In this course, we examine the Arab-Israeli conflict as portrayed in both Arabic/Palestinian and Hebrew/Israeli literary traditions – short stories, novels, novellas, literary essays, and personal accounts – and film. We will look at how adversaries portray each other, how mutual stereotypes are created and reinforced, or broken down as the case may be, and how the conflict has shaped the development of these respective literary and filmic traditions in substantially different ways. Complementing courses that examine the Arab-Israeli conflict through political and historical lenses and approaches, this course offers the unique perspective of examining the conflict through the literature and film produced by parties to the conflict. Readings will include works by Almog Behar, Liana Badr, Orly Castel-Bloom, Emile Habiby, Ghassan Kanafani, Sayed Kashua, Etgar Keret, Sahar Khalifeh, Amos Oz, Dorit Rabinyan, Khalil Sakakini, Adaniya Shibli, Mahmoud Shukeir, A.B. Yehoshua, S. Yizhar and others, as well as a selection of Palestinian and Israeli feature films pertaining to the conflict.

Course Requirements:

Active participation and input on the part of students in class discussion is central to this course. This reflects that students have read/viewed and given thought to assigned materials. Assessment in this course is based on discussion/participation in class, a short response paper, (2 pages), a mid-term paper (6-7 pages), a final paper (10 pages), one in-class presentation, and Discussion Posts (1-2/week). There are no prerequisites for this course and no expectations of prior familiarity with the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Intended Audience:

This course is intended for students with an interest in learning about the Arab-Israeli conflict through viewing and reading about the experience of both parties as expressed and represented in their respective literary and film traditions. It is suitable for those who have prior knowledge of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Class Format:

Two 90-minute meetings weekly. The format of this course is primarily seminar-style discussion with brief segments of a lecture by the instructor, providing background and context for assigned materials.