Proposed Courses

 A serious and fun class, to learn Yiddish, a serious and fun language.  That’s right.  Yiddish is a full language, not just a collection of silly words to make you look cute (though it helps.)  Its got its own alphabet, grammar, vocabulary and rhythm.  It is a national language for Jews, but has no affiliation with any state (well, except for the Soviet Union, and still Russia, and maybe we'll get the chance to talk about that episode.)
This will be a fairly formal class, using elements from a textbook, doing grammar exercises, practicing conversations, memorizing song lyrics, writing our own literature - And then… by the fourth week of August, when Yiddish speakers gather from all over the country for a whole week of Yiddish-speaking community in Reiserstown, you’ll be ready to go meet them, hang out and shmoozn!  This class is designed to meet for 8 consecutive Tuesday evenings, so please be prepared to make that commitment.  I would even like to continue the process through August so we can really be ready for all the good Yiddish which will be up in Reiserstown.  There’s a lot of really exciting Yiddish here in Baltimore already, so the class may include guest speakers and field trips.

This course has no prerequisites, but if you have a familiarity with the Hebrew alphabet and a Germanic language (say, English for example,) you'll have a good head start.

We will examine 5 Western European counties: Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden (also Russia and Norway if there is significant interest). We will look at the broad histories of these countries to get an understanding of why their governments are the way they are today. We will then examine the political economies, organization of the states, legislatures, and political parties. Lastly, we will take on a comparativist approach with these countries.
The book we will use: “European Politics in Transition” 6th Edition Revised. Authored by Mark Kesselman and Joel Krieger. Obtaining this book is not a necessity but is highly encouraged.

We will have group discussions towards the end of the class, create a couple of easy-to-do charts to help keep track of relevant information, and perhaps something spontaneous and fun!
Students are encouraged to ask questions, read the assigned chapters, and bring in (or send me a link prior to class) articles relating to the subject.
My teaching style will include the use of a blackboard (if one is available), Powerpoint will be used to highlight important topics, and most importantly, this will be a discussion.
 
 

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This course will focus primarily on the ways in which Jews and Africans relate to the cultures in which they find themselves displaced by the experience of diaspora, with considerations of the comparisons and contrasts to be drawn between the two diasporic experiences. Topics will include but are not limited to:

--Modern Jewish engagement with and relation to European and American culture and society, as well as African engagement with the same.
--The tendency of Africans to relate to the Jewish diasporic experience within the context of new-world slavery.
--A critical assessment of this obvious diasporic parallel between Jews and Africans, focusing primarily on the question of whether or not the comparison is even fair.

We will read selections from texts by authors such as* Mendele Moykher-Sforim, Olaudah Equiano, Abraham Cahan, and Joe Feagin.

The course will be taught in a Socratic seminar format, in which I will guide discussions of the materials we will be reading but will not be a “teacher” in the traditional sense of the word; this of course means that I will be learning from students just as much as they might be learning from me. Our learning will be one of dialogue, not monologue.

Students will simply be expected to have read the material and be prepared to discuss it with an open mind. Furthermore, I will encourage but not require students to propose their own topics (*and, in turn, readings) for further discussions as the course progresses. The topics listed above are merely intended to be a foundational framework from which we will expand in directions which we see fit as an educational collective studying these critical issues.

Beer is one of the world's oldest beverages. In fact, beer is two thousand years older than wine. It is a fantastic cultural tool that tells us about a society, its values, and the factors acting on it.
the contents of the course:
The history of beer and brewing will be looked at and appreciated.
The history of American beer and brewing will also be examined.
The rise of American craft beer and its relationship to the cultural revolution in America will also be looked at.
Homebrewing 101
Beer styles and its relationship to food will be discussed and observed.