Schusterman Center for Israel Studies

Shayna Weiss — Near Eastern & Judaic Studies
Ever wondered why Israeli television is all over Netflix, or why Sabra hummus came to dominate your supermarket shelves? In this course, we will examine multiple forms of popular culture, including television, music, cookbooks, social media, fashion, and more, to understand contemporary Israeli society, with a focus on debates over language, gender, and politics in a global context. Special attention will be paid to cultural production from Israel’s minorities, including Israeli Palestinians, Orthodox Jews, and Mizrahim (Jews from Arab and Islamic lands.) Course readings will combine theory, primary sources, and popular criticism. No previous knowledge of Israel, Judaism, or the Middle East is required, and all materials will be provided in English translation.  

Yehudah Mirsky — Near Eastern & Judaic Studies
How did human rights work arise in recent decades, and why only then? Is it a new sort of religion? What critical thinking will help this vast work of advocacy, international law, democratization and humanitarianism alleviate human suffering?

Yuval Evri — Near Eastern & Judaic Studies
Against the backdrop of the partition of the “Jew” from the “Arab” in the modern national discourse, this course focuses on the Arab-Jewish cultural world which simultaneously embodies Arab and Jewish histories, traditions, and identities.  It traces different manifestations of Arab-Jewish culture (in literature, music, film) from the early 20th century to today and explores the complex relationship between culture and politics in relation to questions of language, identity, nationality, borders, exile and memory.

Ilana Szobel — Near Eastern & Judaic Studies 
This course explores representations of romantic love within Modern Hebrew literature and Israeli society. We will discuss a selection of influential literary texts and theoretical research on love, marriage, romance, jealousy, and troubled relationships. We will also incorporate excerpts of Israeli music, works of art, and films into our discussions. 

Within a socio-cultural framework, we will study the repertoire of feelings, values, interests, expectations, and stereotypes that are associated with the term “love” and its representations. By focusing on gender roles, cultural contexts, generational differences, social classes, nationalism, sexuality, and power relationships, we will suggest a critical context for understanding Western, Hebrew, and Israeli concepts of love. 

Ilana Szobel — Near Eastern & Judaic Studies 
Explores the effects of sexualized violence in society. While exploring representations of gender-based sexual violence in documentaries and features, stand-up comedy, memoirs, poetry, and visual art, this course will offer a critical discussion on Rape Culture in the 21st century, with particular attention to the intersections of gender, race, sexuality, class, and disability in the construction of sexual violence. 

Professor Lisa Joffe — Near Eastern & Judaic Studies 
Examines debates over the legal accommodation of cultural difference. We will critically evaluate the concept of culture, consider the value of cultural membership and examine how cultural claims can be balanced against the need for shared civic values.

Michal Ben-Josef Hirsch — Politics
Provides historical and analytic mastery of the Arab-Israeli conflict in a novel way. Through immersion in three competing narratives—Israeli, Palestinian, and pan-Arab—students will gain proficiency in the history of the conflict as well as analytic leverage on the possibility of its resolution. The course is organized as a seminar and is premised on active student participation.

Guy Antebi — Near Eastern & Judaic Studies 
Continuation of HBRW 20B. A beginner- intermediate level course that helps students strengthen their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Contemporary cultural aspects will be stressed and a variety of materials will be used.

Sara Hascal — Near Eastern & Judaic Studies
For advanced-intermediate students who wish to enhance their language proficiency and work toward improving fluency and communication through analysis of selected materials covering literature, poetry, history, politics, and art that depict the unique tradition and culture of Jerusalem.