MES 280BIsraeli Cultures

Catalog

This course uses the anthropological method to explore how identity and difference are lived and produced in modern Israel. In contrast to media accounts that often reinscribe generalized figures of "the Israeli" or "the Palestinian," this course engages ethnography, social history, film, and literature to investigate the fine grains of experience within a diversity of communities. These include - but are not limited to - Holocaust survivors, Palestinian citizens of Israel, the ultra-Orthodox, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, African asylum seekers, and Thai migrant workers. We begin by examining the foundational displacements and migrations that shaped the contours and categories of contemporary Israeli society. We then explore how individuals and communities navigate and respond to these forces in their everyday lives. No prior background required, all are welcome. Note: "Israeli Cultures" is the same course as "Cultures and Society in Israel" and may not be repeated for credit.