XClose

UCL Hebrew & Jewish Studies

Menu

Dr Sonia Gollance appointed Lecturer in Yiddish

16 February 2021

The Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies is glad to announce the appointment of Dr Sonia Gollance to the position of Lecturer in Yiddish, following the retirement last year of Dr Helen Beer.

portrait of sonia gollance outside

The Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies is glad to announce the appointment of Dr Sonia Gollance to the position of Lecturer in Yiddish, following the retirement last year of Dr Helen Beer. The appointment was made possible through the generous support of an anonymous funder.

cover of book sonia gollance It Could Lead to Dancing: Mixed-Sex Dancing and Jewish Modernity
Sonia has been, until recently, Director of Yiddish Studies at the Ohio State University, and she is currently a Teaching and Research Associate (Universitätsassistent) in Vienna University. She is a great scholar in Yiddish and German-Jewish Studies, with a specialization in literature, dance, theatre, and gender. Her first book, based on her University of Pennsylvania doctoral thesis, will be published this year with Stanford University Press, under the engaging title: It Could Lead to Dancing: Mixed-Sex Dancing and Jewish Modernity. Sonia has also been active in the Digital Yiddish Theatre Project, in dance and drama productions, and many more creative projects. Her research and her work in the performative arts intersect with the work of many other colleagues in the Department.

Staff and students all look forward to welcoming her in the Department, from this coming September, where she will be offering courses in Yiddish language, literature, and culture.

There is a historical twist to this appointment: Sonia is not the first Gollance in the Department. Dr Hermann Gollancz (b. Bremen 1852 – d. London 1930) was Goldsmid Professor of Hebrew at UCL from 1902 to 1924, and indeed, the first Jew to earn a doctorate from the University of London. Related or not (this needs more research!), it is nice to be reminded of our illustrious history.

Related News