YIVO and the making of modern Jewish culture : scholarship for the Yiddish nation / Cecile Esther Kuznitz, Bard College.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-293) and index.

Machine generated contents note: Language and Nation -- Folk and Elite -- Past and Present -- Objectivity and Engagement -- Diaspora and State -- Sources and Organization -- 1. "Language Raised to the Level of a Political Factor": Yiddish Scholarship before YIVO -- Introduction: Setting the Stage -- Precursors: Collection, Publishing, and Teaching -- World War I and Its Aftermath -- Wandering Scholars -- Nokhem Shtif and the Dilemmas of Yiddish Scholarship -- Conclusion -- 2. "The Idea of the Institute Is Already Ripe": The Founding and First Stages of YIVO, 1924 -- 1925 -- Introduction: Rising Interest in a Yiddish Institute -- The Initial Plan and Reactions -- The Mission of the Institute -- The Start of Scholarly Work -- Conclusion -- 3. "From the Folk, For the Folk, With the Folk": Academic Work, 1925 -- 1932 -- Introduction: To Serve the Folk -- Dos zamlen -- Balancing Past and Present -- Scholarship for the People -- The Dilemmas of Political Engagement -- Conclusion

4. "The Capital of Yiddishland": The Geography of Jewish Culture, 1925 -- 1933 -- Introduction: The Mystique of Vilna -- Yiddish Scholarship between East and West -- The Geography of Funding -- YIVO at a Watershed -- "The Temple of Yiddish Scholarship" -- Conclusion -- 5. "To Forge Intellectual Weapons for Our People!": Scholarship in Times of Crisis, 1931 -- 1939 -- Introduction: "Jewish Reality Has Changed" -- Recovering Finances and the World Convention -- New Directions in Scholarship -- Engaging the Jewish Public -- Publications and Language Planning -- Scholarship in Times of Crisis -- Conclusion -- Epilogue: From Vilna to New York -- World War II and Its Aftermath -- YIVO in the United States -- Conclusion -- The Reality of Interwar Yiddish Culture Versus the YIVO Myth -- Academic Achievements and Symbolic Significance -- The Economy of Yiddish Culture.

Text in English and Yiddish.