Israeli popular culture 3600-7-HE3-KPI(Z)

The lecture will explore the history of popular culture in Israel within the context of the country’s major historical events. Key works in this field—such as feature films, TV series, musical compositions, theatrical productions, visual art, and others—will be presented and analyzed. The course aims to familiarize students with the fundamental aspects of Israeli popular culture. The material is presented from an interdisciplinary perspective, with an emphasis on the interrelationships between history, sociocultural changes, and Israeli popular culture. Classes utilize a discussion-based format that supports practical understanding of the material through joint analysis of cultural texts (written, visual, audiovisual, and others) and workshop activities; the course combines lectures with presentations, discussions, and independent student work. As part of extensive independent study conducted outside of class and in preparation for the exam, students independently and systematically analyze the provided teaching materials, explore designated topics, expand their knowledge using additional sources, and reinforce lecture content related to the subject of Israeli popular culture. These activities include both the critical analysis of cultural texts and the independent organization, interpretation, and integration of acquired knowledge, which constitutes a significant element in achieving the learning outcomes intended for the course.

Term 2026Z:

This semester, we will analyze selected Hebrew-language humorous and satirical texts from various periods from a comparative perspective. The general research context will be theories of humor and satire from an interdisciplinary perspective. The specific context will be the Israeli specificity of humor and satire, the topics addressed, and their humorous and satirical interpretations in the context of changing historical and socio-cultural conditions. The presentation of both contexts will aim to provide students with comprehensive, interdisciplinary interpretive tools for understanding humorous and satirical texts in Israeli popular culture, both those presented in class and made available by the instructor, as well as those that students will subject to independent, critical analysis outside the context of the course.

Course coordinators

Agata Szepe-Vratolis

Type of course

obligatory courses

Mode

Classroom

Prerequisites (description)

The course aims to familiarize students with the fundamental aspects of Israeli popular culture from an interdisciplinary perspective, with an emphasis on the connections between history, sociocultural changes, and popular culture. To participate in the course, you must have a command of Hebrew at least at the B2 level.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge:
- The graduate knows and understands specific socio-cultural issues in Israel regarding the natural environment, as well as the ethnic, demographic, and political situation,
- The graduate knows and understands the fundamental cultural aspects of Judaism and Israel,
- The graduate knows and understands specific issues related to the natural, geopolitical, and economic conditions and their significance for Israel’s historical and contemporary situation.

Skills:
- The graduate is able to apply knowledge of the history of Israel and the Jewish people to analyze and interpret events in the contemporary world,
- The graduate is able to correctly situate the State of Israel within the context of its natural, geopolitical, and economic conditions,
- The graduate is able to apply knowledge of Israel’s socio-cultural issues in typical professional situations,
- The graduate is able to function effectively within the linguistic and cultural environment of Israel,
- The graduate is able to present detailed topics related to the cultural issues of Judaism and Israel in both Polish and Hebrew, taking into account the intellectual traditions of Judaism and Israel.

Social competencies:
- The graduate is prepared for lifelong learning,
- The graduate is prepared to raise awareness of the significance of Israeli culture within global culture.

Assessment criteria

The following will be assessed:
- consistent preparation for class, including analysis of materials provided by the instructor and independent study of topics related to Israeli popular culture.
- active participation in the collective analysis of cultural texts during class
- a final presentation, during which the student will independently present and critically analyze a selected topic related to Israeli popular culture, in accordance with criteria that will be presented in class

Assessment components:
- continuous assessment (ongoing preparation for classes and participation),
- quizzes,
- written assignments,
- written and oral exam at the end of the summer semester.

The following grading scale is used:
99-100% 5! (excellent)
93-98% 5 (very good)
87-92% 4.5 (good plus)
77-86% 4 (good)
71-76% 3.5 (satisfactory plus)
60-70% satisfactory
0-59% unsatisfactory

Attendance and eligibility for the course:
In accordance with the regulation of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs (KJD) at the Faculty of Asian and African Cultures, University of Warsaw,, dated July 31, 2021:
- “the permissible number of unexcused absences from classes is 15%”;
- “the total number of excused and unexcused absences allowing a student to take the exam is 30%.” Students who exceed this absence limit cannot receive a passing grade (even during the make-up exam period);
- "A student must justify an absence from class immediately and no later than 7 days after the cause of the absence has ceased. In particularly justified cases, the instructor may excuse the absence after this deadline."

Guidelines for using AI tools in the context of the formal requirements for course participation and completion:

- The work of course participants must be the product of their own intellectual activity, based on the analysis of sources and literature. The use of artificial intelligence algorithms is permitted solely for technical purposes. Full responsibility for the final outcome of any work that utilizes artificial intelligence tools rests with the students. The use of AI tools does not exempt students from liability for factual errors and does not constitute grounds for more lenient grading.
- The lecturer reserves the right to conduct an additional oral verification in the event of justified doubts regarding the authenticity and independence of the submitted work or the content of the presentation.

Practical placement

none

Bibliography

The selection of required reading varies depending on the specific topics covered in each semester. See “Literatura” in the section on each course series.

Term 2026Z:

Detailed reading list (primary and secondary sources) – will be provided gradually during the course as we cover each topic.

Core reading:
- Bakhtin, M. (1998). Rabelais and his World. Literary theory: An anthology, 2, 686-92.
- Henri, B. (1901). Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic. Neeland Media LLC.
- Martin, R. A., & Ford, T. (2018). The psychology of humor: An integrative approach. Academic Press.
- McGraw, A. P., & Warren, C. (2010). Benign violations: Making immoral behavior funny. Psychological Science, 21(8), 1141-1149.
- Morreall, J. (1982). A new theory of laughter. Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition, 42(2), 243-254.
- Raskin, V. (1979, July). Semantic mechanisms of humor. In Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society (pp. 325-335)
- Steir-Livny, L. (2017). Is it OK to Laugh About It?: Holocaust Humor, Satire, and Parody in Israeli Culture. Portland: Vallentine Mitchell.

Source texts:
- Texts from Israeli popular culture, selected by the instructor

Notes

Term 2026Z:

Since the primary texts used in this course are in Hebrew, a minimum B2 level of proficiency in Hebrew is required to enroll in the course