Yiddish Resources

Columbia University has a long and distinguished history of Yiddish studies. But there are many more reasons to study Yiddish at Columbia:
 

  • Columbia maintains a close relationship with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, allowing students to avail themselves of the world's largest library and archives relating to Yiddish culture. YIVO also offers special tutorials and courses, open to Columbia students, which complement University offerings.
     
  • Columbia undergraduates and graduate students can also register for Yiddish literature courses at the Jewish Theological Seminary a few blocks away, and take advantage of the Seminary's excellent library and rare Yiddish book collection.
     
  • New York City is a flourishing center for Yiddish literature, theater, and communal affairs. It's also the home of traditional religious communities which continue to speak in Yiddish. Columbia thus provides a natural home for students to study and to experience Yiddish literary and cultural activity.
     
  • Columbia is the home of the ongoing research project, The Language and Culture Atlas of Ashkenazic Jewry. The project's sound recordings of detailed and lengthy interviews with native Yiddish speakers, accompanied by transcripts and maps, represent the most extensive extant archival collection on the life and culture of Ashkenazic Jews. Under Marvin Herzog's direction, three volumes of a projected series have already been published, and recent efforts have guaranteed that material will not only be permanently preserved, but partially indexed and digitized for future research. This invaluable resource is available for research and study by Columbia students.