Faculty Profile

Nitsa Kann

(she/her/hers)Associate Professor of Judaic Studies (2005)

Contact Information

kannn@dickinson.edu

East College Room 209
717-254-8977

Bio

Her teaching interests include Hebrew language, Hebrew Literature, Kabbalah, and Middle Eastern Cinema. She is the author of two Hebrew books of poems, 'Black Soul Singer' (1989), and 'A Woman With Child' (1992), and the author of two Hebrew novels, 'Gazelle of Love' (1995), and 'Herotica' (1998).

Education

  • B.A., Hebrew University, 1982
  • M.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1984
  • Ph.D., 2005

2024-2025 Academic Year

Fall 2024

HEBR 101 Elementary Modern Hebrew
Introduction to the modern Hebrew language. Alphabet, phonics and grammatical structures. Emphasizes development of reading comprehension, composition and conversational skills.

MEST 200 Israeli Cinema
Cross-listed with RELG 233-01, JDST 233-01 and FMST 210-01. Israeli cinema has become increasingly diverse, critical, and multicultural and is often at the cutting edge of the Israeli cultural scene. Films provide an interesting lens to explore questions about Israeli life and identity: What was the experience of growing up in post-independence Israel? How were Holocaust survivors and new immigrants from Arab countries received during that period? What made kibbutz life distinct and how has it changed overtime? How is the impact of war and the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict depicted in film? What is the role of gender in the construction of Israeli identity and how has the portrayal of Israeli men, women, and LGBT identities changed overtime? What are the distinct issues facing Orthodox and Ultraorthodox Israelis? How are marginalized groups (Israeli Arabs, Middle Eastern Jews, Russian Jews and Ethiopian Jews) portrayed in film? The course discusses trends and processes in Israeli cultural history and in current Israeli society, as represented in Israeli films from the 1960s to present day Israel. Screenings of Israeli films are a central part of the course. Films from present day Israel, including the most recent, as well as from earlier decades, create the ideological and cultural universe that the course illuminates.

HEBR 201 Intermediate Modern Hebrew
Formal study of Hebrew language with emphasis on oral practice and writing skills. Prerequisite: 102 or the equivalent. This course fulfills the language graduation requirement.

FMST 210 Israeli Cinema
Cross-listed with MEST 200-03, RELG 233-01 and JDST 233-01. Israeli cinema has become increasingly diverse, critical, and multicultural and is often at the cutting edge of the Israeli cultural scene. Films provide an interesting lens to explore questions about Israeli life and identity: What was the experience of growing up in post-independence Israel? How were Holocaust survivors and new immigrants from Arab countries received during that period? What made kibbutz life distinct and how has it changed overtime? How is the impact of war and the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict depicted in film? What is the role of gender in the construction of Israeli identity and how has the portrayal of Israeli men, women, and LGBT identities changed overtime? What are the distinct issues facing Orthodox and Ultraorthodox Israelis? How are marginalized groups (Israeli Arabs, Middle Eastern Jews, Russian Jews and Ethiopian Jews) portrayed in film? The course discusses trends and processes in Israeli cultural history and in current Israeli society, as represented in Israeli films from the 1960s to present day Israel. Screenings of Israeli films are a central part of the course. Films from present day Israel, including the most recent, as well as from earlier decades, create the ideological and cultural universe that the course illuminates.

JDST 233 Israeli Cinema
Cross-listed with FMST 210-01, MEST 200-03 and RELG 233-01.

RELG 233 Israeli Cinema
Cross-listed with FMST 210-01, JDST 233-01 and MEST 200-03.