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Israeli literature has always been intensely interested in issues publicly debated in Israeli society: such as arguments over the meaning of Zionism, the role of the Holocaust in Israeli politics and culture, the
relation between Jewish and Israeli
identity, the significance of ethnic differences in Israeli society, and Israeli-Arab relations. Central to all of these issues is the creation of the "New Jew" proposed by Zionism: strong, secular, and national, as
opposed to the presumed "weak"
superstitious or cosmopolitan character of the Diaspora Jew.
In this course, we will focus on the ways in which Israeli writers engage and often question the "New Jew". Israeli literature thus provides powerful
commentary on current controversies
around "post-Zionism," the "new historians," and the Oslo Accords. Israeli novelists are usually widely read social critics, and Israeli novels are public events, sparking debates in the media that go well beyond the
evaluation of their literary merits.
With all its diversity, Israeli literature focuses primarily on what is suppressed or excluded by the "New Jew": this focus illuminates the ways in which the borders of identity are connected to the construction of
national borders.
We will famili
arize ourselves with some of the issues in contemporary Israeli politics and culture through excerpts from some Israeli cultural critics like Meron Benveniste, Yoram Hazony, Yeshayahu Leibowitz, Amos Oz and Anton
Shammas. Mostly, though, we will focus on
the way in which Israeli novelists, both those of the "center" and less well-known, more "marginal" writers, have addressed these issues. These writers, in addition to providing a complex diversity of views on
contemporary Israel, also provide new ways
of thinking about tradition and modernity, identity and difference, in an increasingly hybrid postmodern world.
Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.
COURSE FORMAT: Seminar
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: NONE Grading Mode: Graded
Prerequisites: NONE
Last Updated on MAR-19-2002
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459