LIT 300 - Israeli Cinema: Myth, Memory, and History

This course will introduce students to the diversity, richness, and complexity of Israeli society, culture, and history through the lens of cinema. For decades, Israeli film has served as a venue for representing, reflecting on, and tackling the most pressing issues of the day, from the establishment of the state and the wars fought to the relationship between various ethnic and religious groups to the gender dynamic. Through viewing and discussing a number of major films from 1948 to today, we will investigate such topics as the memory of the Holocaust and its representation onscreen, the Arab-Israeli wars, the conflict between Ashkenazi and Mizrahi communities, the portrayal of the ultra-Orthodox and Arab minorities, the influx of Jews from the former Soviet Union, and queer identities. We’ll analyze the role played by different genres and cinematic movements and how the emergence and proliferation of streaming platforms have shifted the dynamics of production, distribution, and reception. LIT courses conducted in English.

Unit(s): 1
Group Distribution Requirement(s): Distribution Group I
Instructional Method: Lecture-conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Understand how arguments can be made, visions presented, or feelings or ideas conveyed through language or other modes of expression (symbols, movement, images, sounds, etc.).
Analyze and interpret texts, whether literary or philosophical, in English or a foreign language, or works of the visual or performing arts.
Evaluate arguments made in or about texts (whether literary or philosophical, in English or a foreign language, or works of the visual or performing arts).