Spring 2008

HEB 346 • ZION IN HEBREW POETRY

Course Description

In this survey course we will study the motif of longing for Zion, as it presents itself in Hebrew poetry from Biblical to modern times. In addition to tracing the themes of destruction and redemption in poetry throughout the ages, and studying the historical circumstances in the background of each poet and poem, we will discuss the issue of imagined spaces and communities and the role of the collective imagination in the development of Hebrew as a national tongue.

Grading Policy

Undergrad: Class attendance and participation 30%; weekly journal in Hebrew 30%; final paper in English, 40% Graduate: Class attendance and participation 20%; weekly journal in Hebrew 20%; presentation of a theoretical nature 10%; final paper in Hebrew, 20+ pages, 35%; final presentation 15%

Texts

Course materials posted on CLIPS. T. Carmi. 1981. The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse. Graduate students will also read excerpts from: Anderson's Imagined Communites: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism; Boyarins Diaspora: Generation and the Ground of Jewish Identity; Eisens Galut: Modern Jewish Reflection on Homelessness and Homecoming; Ezrahis Booking Passage: Exile and Homecoming in the Modern Jewish Imagination; Safrans Diasporas in Modern Societies: Myths of Homeland and Return; and Steiners Our Homeland in Text

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