Jewish Studies 236 - DOCUMENTRY FILM/CONTEMP ISRAEL

Spring
2014
01
4.00
Miriam Talmon-Bohm
TTh 03:00-04:50
Smith College
40482-S14
SEELYE 109
mtalmon@smith.edu
Documentary films are the most exciting genre in contemporary Israeli cinema. They provide the images, narratives, and framework that Israeli society employs for self-negotiation and reflection, and often challenge core myths around which collective memory congeals. In a country beset by political, religious, and ethnic tensions, Israeli documentary films have garnered international attention for their willingness to expose intercultural encounters and clashes between Israelis and Palestinians, immigrant communities from the Middle East, Africa, and the former Soviet Union, secular and religious society, center and periphery. Documentaries also expose shifting attitudes toward gender and sexuality, and sensitive debates over the meaning of historical events. The course introduces students to documentary film as a genre and method, and also to specific artistic and ideological strategies among current Israeli filmmakers. (E)
Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.