Jewish Studies 251 - WOMEN/GENDER IN ISRAELI SOCIET

Explores the ways in which gender (both, masculinities and femininities, and gender ideologies) have shaped Israeli society, and how masculinity, femininity and gender relations are constantly reinterpreted and reconstructed. Like most other industrialized countries, one can identify instances of gender discrimination and complex gender relations in Israel. Yet, some of the unique features of Israel, such as the centrality of military service, the dominance of religious institutions, pro-natalism (high fertility rates), and the importance of traditional family structures find themselves in friction with the emergence of another Israeli society that sees itself as secular, post-Zionist, and globalized. The course takes a feminist and sociological approach to exploring how sensitivity to gender enhances our understanding of this complex society. (E)