ISRAEL STUDIES COURSES
SPRING 2024
ISRL 205 - Becoming Israeli – Gen Ed: H
Cross listed: JUST 205 / COLI 280G
Time: T/R 11:40-1:05
Instructor: Lior Libman
At the center of Becoming Israeli stands a protagonist in the process of becoming:
a youngster being educated, learning about themselves, about the world, and about
life, overcoming obstacles, maturing, forming their identity. In this class, we will
explore the thematic and structural characteristics of such narratives, focusing on
Israeli examples in their historical and cultural contexts. We will look at tensions
between the individual and their society in the moral and psychological development
of the protagonist, and will delve into questions of national affinities, class, gender
and sexuality in their passage from childhood to adulthood. The course is an Area
Course in Literature for the Minor in Israel Studies, a Literature Course for the
Major/Minor in Hebrew, and an Area Course in Israel Studies for the Major/Minor in
Judaic Studies.
ISRL 280M - Antisemitism in History – Gen Ed: G
Cross listed: JUST 248 / HIST 285D
Time: W 4:40-7:40
Instructor: Allan Arkush
This course will begin with an examination of the roots of Jew-hatred in ancient times
and the Middle Ages. It will concentrate on the emergence of modern antisemitism in
19th century Europe and the ways in which it spread throughout the world in the 20th
and 21st centuries. The course will focus on antisemitic ideologies as well as antisemitic
mass movements. This course meets Judaic Studies major/minor survey requirement.
ISRL 315 – Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - Gen Eds G, N
Cross listed: JUST 315 / ARAB 385C / HIST 385J
Time: M/W/F 10:50 - 11:50 a.m.
Instructor: Shay Rabineau
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Israel-Palestine comprises the territory that lies
between the Mediterranean Sea (on the west), Lebanon (in the north), the Gulf of Aqaba
and the Sinai Peninsula (on the south) and the Jordan River (on the east). Although
it covers a small geographic area and includes a relatively small population (compare
present-day Israel's 8 million citizens with Egypt's 90 million), the dispute between
the two rival sets of nationalisms which claim the sole right to control this territory
has remained at the forefront of international attention for more than half a century.
This course will examine the origins of the Arab-Israeli dispute from the mid-nineteenth
century through the founding of the state of Israel and expulsion/flight of three
quarters of a million Palestinians from their homes till the present day. Among the
topics to be examined: the social history of Palestine up to Zionist colonization,
the origins of Zionism and Palestinian nationalism, varieties of Zionism, Zionism
and colonialism, seminal events and their consequent symbolic connotations (the 1936
"Great Revolt," the 1948 "Nakba" [disaster]) and creation of the state of Israel,
the construction of a national consensus in Israel, 1967 and its aftermath, the intifada,
and the redefinition of the conflict as a result of Oslo, the second intifada, the
security fence, HAMAS, Hizbollah and the Lebanon War.
ISRL 324 - The Kibbutz in Israeli Culture – Gen Ed: H
Cross listed: JUST 385B
Time: T/R 2:50-4:15
Instructor: Lior Libman
The course focuses on representations of the kibbutz, a unique Israeli social formation
which aimed at combining Zionism and Socialism, nation-building and the construction
of a new, just society. Throughout the past hundred years, the kibbutz has been portrayed
in countless literary texts and visual images. In this class, we will analyze and
discuss selected literary and cinematic works from different genres and periods to
examine the history of the kibbutz-image and the relationship between it and the kibbutz’s
history, while also asking, in a broader context, how social and political visions
are shaped in, and are shaping, images. Texts will be read in translation. No previous
knowledge is required, but for students who took Intro to Israeli Lit. this course
will be a continuation of their studies. The course is an Area Course in Literature
for the Minor in Israel Studies, a Literature Course for the Major/Minor in Hebrew,
and an Area Course in Israel Studies for the Major/Minor in Judaic Studies.
ISRL 385A - Blockchain, Crypto & Jewish History – Gen Ed: H
Cross listed: JUST 384G / HIST 385L
Time: T/R 11:40-1:05
Instructor: Michael Kelly
In this course, students will learn what blockchain, crypto and the decentralization
movement are and what they can mean for History and the Humanities, with Jewish History
as our historical case study. The next stage in the development of the Digital Humanities
is its integration of distributed ledger technology in the form of blockchain. The
Humanities are only beginning to think about how to productively communicate with
and deploy the world of blockchain and its decentralized technology and political
mission in its profession. But what is already clear is that blockchain and its array
of tools will force the Humanities and Higher Education as a whole to rethink and
transform or face becoming outmoded and disconnected from the public, becoming historical
relics instead of historical agents. But, how precisely will blockchain decentralize
History and the Humanities, and what will this mean for Jewish History?
ISRL 385B - Holocaust Fiction - Gen Ed: C, H
Cross listed: JUST 441 / COLI 480T / ENG 450J
Time: W 4:40-7:40 p.m.
Instructor: PW Burch
Issues of memory, representation, and voice are addressed in the reading of Holocaust
fiction. The class reads through the prism of the literature of witness novels and
short stories—most by Holocaust survivors—including works by Appelfeld, Fink, Borowski,
Grynberg, Lustig, Nomberg- Przytyk, Rawicz, Kosinski, and Wiesel. Several short papers,
mid-term examination, and final examination are required. Accompanied by a speaker/lecture
series. Notes: prerequisite, sophomore standing; not appropriate for first-year students.
Required texts may include: Lawrence Langer, Art from the Ashes (Anthology), Piotr
Rawicz, Blood from the Sky, Jerzy Kosiński, The Painted Bird, Elie Wiesel, Gates of
the Forest, Hans Keilson, The Death of the Adversary, David Grossman, See Under: Love,
André Schwarz-Bart, The Last of the Just.
ISRL 386K - Post Holocaust Lit - Gen Ed: C, H
Cross listed: JUST 343 / COLI 331F / ENG 380J
Time: M 4:40-7:40 p.m.
Instructor: PW Burch
This course addresses primarily fiction and memoir written after the Holocaust by
second- and third-generation descendants of survivors of the Shoah. Central to our
reading will be issues of representation, authenticity, the role of memory, the problems
and limits of language, questions of trauma, the phenomenon of post-memory, and the
development of post-Holocaust Jewish identities. Note: Not appropriate for first-year
students.
