Literatures in Translation (270-0-20)
Topic
It's Complicated: Love Stories in Hebrew Literatur
Instructors
Guy Erlich
Crowe, 5-167
Office Hours: Wednesday 1:00 - 2:00
Meeting Info
Kresge Centennial Hall 2-435: Mon, Wed 12:30PM - 1:50PM
Overview of class
It's Complicated: Love Stories in Hebrew Literature
Whether as a dangerous rival of traditional Jewish life or the only escape from the cruel, alienated modern world, love has always been a preoccupation in modern - and postmodern - Hebrew literature and culture. This course observes and discusses various depictions of the notion of "love" from the early 20th century onwards, as captured in Hebrew novels, short stories, films, and other cultural representations. What stories do Hebrew and Israeli culture tell us about love? What kinds of love (and sexualities) does it portray? And why does it seem that even the greatest love stories must be painful and complicated? Throughout the course we will explore and examine different aspects of the cultural formation of love in Hebrew literature and Israeli culture. We will discuss notions such as the eruption of love and its decline; the myth of love; the diasporic Jewish men's complex attitude toward Eros and the suffering of the abandoned wives of the shtetl; the gendered roles and power relations; the queer alternatives of love; and postmodern love. Moreover, we will adopt close reading practices in order to critically read and interpret different literary texts from different perspectives and prisms - social, political, historical and cultural. The literary and cultural texts will be accompanied by theoretical essays - mainly psychoanalytical, feminist, and queer - as we will discuss and investigate the potentiality of bringing together literature and theory. While focusing on the concept of love, this course also provides an introduction to Hebrew literature and Israeli culture. During the course, we will read literary texts from Yosef Haim Brenner, Dvora Baron, Yehudit Hendel, David Grossman, Orly Castel-Bloom, Alon Hilu and others. We will also watch some recent Israeli films/TV shows. No previous knowledge of Hebrew, Israel or Judaism is required! All the Hebrew texts will be read in translation.
Learning Objectives
-Examine and interpret literary texts using practices of both close reading and comparative reading
-Critically evaluate and analyze literary, cultural, and theoretical texts
-Define and describe the notion of love in modern Hebrew literature and Israeli culture in its varied contexts - social, cultural, and historical
-Compare different aspects of love - such as love in traditional societies, postmodern love, love and gender, and queer love - as portrayed in heterogenous Hebrew literary texts and Israeli films
-Draw connections and correlations between and across literary texts
-Develop writing, collaboration, and interpersonal communication skills.
Teaching Method
Attendance/Class participation: 15%
Short Response Papers: 15% (Pass/Fail)
Long Response Paper: 20%
Final Paper: 50%
Class Materials (Required)
Materials will be provided by the instructor.
Class Attributes
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area