Academic

Representations of motherhood in Israel

What does the everyday life of a Jewish religious mother or a secular mother look like in Israel? How do mothers create their own identities and their own communities inside the conflict-riddled Israeli reality or the colorful night scene of Tel-Aviv? This course will focus on the various representations of motherhood in Israel through different lenses: the real and the virtual, the theoretical and the practical, contemporary Israeli literature and popular culture.We will explore how Israeli women create a multiplicity of meanings about motherhood by studying the constructed, complex, and often contradictory nature of maternal images and maternal practice. By bringing together multiple perspectives, we will attempt to broaden the ground on which Israeli motherhood research is constructed. The basic question that an Israeli mother is asking herself – "who am I?" – will accompany us as we listen to the different answers that resonate in the unique and complex Israeli context.



​Psychological Reading of Israeli Prose​

Israeli prose has roots both in ancient Jewish tradition and in modern Israeli culture. It allows readers to encounter a reflection of life in Israel as well as parts of themselves. This course will therefore offer students the chance to explore the subjective experiences that reading Israeli prose engenders within them from both psychological and gender perspectives.We will begin with an introduction to psychological approaches to literature, after which each one of the students will choose an Israeli short story and bring it to class. Later on, we will participate in group reading exercises and an open discussion about the story as well as the possible psychological reactions it evokes.



Bibliotherapy and Art – The Project of "Your Ideal End" With Prof. Maria F. Velasco and Prof. Ruthann Atchely

This class is designed to introduce students to an expressive therapy that integrates the processes of reading and writing into the therapeutic relationship. In addition, participants will explore the role of art and drawing and its potential as a catalyst for ideas leading to a greater understanding of the therapeutic relationship. Together, we will examine clinical papers and case studies as well as poems, artist sketchbooks, diaries, and dreams, and we will participate in guided exercises in drawing, writing, and reading. Students will be asked to write one reflective paper at the end of the semester exploring how their understanding of the meeting of art and bibliotherapy has evolved over the course of the semester.  This course is an invitation for students to explore creative ways of thinking about themselves as therapists and to understand their patients in an out-of-the-box way. This course is open to current graduate clinical students who are interested in learning creative approaches to therapy.