[Commlist] CfP Edited Volume: Imagined Israel(s): Projections of the Jewish State in the Arts

CfP [Edited Volume] Imagined Israel(s): Projections of the Jewish State 
in the Arts

Edited volume by Rocco Giansante (PhD) and Luna Goldberg (MA)


The image of Israel on the global stage is the product of the 
intersection between what it projects externally and what is projected 
onto it. While the state exports positive images in order to influence 
public opinion and private actors may publish critical representations 
of the nation, the non-Israeli uses Israel as a screen onto which an 
imagined country is projected. This is the case of the Jewish Diaspora 
whose relation with Israel is charged with elements strictly connected 
to its internal dynamics, as well as that of those not connected to the 
Jewish state, whose perceptions are greatly shaped by the international 
spotlight on the nation and the conflicts within it.


The arts have long served the purpose of representing a nation and 
embodying a country’s lasting values, while fostering a sense of 
collective memory. In today’s globalized world, the arts further 
function as a means of critical self-reflection on the nation, 
contemporary culture, and politics. On the screen, on the page, and on 
canvas, the image(s) of Israel produced by the nation’s artistic 
establishments stand next to oeuvres about the Jewish state produced by 
non-Israelis. These works evoke another Israel which speaks about the 
visions and hopes of the Diaspora.


The objective of our edited volume is to present these two “modes of 
representation” — Israel’s self-image and the Israel from abroad — and 
elaborate on how these two discourses, at times diverging, can be 
integrated and promote a conversation around Israel that can better 
serve the reality on the ground. Using the creative arts as a frame, 
this book will examine the projected image of Israel abroad as well as 
the gaze of the foreigner on the Jewish state, through reflections on 
exported cultural products, transnational art exhibitions, contemporary 
cinema, and Jewish American literature.


We welcome proposals from scholars in all fields that examine 
representations of Israel in artistic forms including but not limited to 
cinematic arts, literature, poetry, music, visual and performance art, 
and dance from 1948 to the present.


This could include, but is not limited to, essays about:


  *

    The portrayal of Israeli society through Modern-day television
    series such as Fauda, Shtisel, Our Boys

  *

    Representations of Israel through the lens of Jewish American
    literature (Jonathan Safran Foer, Philip Roth, Saul Bellow…)

  *

    Arts exhibitions and artists producing work around Israeli  history,
    culture, and politics abroad such as Visions of Place, Venice
    Biennale Israel Pavilion, Miki Kratsman, Tsibi Geva, Sigalit Landau,
    Nira Pereg, Nir Evron, Dor Guez, Sharif Waked, Yael Bartana, Public
    Movement, Omer Fast…)

  *

    Israeli dance on the world stage (Bat Sheva Dance Company, Noa
    Eshkol Foundation, Israeli Folk Dance…)

  *

    Israel on the cinematic screen (Claude Lanzmann, Susan Sontag,
    Chantal Akerman, Otto Preminger…)

  *

    Perceptions of Israel from Europe (European Jews and Israel)

  *

    New Territories: Images of Israel in South Korea, China, India

  *

    Israel in the Arab/Muslim entertainment industry and art world

  *

    Israel imagined in fashion and design

Potential contributors are asked to submit a 250-word proposal and a 
short biography (150 words) to: (imagined.israel /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(imagined.israel /at/ gmail.com)>

Deadline for receipt of abstracts:October 30, 2020 Notification will be 
issued in December 2020.

Contact email:

(imagined.israel /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(imagined.israel /at/ gmail.com)>

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