Of the many novels that explore the American Jewish experience, this course focuses on five, with many questions in mind. What is meant by “American Jewish literature” and what makes a novel “great”? How and to what end do our novels draw on literature in the American or Jewish tradition? What status can English hope to achieve as a “Jewish” language, in relation to Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian, and other languages? How does literature respond to various streams of Judaism and to the Hebrew Bible and Hebrew liturgy? What are the helps and hazards of reading fiction with the author`s life in mind? What is the role of humor in capturing the American Jewish experience? Select criticism will help us in approaching these questions.

We will devote one week to each of the below books, except for As a Driven Leaf, to which we will devote two. We will read the whole book for both of these classes. We will read the books in chronological order, as given below.

COURSE FORMAT
This is an interactive online seminar course that meets weekly over 6 weeks. Live online sessions will use the zoom platform. Weekly reading or other forms of materials may be assigned. Weekly sessions will be recorded and available for registered participants to access throughout the course.
There are no papers or grades. This course does not offer any credits or certificates. This course is intended for learning for the love of learning.

COURSE MATERIALS
Please borrow or purchase the following books for this course. (edition to acquire is in parentheses)
Anzia Yezierska, Bread Givers, 1925 (Edition: Persea Books, 2003)

Milton Steinberg, As A Driven Leaf, 1939 (Edition: Behrman House, with intro by Chaim Potok and foreword Rabbi David Wolpe)

Cynthia Ozick, The Puttermesser Papers, 1997 (Edition: Vintage, 1998)

Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, 2001 (Edition: Random House Trade Paperbacks; Reprint edition (January 1, 2012))

Philip Roth, Exit Ghost (2007, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)


Registrants will receive access to the course website and the zoom links about two weeks before the course starts.

COURSE CANCELLATION POLICY
Registrants can cancel and receive a full refund up to March 10. After March 10, there will be no refunds issued.
Yale Alumni College courses are subject to schedule changes as well as cancellations. If Yale Alumni College must cancel any course prior to its start due to low enrollment, you will be notified of this by the cancellation date. Upon cancellation of a course, registrants may transfer their registration to another available course or have the registration fee fully refunded.

In the event of a disruption to the original course schedule, including but not limited to; Professor absence, hazardous weather conditions, or local travel restrictions, Yale Alumni College will do its best to reschedule the missed class for the week immediately following the original end date at the same course time and day.