Hanoch Levin, one of the most prominent Israeli dramatist, wrote numerous satirical plays, comedies and stage dramas, as well as short stories, poems and songs for adults and children. Power struggles, subordination and violence, which have always been key issues in Levin's writings, stand at the center of this seminar. The seminar will focus on four thematic aspects of power and violence in Levin’s work: the human body, sexuality, ethnicity and children. The discussion will employ concepts from two different theoretical perspectives: Gender studies (De Beauvoir, Butler, Benjamin) and Minority Discourse (Fanon, Said, Bahaba), and will be accompanied by close readings of Levin’s writings (from 1960-1982) and watching some of his plays.

The requirements: actively participating in class and writing a seminar paper (20 pages long) / short essay (10 pages long).