – Instructor: TBD
8/06 Wednesday – Warsaw: The Center for Yiddish Culture – Lecture: The History of
Yiddish Language Literature – Instructor: Karolina Szymaniak (**)
8/07 Thursday – Warsaw: The Jewish Theater – Lecture: The History of Jewish
Theatre – Instructor: Karolina Szymaniak
8/08 Friday – Warsaw: The City – Excursion and Workshop: The History of Warsaw
Ghetto – Instructor: Jan Jagielski (***)
8/09 Saturday – Warsaw - No Classes
8/10 Sunday – Warsaw - No Classes
8/11 Monday – Leoncin – Excursion and Lecture – The Birthplace of Israel Bashevis
Singer – Instructor: Prof. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska (*)
8/12 Tuesday – Radzymin – Excursion and Lecture – Bashevis’ Youth and the
Influence of Radzimin in His Literature – Instructor: Prof. Monika AdamczykGarbowska
8/13 Wednesday – Move to Bilgoraj – Excursion and Lecture – Bashevis’ Early Years
– Instructor: Prof. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska
8/14 Thursday – Bilgoraj – Excursion and Lecture – Influence of the Bilgoraj
Experience in Singer’s Works – Instructor: Prof. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska
8/15 Friday – Bilgoraj – Excursion and Lecture – The Bilgoraj Region and It’s Echoes
in Singer’s Writings – Instructor: Prof. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska
8/16 Saturday – Return to Warsaw – No Classes
8/17 Sunday – Warsaw – No Classes
8/18 Monday – Warsaw – The Center for Yiddish Culture – Lecture and Excursion:
Singer in Warsaw – Instructor: Prof. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska
8/19 Tuesday – Warsaw – The Center for Yiddish Culture – Lecture: The Reception
of Singer’s Works in the Post War Poland – Instructor: Prof. Monika AdamczykGarbowska
8/20 Wednesday – Warsaw – The Center for Yiddish Culture – Lecture: The
Influence of Singer on the Polish Language Literature and the History of His
Translations – Instructor: Prof. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska
8/21 Thursday – Warsaw – The Center for Yiddish Culture – Screening and Lecture:
Singer’s Works in Theatre and Film – Instructor: Prof. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska
8/22 Friday – Warsaw – The Center for Yiddish Culture – Lecture: Introduction to
Singer’s Life in New York – Instructor: Prof. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska
– Evening: The Unofficial Opening of the Singer Cultural Festival in Warsaw.
8/23 Saturday – The Singer Cultural Festival in Warsaw
8/24 Sunday – The Singer Cultural Festival in Warsaw
8/25 Monday – Return to New York
REQUIRED READING:
Isaac Bashevis Singer: The Family Moskat
Isaac Bashevis Singer: The Magician of Lublin
Isaac Bashevis Singer: The Slave
Isaac Bashevis Singer: Enemies - a Love Story
Isaac Bashevis Singer: Shosha
Isaac Bashevis Singer: Yentl the Yeshiva Boy
Isaac Bashevis Singer: The Penitent
GRADING: TBD
FACULTY (IN POLAND):
(*) Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska – Professor of American Literature and
Comparative Studies; director of the Department of Jewish History and Culture in
the School of Culture Studies at the Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin;
translator of American and Yiddish Literature; Editor of “Akcent”; member of the
editorial board of “Pollin: Studies in Polish Jewry” published annually by Brandeis
University in the US; author of “Poland of Isaac Bashevis Singer – The Farewell and
Return” (1994)
(**) Karolina Szymaniak Ph.D. – Lecturer of Yiddish, editor, translator, and specialist
in comparative literature. Graduate of the Warsaw University with the doctorate
from The Jagiellonian University in Cracow. Studied under Prof. Jacek Leociak, Prof.
Eugenia Prokop-Janiec and Prof. Ewa Geller. Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly
“Cwiszn”, member of the editorial board of the “New Res Publika”. Teacher of
Yiddish Language at the Vilnius University, recipient of numerous awards – among
them the Minister of Education, the Center of Studies of the Culture and History of
East European Jews and the Ryoichi Sasakawa Foundation. Author of Stay With Us
(2006). Dr. Szymaniak specializes in modern Yiddish literature, modernism and
avangarde, and women’s studies. She is a Board Member of the Polish Society for
Yiddish Studies.
(***) Jan Jagielski, M.Sc. – author of numerous books and publications concerning
Jewish history and heritage in Poland. Lecturer and restorer of Jewish art and
artifacts. The foremost authority on Jewish historical architecture. A specialist in the
Holocaust Studies at the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw. Recipient of the Jan
Karski Award and Distinguished Cross of Polonia Restituta in 2008 for “discovery,
collection, preservation and publication of the truth about the Holocust”.