Book Launch -- Since 1948: Israeli Literature in the Making
Coeditors Nancy E. Berg, PhD, Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at Washington University, and Naomi B. Sokoloff, PhD, Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of Washington, will discuss their book Since 1948: Israeli Literature in the Making.
Toward the end of the twentieth century, an unprecedented surge of writing altered the Israeli literary scene in profound ways. As fresh creative voices and multiple languages vied for recognition, diversity replaced consensus. Genres once accorded lower status—such as the graphic novel and science fiction—gained readership and positive critical notice. These trends ushered in not only the discovery and recovery of literary works but also a major rethinking of literary history. In Since 1948, scholars consider how recent voices have succeeded older ones and reverberated in concert with them; how linguistic and geographical boundaries have blurred; how genres have shifted; and how canon and competition have shaped Israeli culture. Charting surprising trajectories of a vibrant, challenging, and dynamic literature, the contributors analyze texts composed in Hebrew, Yiddish, and Arabic; by Jews and non-Jews; and by Israelis abroad as well as writers in Israel. What emerges is a portrait of Israeli literature as neither minor nor regional, but rather as transnational, multilingual, and worthy of international attention.
The conversation will be joined by: Michael Raizen (Ohio-Wesleyan University), Shachar Pinsker (University of Michigan), Melissa Weininger (Rice University), Shai Ginsburg (Duke University), Eric Zakim (University of Maryland), and Riki Traum (Farleigh Dickinson University).
This event is co-sponsored by The Department of Jewish, Islamic, and Middle Eastern Studies at Washington University, the Israel Institute, and Near Eastern Languages & Civilization at the University of Washington.