LFU:online

Expansion and consolidation of specific knowledge in the field of contemporary history by examination of new and uncommon topics, taking into account current tendencies and controversies of research, applying scientific skills (methods and working techniques) and linking with basic content, development of skills for the independent formulation of historical questions.

Biography and autobiography are among the most popular and best-selling genres of historical writing. In this course we will explore (auto)biography as a prism through which history can be understood, in our case the history of Zionism and of the State of Israel. We will analyze the lives of individuals as related to Zionism – a collective Jewish national project. We will ask methodological questions about the role of individuals in history and historiography, about the relationship between the biographer and her protagonist, and the different strategies and aims between autobiographical writing and biographical writing. We will read chapters of biographical literature on individuals such as Theodor Herzl, David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan and more.

Lecture, reading, discussions.

Regular participation in class and in the discussions; reading the assigned material; short presentation in class; short essays.

A full reading list will be provided at the start of the course.

Positive assessment of compulsory module 1.