Documenting Conflict: Palestine, Israel

This is a course in documentary theory / studies through the lens of films made in or about Palestine and Israel. We may also include works from other zones of conflict chosen by the students. Issues of politics and form, ethics and aesthetics are central to all nonfiction film. In the context of ongoing and seemingly intractable political conflict, this is even more the case. We will examine the work of numerous filmmakers including Avi Mograbi, Raed Andoni, Kamal Aljafari, Ra'anan Alexandrowicz, Palestinian-Israeli collaborative teams, and many more. Questions of reception, political impact and censorship will also be addressed.

Course includes weekly discussion posts on readings, an analytical paper, research paper and a visual project. Students will be able to critically analyze nonfiction film and to eloquently articulate the aesthetic approaches of a given documentary as well as ethical issues raised or addressed by documentary film.