MODULE POLITICS. Seminar Syllabus Beyond the Walls: The Palestine-Israel Conflict in Film

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1 MODULE POLITICS Seminar Syllabus Beyond the Walls: The Palestine-Israel Conflict in Film CLASS HOURS Consult the program timetable INSTRUCTOR PD Dr. Anne Maximiliane Jäger-Gogoll Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany jaegergo[at]staff.uni-marburg.de 1) INFORMATION ON THE COURSE CONTENT COURSE DESCRIPTION From the end of the 19th century onward film has played an important role within the Zionist movement. In the course of the last decades, the Palestine-Israel Conflict has found itself increasingly represented not only in Israeli but also in Palestinian and international film making. A growing number of documentaries provide detailed insights into the history, the political and social framework and the impact the conflict has on both individual and collective levels. Often working with documentary elements, motion pictures try to individualize the greater conflict constellations, provoking empathy within the viewers and putting into question simple or one-sided explanatory patterns. The comparative examination of a number of representative films from Israeli as well as from Palestinian and international film directors does not only provide deeper information about the conflict itself. It furthermore helps to recognize and to experience a variety of different perspectives on the conflict which make local and international discussions more transparent and comprehensible.

2 Can film be a catalyzer of an improved understanding of the conflict? Is it able to serve as a mean of conflict regulation? Can it even provide fruitful perspectives in the sense of a possible peace process? Focus of films and analysis: Cinematic representation of the conflict and its history Film as a medium of propaganda and collective myth-building Israeli, Palestinian and international perspectives on the conflict Conflicts and disruptions between the conflict parties and within them Taboos, sub-texts, counter-stories, utopias Palestinian suicide-bombers: Filmic explanations between empathy, criticism, and fear Film as a medium of communication processes, interaction and reconciliation LEARNING OBJECTIVES The seminar will provide students with a deepened insight into the history and the complexity of the Israel-Palestine conflict. In addition to that, students will get knowledge of and sensitivity for different perspectives on the conflict and the way they can be represented by cinematic means. In doing so, the seminar will train the participant s skills to change perspectives and to analyze the role of film in the context of conflict constellations. Furthermore, it will provide students with an overview of Israeli and Palestinian film making and introduce basic methods of film analysis and film interpretation. COURSE MATERIALS Israeli and Palestinian film: Nurith Gertz/George Khleifi: Palestinian Cinema: Landscape, Trauma and Memory. Edinburgh Ella Shohat: Israeli Cinema. East/West and the Politics of Representation. New Edition. London/New York History and present of the conflict: In English: Neil Caplan: The Israel-Palestine Conflict. Contested Histories Benny Morris: Righteous Victims. A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict Sami Adwan/Dan Bar-On/Eyal Naveh (Ed.): Side by Side. Parallel Histories of Israel-Palestine. Peace Research Institute in the Middle East

3 In German: John Bunzl: Israel im Nahen Osten. Eine Einführung. Köln/Weimar/Wien Margret Johannsen: Der Nahost-Konflikt. 2. aktualis. Auflage. Wiesbaden Film-Analysis: In English: Olaf Schneider (ed.): Close up. The Language of Film from A - Z. Paderborn In German: Werner Faulstich: Grundkurs Filmanalyse. 2. Aufl. Paderborn: UTB TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE Class Topic Reading/ Assignments/ Additional Practice Materials 1 Welcome, introduction etc. 2 Perspectives on the conflict Film: THE LAND OF PROMISE (excerpt) Caplan, The Israel-Palestine Conflict (Introduction) 3 Film: HILL 24 DOESN T ANSWER Ella Shohat (excerpt) Analysis & Discussion 4 Film: JERUSALEM: THE EAST SIDE STORY Gertz/Khleifi (excerpt) Analysis & Discussion 5 Characteristics and History of Israeli cinema Shohat, Israeli Cinema (Introduction) 6 Characteristics and History of Palestinian cinema Gertz/Khleifi, Palestinian Cinema (Introduction) 7 Agression and Destruction Films: FOR MY FATHER & PARADISE NOW 8 Memory, Suppression, Trauma Films: WALTZ WITH BASHIR & FORGIVENESS 9 New Perspectives? Elia Suleiman, Keren Yedaya et.al. 2) INFORMATION ON CLASS PARTICIPATION, ASSIGNMENTS AND EXAMS ASSIGNMENTS Short oral presentations and written summaries; active participation PRACTICE MATERIALS Films (final selection to be announced prior to the seminar): THE LAND OF PROMISE (GB/Palestine 1935) 3

4 ISRAEL REBORN (GB/ Palestine 1948) HILL 24 DOESN T ANSWER (Thorold Dickinson; Israel 1955) HAMSIN (Daniel Wachsmann; Israel 1982) BEYOND THE WALLS (Uri Barabash; Israel/USA 1984) ONE OF US (Echad Mishelanu; Israel 1989) FORGET BAGHDAD (Samir; Switzerland / Germany 2002) CHECKPOINT (Yoav Shamir; Israel 2003) PARADISE NOW (Hany Abu-Assad; Palestine/Israel/Netherlands/Germany./France 2004) GO, SEE AND BECOME (GEH UND LEBE) (Radu Mihaileanu; France./Belgium/Israel/Italy 2005) * FORGIVENESS (Udi Aloni; Israel/USA 2006) * TO DIE IN JERUSALEM (Hilla Medalia; Israel 2007) DON'T TOUCH MY HOLOCAUST (Rachel Leah Jones; Israel 2007) LEMON TREE (Eran Riklis; Israel/Germany/France 2008) NAKBA: PALESTINE (Ryuichi Hirokawa; Japan 2008) FOR MY FATHER (Dror Zahavi; Israel/Germany 2008) DAS HERZ VON JENIN (Marcus Vetter/Leon Geller; Germany 2008) JERUSALEM. The East Side Story. (Mohammed Alatar; Palestine 2008) JAFFA THE ORANGE S CLOCKWORK (Eyal Sivan; France/Israel 2009) JAFFA (Keren Yedaya; Israel/Germany/France 2009) * AJAMI (Scandar Copti/Yaron Shani; Israel 2009) * AMREEKA (Cherien Dabis; USA/Canada/Kuweit 2009) * A HISTORY OF ISRAELI CINEMA (Raphael Nadjari; Israel/France 2009) * MIRAL (Julian Schnabel; France/Germany/Israel/USA/Great Britain/Italy/India 2010) * NACH DER STILLE (Stephanie Bürger/Jule Ott; Palestine/Germany 2010) * BEING WITH JULIANO (Emtias Diab; Palestine 2011) * A BOTTLE IN THE GAZA SEA (Thierry Binisti; France/Canada/ Israel 2011) * PRECIOUS LIFE (Shlomi Eldar; Israel 2011) * THE FLAT (Arnon Goldfinger; Israel/Germany 2011) * CINEMA JENIN (Markus Vetter; Palestine/Germany 2011) * WHEN I SAW YOU (Annemarie Jacir; Jordan 2012) * DANCING IN JAFFA (Hilla Medalia; France/Israel 2013) * OMAR (Hany Abu-Assad; Palestine 2013) PROFESSIONALISM & CLASS PARTICIPATION Collective film viewing and film analysis; individual short papers; interactive group discussion 4

5 MISSED CLASSES Students are expected to attend the class regularly, more than two missed contact hours will result in a failing grade. 3) INFORMATION ON GRADING AND ECTS ACADEMIC STANDARDS Individual short paper / presentation 60 % Oral participation / contribution to discussion in class 40 % Upon successful completion, 3 ECTS will be awarded for the class. According to the rules of ECTS, one credit is equivalent to hours student workload. Hessen:ISU Grading Scale Percentage % Punkte / local grade Punkte / grade points Note / grade sehr gut / 14 very good (1) Definition / definition Die Leistung entspricht den Anforderungen in besonderem Maße / outstanding achievement 80-90% gut / good (2) Die Leistung entspricht voll den Anforderungen / performance above the average standard 70-80% 60-70% 0-60% befriedigend / satisfactory (3) ausreichend / sufficient (4) mangelhaft / inadequate (fail) (5) ungenügend / insufficient (fail) (6) 5 Die Leistung entspricht im Allgemeinen den Anforderungen / performance meets the average standard Die Leistung weist zwar Mängel auf, entspricht aber im Ganzen noch den Anforderungen / in spite of errors conform to requirements Die Leistung entspricht nicht den Anforderungen, lässt jedoch erkennen, dass die Mängel in absehbarer Zeit behoben werden können / does not meet minimum criteria; some work more required Die Leistung entspricht nicht den Anforderungen. Die Mängel können in absehbarer Zeit nicht behoben werden / does not meet minimum criteria; considerable further work is required Version: Jan.2015