Courses > 2010 Spring

Electives

CINE 159 - The City in Israeli Literature and Film

COML 282 | JWST 102 | NELC 159
401 | TR 1:30-3pm | VANP FLMCR

This course focuses on the artistic ways in which the Israeli city, be it Jerusalem, Haifa or Tiberias, is represented in Israeli literature and film. The emotional and physical connection between the writer and his/her place of dwelling is transformed in the literary or cinematic work. The artistic depiction of the city reflects the inner world as well as ideological and political conflicts and highlights questions of belonging. The “city” may become a locus for national expression, of gender identification, or even of pure aesthetic enchantment. We will analyze how, through her portrayals of the Carmel Mountain and the Haifa bay, Yehudit Katzir expresses the complex bond with her mother; how Tel Aviv’s streets enable Dahlia Ravikovitch to examine questions of loyalty; how the “Jerusalems” of A.B. Yehoshua and Yehuda Amichai reflect their loves and hatreds and how the film director Shemi Zarhin sings a love song to the Sea of Galilee through shooting his film in his native Tiberias. There will be five film screenings; the films will also be placed on reserve at the library for those students unable to attend the screenings. The content of this course changes from year to year, and therefore, students may take it for credit more than once. Fulfills Arts & Letters Sector (all classes) and Cross Cultural Analysis – Class of ’10 and after.