Research Catalog

How the wise men got to Chelm : the life and times of a Yiddish folk tradition

Title
How the wise men got to Chelm : the life and times of a Yiddish folk tradition / Ruth von Bernuth.
Author
Bernuth, Ruth von
Publication
New York : New York University Press, [2016]

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
TextUse in library JFE 17-286Schwarzman Building - Dorot Jewish Division Room 111

Details

Description
xiii, 317 pages : illustrations, map; 24 cm
Summary
"How the Wise Men Got to Chelm is the first in-depth study of Chelm literature and its relationship to its literary precursors. By placing literary Chelm and its 'foolish' antecedents in a broader historical context, it shows how they have functioned for over three hundred years as models of society, somewhere between utopia and dystopia. These imaginary foolish towns have enabled writers both to entertain and highlight a variety of societal problems, a function that literary Chelm continues to fulfill in Jewish literature to this day"--From publisher description.
Subjects
Genre/Form
Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-294) and index.
Contents
How the wise men got to Gotham: the fools of Chelm take Manhattan -- How foolish is Jewish culture? Fools, Jews, and the carnivalesque culture of early modernity -- Through the land of foolish culture: from Laleburg to Schildburg Gentile fools speaking Yiddish: the Schildbürgerbuch for Jewish readers -- The Enlightenment goes East: how Democritus of Abdera got to Galicia -- The geography of folly: the folklorists and the invention of Chelm -- Chelm tales after World War One in German and Yiddish: "Our Schilda" and "Our Chelm Correspondent" -- The once and future Chelm.
Call Number
JFE 17-286
ISBN
  • 9781479828449
  • 1479828440
LCCN
2016018942
OCLC
947190969
Author
Bernuth, Ruth von, author.
Title
How the wise men got to Chelm : the life and times of a Yiddish folk tradition / Ruth von Bernuth.
Publisher
New York : New York University Press, [2016]
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-294) and index.
Research Call Number
JFE 17-286
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