VT: Multiple Voices of Israeli Society (3 cr)
Aziza Khazzoom
JSTU-J 500 Topics in Jewish Studies (10751) / MELC-M 695 Graduate Topics in NELC (31215)
W 1:10-3:10 (LH 112)
Recent academic research has stressed that Israel is a heterogeneous society. Thus one problem in the study of Israeli society has centered around heterogeneity. Scholars have asked such questions as: which groups should be studied as part of Israeli society; how much diversity can a society tolerate without being torn asunder from inside; and what kinds of mechanisms generate loyalty to a state, even under conditions of significant ethnic, lifestyle, and religious differences. They have also addressed a number of other sociological dynamics, such as collective memory, immigration and assimilation, gender and nationalism, and reproductive regimes. In this course, we review contemporary sociological work on Israeli society, with the diversity question as the framework. Each week, we read work that looks at Israel from the perspective of a different group that lives there, such as religious Jewish women, gay men, Middle Eastern Jews, Palestinian men, Jewish settlers, or Bedouin women, and consider the larger sociological issues at play. The course focuses on student-led discussions and critical evaluation of scholarly work.
