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Shakespeare and the Jews
- Pacific Time Virtual Program
$54.00
Course Summary for Search and Accessibility
This course, Shakespeare and the Jews, is [an Educational Program offered by New Lehrhaus. It is scheduled to begin on 5/31/2026 and conclude on 6/14/2026. The sessions are held weekly on Sundays from 10:00am to 11:30am Pacific.
The total registration fee is $54.00. The course is conducted Online via Zoom and focuses on Jewish "presence through absence" in Elizabethan London, and modern Jewish response to classical English literature.
Did William Shakespeare share our Jewish values, or was he merely reflecting the prejudices of his time? Join acclaimed poet and scholar Dr. Aviva Dautch for a provocative exploration of Jewish identity in the Bard’s work. Moving beyond a simple reading of Shylock, we will examine how Elizabethan England imagined "the Jew" in an era of official expulsion. From the stinging rhetoric of The Merchant of Venice to the enduring mystery of whether the "Dark Lady" of the Sonnets was a Jewish woman, we will uncover how Shakespeare’s plays served as a mirror for both Renaissance anxieties and modern Jewish identity.
Who this is for
- Readers interested in a modern Jewish response to classical English literature.
- Fans of poetry and sonnets who want to explore the hidden identities behind Shakespeare's most famous muses.
- Students of history and theater curious about the Jewish "presence through absence" in Elizabethan London.
- Anyone who enjoys close literary readings that connect 16th-century texts to contemporary cultural values.
What you'll leave with
- A deeper understanding of the historical and religious context that shaped Shakespeare's Jewish characters.
- New insights into the Amelia Bassano (Dark Lady) theory and its implications for Jewish literary history.
- The ability to analyze The Merchant of Venice through the dual lens of a 16th-century spectator and a 21st-century Jewish reader.
- A sharpened critical vocabulary for discussing how "outsider" identities are constructed in the Western canon.
Three Sundays: May 31, June 7 and June 14, 10–11:30am Pacific
IMPORTANT NOTE: Zoom link/details will be emailed to you once you complete registration, one week before your program AND the day before. Please keep this information in a location easy to find.
How many people would you like to register for this program?
| Shakespeare and the Jews | $54.00 100 available | |
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