Judaic Studies 497B - ST-Israeli&Palestinian Cinema

This course uses film to interrogate an array of issues defining Israeli and Palestinian societies, including competing views of national histories. The course will open with looking at the emergence and development of Israeli and Palestinian cinematic discourses and proceed to explore the dynamic of representation from the period of British mandate, through establishment of the state of Israel, and the onset of Palestinian diaspora, the wars of 1948 and 1967, to the current era. Discussion will be structured around the following major themes: borders and walls; historical traumas; collective and interpersonal memory; cultural influences and appropriations. In addition to film, we will bring into conversation other intertexts, including media, music, and visual arts. All readings and films are with English translation.