Culture and Language - Understanding the Connection: The Making of Modern Hebrew Culture

This course will explore the emergence, establishment and evolution of Modern Hebrew culture from the end of the 19th Century to the present. The course will be divided into three chronological units.
• Unit 1 - 1882-1948: The Origins and Development of Modern Hebrew Culture
• Unit 2 - 1948-1980: The Israeli State and its Culture
• Unit 3 - 1980-Present: The Critiques of Modern Hebrew Culture.
The course will examine the historical, ideological and cultural underpinnings of the Zionist project and later the State of Israel by using various primary sources, such as ideological essays, official documents, literary and poetic output, as well as cinematic and musical sources. The aim of the course is to provide students with a substantial historical and cultural understanding of the Modern Hebrew project. By the end of the course, students will gain competency in analyzing cultural artifacts and evaluating their social and ideological significance.