Curious about the connection between the color yellow and the Jewish people?

Join us for a journey into the origins of art and fashion and the relations to identity and Antisemitism. Explore how art has been used to influence people’s thoughts and learn about the symbols used in art and design throughout history. From forced accessories to the continuing significance of blood libels, we’ll uncover fascinating insights that resonate even today. 

We will dive into stories from the past, and give a glimpse into the future by introducing technology and creativity. Get ready for an eye-opening experience right from the start!

The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.

Prior knowledge

No prior knowledge about the subject is needed.

To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.

Course material

Course material is included in the cost for this course.

About the teacher

Roei Derhi is a visionary fashion designer and a graduate of Shenkar School. Since 2016, he has been based in Stockholm. He was handpicked by H&M as a student, joining their design team and gaining valuable insights into global fashion. He is the founder of PLACEBO, a digital fashion house that converges technology and fashion. Additionally, he serves as a lecturer at Shenkar College and Beckmans. He is a dynamic speaker on cutting-edge topics such as the Metaverse, digital fashion, and fashion tech.

Photo: A yellow garment, the color that has been associated with Jews from the 8th century (CE, common era) through the medieval period. The model in the picture is wearing yellow, presenting a modern interpretation of the Judenhut—the hat Jews were forced to wear in the 13th century. The illustration was made by Roei Derhi by using graphic design and AI software.

Welcome to a series of meetings dedicated to Klezmer music!

We will explore the fantastic and rich repertoire of Eastern-European and American Jewish instrumental folk music: its joyful and melancholic melodies, how to interpret and embellish them with traditional ornamentations, discovering the structure of the melodies and their modes, as well as how to accompany the various dance forms with their diverse and characteristic rhythmical patterns.

The course is taught by ear: participants must have intermediate knowledge of their instruments (no beginners), aka know the names of notes and corresponding positions on their instruments. Music scores are made accessible at the end of the lessons but we will not be reading from them in class. Participants are expected to learn the melodies by heart to proceed with learning how to embellish and accompany them.

In addition, the participants will have access to EDU Soundtrap, an online platform for recording multi-track, to be used as a tool for practicing at home and creating their own arrangements, and will be introduced to MuseScore, an open-source and free music notation software, to be used as a tool for analysis of the tunes learned in the class. The course combines in-person and online meetings and will conclude with a concert.

This course is given in English, in collaboration with Svenska Klezmerföreningen.

Course structure

The course combines in-person meetings at the school and digital meetings online. You cannot partake in the course solely online.

• 4 meet-ups at the school on Thursday evenings (6/2, 13/2, 20/2, 27/2).
• 3 meet-ups at the school daytime on Sundays.
• 6 meet-ups online via Zoom on evenings (weekday and time to be set during the course).
• 1 concluding concert (date and time to be set during the course).

More information will be sent in the admission letter, if you are accepted to the course.

Group division

The participants will be divided into groups depending on the level of knowledge of their instruments and experience in learning by ear. Following on how many groups and participants, each group will meet for 1-2 hours. 

Prior knowledge

Open to instrumentalists with at least an intermediate level of experience on their instruments (no beginners). Due to its focus on melodies and ornamentations, the course is not suitable for guitar players. Participants are asked to bring their own instruments.

To apply, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.

Course material

Course material is included in the cost for this course. Participants bring their own instruments.

About the teacher

Valeria Conte (valeriaclarinetta.com) is a multi-talented Italian clarinetist who has been studying and performing Klezmer music since 2006, investigating its connection to Jewish culture and civilization. She has attended various seminars and workshops about Klezmer music and Yiddish singing & culture in Europe and beyond. BA in classical clarinet and MA in global music, Valeria has been performing internationally within multicultural settings and other various World music styles. She currently performs in Stockholm with her band Valeria’s Klezmer Chariot and is the leader and organizer of the Open-Air Klezmer Jam Sessions – OAKJS.

Photo: Aaro Keipi.

Our conception of Jewish women on the threshold of modernity is generally forged by the intellectual and social fame of Jewish Salonières. The flamboyancy of individuals like the romantic writer Dorothea Mendelssohn/Veit/Schlegel and Esther Gad/Bernard/Domeier (also known as the German Wollstonecraft), Rahel Levin/Varnhagen and Henriette de Lemos/Herz (whose salons were instrumental in spreading Goethe’s fame throughout Germany), or Fanny Itzig/von Arnstein (who hosted high ranking diplomats during the Congress of Vienna, 1814-15) overshadows the lives and achievements of other Jewish women. While most Salonières sought fame and recognition in non-Jewish society, other women aspired to realize their ambitions in the language of traditional Jewry. The memoirs of the Jewish merchant Glikl of Hameln (1746/47-1724) will serve as our starting point in the quest for female role models in Jewish society through three centuries. The Jewish feminist and social worker Bertha Pappenheim (1859-1936), better known as Freud’s patient “Anna O.”, helps us to bridge the cultural gap with her translations of traditional Yiddish literature into German.

This course traces the lives of Jewish women in central Europe from 1700 until the Holocaust. Starting from different role models that Jewish society/societies ascribed to women during this period, we will discuss possibilities and limitations of female self-assertion. The actual and written biographies of Jewish women will therefore be contrasted with authoritative texts of traditional, enlightened and bourgeois Jewish society, respectively. The course thus combines Jewish cultural history and Gender Studies.

The course is given in collaboration with the Center for Jewish Cultural History, Paris Lodron University, Salzburg and Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.

Prior knowledge

No prior knowledge about the subject is needed.

To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.

Course material

All course material is not included in the cost for this course. You will receive information regarding which course books to purchase on your own, if you get accepted to the course.

About the teacher

Louise Hecht was recently the Lilli and Michael Sommerfreund guest professor at the Hochschule für Jüdische Studien in Heidelberg, Germany. She studied Judaic Studies, German and Spanish literature at the University Vienna, Austria. She holds a PhD in Jewish History from The Hebrew University, Jerusalem (summa cum laude) and a habilitation in Jewish Cultural History from the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg. Her teaching and research focus on cultural and intellectual history, gender studies, printing culture and popular culture in Israel. 

Photo: Bertha Pappenheim (1859-1936) dressed as der Glikl bas Judah Leib. Leopold Pilichowski, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

A Spiritual Care course for all faiths and none, for professionals, volunteers and those generally interested, addressing key topics that those offering care in communities will face.

Community leaders, clergy and volunteers are called to offer spiritual care in a wide range of settings, at home, on the street, from hospitals to care facilities, from prisons to homeless shelters and for people in different life stages. Spiritual care is offered to children, teenagers and adults, to those who face addiction, illness and death, to those bereaved and to those facing transition and struggle. Spiritual care is any formal or informal interaction in which spiritual and emotional support is offered.

In this course people who are already engaged in providing support and mentoring to communities, those who might be preparing to take on new caring roles and those interested in the topic will explore different ideas and methods of spiritual care.

A prime focus of our course is the elevation of our capacity to listen and how we can offer care for those most vulnerable.

We will also work on our own personal examination and reflection on the toughest parts of what it is to be human. We can better care for others when we better understand our own emotional and spiritual challenges.

The course covers the following key topics: Anxiety and Depression, Community inclusion, Disaster Response, End of Life Spiritual Care, Hospital Chaplaincy, Old Age Spiritual Care, Spiritual Care for Children, Spiritual Care for LGBTQ+, Spiritual Care for Teenagers, Spiritual Care for those in Relationships.  

The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden. 

Target group 

People who are already engaged in providing support and mentoring to communities, those who might be preparing to take on new caring roles and those interested in the topic are warmly invited to explore different ideas and methods of spiritual care in this course. 

Prior knowledge

See above under the heading “target group”.

To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.

Course material

Course material is included in the cost for this course.

About the teacher

Oliver Spike Joseph, born in the United Kingdom, trained as a rabbi in Israel and the United States. His passion for spiritual care comes, in part, from surviving cancer at a young age and the passing away of his mother and youngest sister. Oliver has worked for small and large communities across the UK, Israel, USA and Europe, and he currently serves as a prison chaplain. Oliver is passionate about the development of pastoral and spiritual care in all the places we meet people. Read more about Oliver on his website.

Photo: Paideia/Canva.

This Page is not Available in English.

What exactly is the Feldenkrais Method? Is it perhaps Jewish Yoga, or 20th-century Yiddish Judo?

Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais (1904-1984), hailing from East European Jewry, was not only a physicist, but also a Judo master. Struggling with a debilitating knee injury, he embarked on a remarkable journey of self-rehabilitation, teaching himself how to walk again. Later on, by drawing from his experience in Judo, observing infant motor and sensory development, and studying several disciplines, he went on to develop a method aimed at improving functions (such as standing, walking, breathing, and perceiving) by enhancing self-awareness.

In our sessions, you will delve into 10 Awareness Through Movement lessons crafted by Dr. Feldenkrais himself. Through these sessions, you’ll unravel unconscious holding patterns that impede your vitality, discovering newfound, natural modes of movement. This journey isn’t just about physicality; it’s about forging a deeper connection with your body and, in turn, with your entire being.

While the experiential aspect forms the cornerstone of our course, we’ll also explore insights from the book “The Feldenkrais Method: Power of Self-Transformation” by Israeli philosopher and Feldenkrais teacher, Abraham Mansbach.

Come and learn by way of sensing, noticing, and studying – the Feldenkrais way!

The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden. 

Prior knowledge

Both new and previous participants are welcome to apply. 

To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.

Course material

Course material is included in the cost for this course.

About the teacher

Elisabetta Abate is a Feldenkrais® practitioner. As a young woman, she explored uncountable paths towards a better body-mind integration, until she found out that the Feldenkrais Method enables her to feel at home in herself and the situations she’s in. Thus, she joined the III Amsterdam International Feldenkrais Teachers Training (2008-2012), led by Lawrence W. Goldfarb, Ph.D., a direct pupil of Dr. Feldenkrais. Since 2009 she has been teaching the Method to groups and individuals and is currently volunteering in the working group “Feldenkrais and Scientific Research” of the International Feldenkrais Federation. After earning a Ph.D. in Oriental Studies with a specialization in Hebrew and Jewish Studies (Venice 2009), she most happily attended the Paideia One-Year Program in Jewish studies in 2009/2010.

Photo: International Feldenkrais Federation.

Humor and Irony in 20th and 21st Century Jewish Narratives

This course samples from narratives by Jewish authors employing humor and irony in their representation of various Jewish identities through the 20th and 21st centuries. After a short introduction on basic theories of irony and humor, students will read stories and watch films addressing essential issues of Jewish life in the period.

All texts will be in English, either originally, or in translation. Discussions will explore themes frequently represented with humor and irony as well as the diverse rhetorical devices with which the authors achieve such effects. Students completing this course will have an overview of the relevant theories and they will be able to identify and analyze in depth humor and irony in numerous media and on multiple levels.

The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.

Prior knowledge

No prior knowledge about the subject is needed.

To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.

Course material

Extra costs for literature, that you purchase yourself, may be applicable for this course. You will receive more information in your admission letter, if you’re accepted to the course.

About the teacher

Katalin Szlukovényi is a senior lecturer at the Department of English Studies, Eötvös Loránd University,  Budapest, Hungary. She was a Bruno Schulz Fellow at Paideia (2015-2016). The Hungarian book version of her PhD dissertation in English (Irony, Self-irony, and Humor in 20th Century Jewish American Literature) was published in 2018. Apart from her academic career, she also works as an award-winning poet, literary translator, and editor.

Photo: Canva. 

This Page is not Available in English.

Hannah Arendt is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and thought-provoking thinkers of the 20th century. However, she is also a controversial figure for various reasons. This course will delve into two crucial periods of Arendt’s life and work: her most renowned work, “The Origins of Totalitarianism”, and her time as a New Yorker journalist covering the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem.

We will explore her main ideas and writings that have made her an intriguing intellectual and philosopher, as well as the reasons behind the criticisms she faced, including the notorious false allegation that she blamed the Jews for the Holocaust.

The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.

Prior knowledge

No prior knowledge about the subject is needed.

To apply you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.

Course material

Course material is included in the cost for this course. 

About the teacher

Lior Becker, PhD, is a modern historian, teacher, and interdisciplinary scholar. His areas of expertise are Holocaust history, historiography and memory, 19th and 20th-century intellectual history, genocide studies, and Eastern-European Jewish history and culture. He has long experience teaching teens and adults in both Sweden and Israel. 

Photo: Hannah Arendt (1906-1975), AP/TT taken from sverigesradio.se.

This Page is not Available in English.