Course Description
An introduction to the fiction, poetry, drama, and film inspired by the Arab-Israeli conflict, focusing on Hebrew and Palestinian authors. Special emphasis will be placed on the relevance of the texts under discussion to the ethical and political issues of contemporary society, including the United States.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be expected to engage critically with the
material on a level that conforms with the standards of
scholarship set forth by the Graduate School. For every primary
text assigned, graduate students will be required to examine a
minimum of two critical articles and demonstrate that they can
integrate their knowledge of secondary sources with their own
analysis of the primary text. Graduate student papers will be
twice the length of undergraduate student papers and involve a
substantial research component: they will be asked to incorporate
primary evidence (historical, archeological, philological) into
an integrated analysis of the text or texts they choose to
examine.
Athena Title
Israel or Palestine
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The objective of this course is to introduce students to a wide variety of literature dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict in general and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular, with emphasis on the Hebrew and Palestinian fiction, drama, poetry, and film. Special emphasis will be placed on the relevance of these texts to contemporary society. Students will gain a scholarly familiarity with some of the central issues of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the literature that responds to it. Through careful analysis of such works as Emil Habibi's The Secret Life of Saeed and Hanoch Levin's Murder, students will acquire a better knowledge of the social, historical, political, and cultural contexts within which such texts were created, from the early Zionist movement and settlement in Palestine down to the presentday. In addition, through oral presentations and expository assignments, the course will help students develop their critical thinking and communication skills.
Topical Outline
The course is organized around readings from works of fiction, poetry, drama, and film that deal with the Arab-Israeli conflict. Special emphasis will be placed on the relevance of these texts to contemporary society around the world. Specific works under analysis will vary with the individual instructor. Topics covered include: The Zionist movement; Relations between Jewish colonies and the indigenous population during the British Mandate; The War of Independence and the Nakba; Language and colonization; Nationalism, race, and gender; war, trauma, and political resistance. The following is a sample syllabus of readings for a single semester: Yizhar. Khirbet Khizeh Habibi. The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist A.B. Yehoshua. The Lover Levin. Murder Gorssman. The Yellow Wind Adjusting Sights Kashua. Second Person Singular; Dancing Arabs Leshem. Beaufort Sacco. Palestine Folman. Waltz with Bashir Maoz. Lebanon Darwish. Memory for Forgetfulness; The Butterfly's Burden
Syllabus