Hebrew Language and Literature
2010 Rothman Faculty Summer Fellowship
As a 2010 Rothman Faculty Summer Fellow, Professor Todd Hasak-Lowy visited Israel as part of ongoing research on Israeli films dealing with the 1982-2000 conflict in Lebanon. His research focused specifically on the films Beaufort (2007), Waltz with Bashir (2008), and Lebanon (2009). With the support of the Rothman Endowment, Hasak-Lowy gathered secondary material on Israeli cinema and these films in particular. He was also able to meet with Israeli writers, filmmakers, and scholars. This research contributed to Hasak-Lowy’s developing thesis that these Israeli war films assert and construct the identity of their protagonist soldiers through an emphasis on vision and sight. Hasak-Lowy argues that this emphasis positions these soldiers as passive witnesses or victims of their circumstances, despite belonging to an invading and later occupying army. He notes that film, as visual media, allows this emphasis on vision and sight to resonate simultaneously in both form and content.