The Modern Period

In this course we will discuss dramatic works by Jewish and Israeli playwrights, authors, and performance artists, in which relations between gender, religion, and cultural identity are explored. By engaging with performance theory we shall discuss topics such as gender and ethnicity, feminism and religion, identity politics in historical and contemporary contexts, and performance as a vehicle for exploring self-identity. In order to discuss plays which conflate gender and questions of modern Jewish identity, the course will contextualize the plays with various modes of representation, examining the relations between the dramatic styles which are employed and at times invented by the authors and the social questions that are negotiated through the plays. These modes of representation include realistic drama (and the critique of realism); documentary drama; epic and Brechtian drama; Écriture féminine; solo performance, and performance-art. Classes will be accompanied by DVD recordings of many of the plays we discuss. All readings are in English.