Israel

Music is a fascinating medium through which to study many aspects of Israeli life and politics. This course explores many genres of music, including art, folk, pop/rock, religious genres, as well as genres canonized by the mainstream and others on the peripheries. Among the social and political issues that emerge from music in Israel, students discuss music's role in the development of “Hebrew culture;” the invention of tradition; the politics of race, ethnicity, and nationality; spirituality and engagement with religion; peace and conflict; the problematics of coexistence; and the musical expression of place. No musical training is necessary to be successful in this course, though students with musical skills and training are welcome to contribute their expertise and may choose to augment their projects with performance or theoretical analysis.

This course explores the meanings and functions of human dignity in a comparative and inter-disciplinary perspective. The course provides a critical and complex understanding of how the concept has developed, has been used, and should be used in constitutional and legal contexts. The course begins by identifying the intellectual origins of human dignity and mapping its meanings in philosophical discourse. Students explore developments in the uses and functions of human dignity in national constitutions from the 20th century to present day. The course examines the logic of drafting constitutional articles, and practices those principles on articles containing the concept of dignity in multiple functions. The course also gives tools to understand how justices employ the concept in various ways. The course also discusses topics including a psychological approach to human dignity as self-worth, dignity in medical ethics, dignity in prisons, and the uses of dignity by the Israeli Supreme Court.

This beginning Hebrew course is designed to impart basic vocabulary and grammar for communication in a variety of essential daily-life situations in Israel. Focus is placed on comprehension: listening to short stories and recorded conversations from everyday life; conversation: simple dialogues and stories from everyday life; reading: dialogues and texts in easy Hebrew on various topics; writing: short dialogues and passages on the topics taught in class; and grammatical skills: elementary grammatical structures, inflection of the strong verb in the past and present tenses, and frequent weak verbs.

This course focuses on the objectives, methods, and consequences of media involvement in armed conflicts and the importance of armed conflict for the media, in both historical and contemporary perspectives. The course provides tools to analyze and understand different cultural, social, and technical aspects of the relationship between the media and armed conflicts, while also maintaining strong practical components. These practical components include the workshopping based introduction of key journalistic skills including developing sources, interviewing techniques, and writing with a focus on application within active conflict zones. This course includes multiple field visits and interviews with those involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other Middle Eastern wars and offensives. The course considers media interaction in low, medium, and high intensity armed conflicts.

This course explores the emergence of Zionism and the Israeli state from the late 19th century until today by looking at some of the foundational movements and moments in Israeli history. Themes include expressions of alienation and discrimination, the perceived ethnic gap, and schisms in Israeli society, including Jewish-Arab tensions. The course explores the broad range of influences that have shaped Israeli society and politics: European, Ottoman, Middle Eastern, Jewish, and Palestinian.

This course serves as an entrance into the world of the rabbis of the Talmud. Through close readings of primary sources, it provides insight into the development of rabbinic Judaism and its belief and legal systems. The course also emphasizes competing claims of interpretation prevalent in non-rabbinic Judaism and the influence of the surrounding Greco-Roman and Zoroastrian cultures. The course involves reading primary texts and their accompanying secondary sources.