A visiting scholar will lead discussions related to an Israeli film festival and give a lecture January 22–23.
Rachel Harris, a scholar of Israeli culture, will screen two Israeli films, The Green Prince and My Lovely Sister, from 1 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, January 22, at the Arnstein Jewish Community Center, 6800 Deane Hill Drive. The films are about terrorism in Israel and a love story set in Mizrachi Jewish Community in Israel, respectively. A discussion will occur after each film. The event, which is free and open to the public, will conclude with Israeli-style refreshments.
More information about the films and screening times is available online.
At 7 p.m. on Monday, January 23, Harris will present “With a Six Shooter and Spurs: Imaging the Israeli Western” in the auditorium of the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Drive. The lecture is part of the annual Karen and Pace Robinson Lecture Series on modern Israel. It is free and open to the public.
Harris will discuss the homegrown form of cowboy films in Israel’s early film industry. Israelis adopted Hollywood conventions but translated them through Zionist ideology set in the land of Israel. The lecture considers these films and the transnational nature of cinema.
Both events are sponsored by UT’s Fern and Manfred Steinfeld Program in Judaic Studies.
Harris is an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on contemporary Israeli literature and culture. Her publications include articles in the journals Israel Studies, Shofar, and Modern Jewish Studies.
She is the author of An Ideological Death: Suicide in Israeli Literature and the forthcoming Warriors, Witches, Whores: Women in Israeli Cinema.
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CONTACT:
Helene Sinnreich (865-974-6988, hsinnreich@utk.edu)
Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lola.alapo@tennessee.edu)