Three billion people are locked in their houses. But imagination has no boundaries, and literature can unite us – authors, readers, and communities - even when we're behind walls. Join award-winning author Ayelet Gundar-Goshen for a fascinating online talk on Jewish mythology and contemporary Israeli literature in times of catastrophe.
Thursday, May 28, 202011:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Pacific Time)Online event via Zoom video conferencing. RSVP required to obtain access details
After registering, you will be emailed a meeting link and ID information to join us virtually via Zoom on your computer, tablet or smartphone. If you prefer, you can also call into the event on your phone. You must register first to receive this information. If you do not receive your email confirmation, please check your spam or junk mail folders in your email system.
Please note: If registration goes beyond our capacity via Zoom, only the first 500 people to click the Zoom link will be able to enter the webinar. However, all may watch via the live stream on this page or on the Y&S Nazarian Center's FACEBOOK Channel.
This entire webinar will be recorded and posted online afterwards for later viewing on the Y&S Nazarian Center's multimedia page.
About the Program
Literature loves catastrophes – they reveal a person's true nature. For two thousand years, Jewish texts have faced this question: how should one behave when the world dissolves into chaos? In these moments we find ordinary men who turn into heroes, heroes who turn into villains, we find cruelty – but also grace, and love. From Noah's Ark, through Amos Oz's Jerusalem under siege, isolation is depicted as both a curse – and an opportunity.
The program will include a presentation by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen, followed by a conversation with moderator Jonathan Kirsch, and audience Q&A. Hosted by UCLA Professor Dov Waxman, Director of the Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies.
Organized by the Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and co-sponsored by the UCLA Department of English, Department of Near Eastern Languages & Cultures, Center for Near Eastern Studies, and Center for the Study of Religion.
Promotional partners: Diesel, A Bookstore in Brentwood, CA, and the Jewish Book Council
About the Speaker
A clinical psychologist and acclaimed Israeli author, Ayelet Gundar-Goshen's first novel, One Night, Markovitch, won the Sapir Prize in 2012 for debut novels, the Italian Adei-Wizo Prize, and the French Adei-Wizo Prize. The novel was long-listed for the Italian Sinbad Prize, and for Grand prix des lectrices de Elle. It has been translated to 14 languages.
Gundar-Goshen's second novel, Waking Lions, won the 2017 Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize. The New York Times Book Review picked Waking Lions as "Editors' Choice", and The Wall Street Journal selected it for its "Best Summer Reads" list. Her critically acclaimed third novel, The Liar, came out in English in fall 2019 and was picked as an Elle Magazine 2019 Best Book of the Year.
Gundar-Goshen is a contributor to BBC's The Cultural Frontline, Financial Times, Time Magazine and The Telegraph. Ayelet has lectured at UC Berkeley, Columbia University, UCLA, and Carleton College, among other institutions.
She also has written screenplays for TV and cinema in Israel. Gundar-Goshen holds a master's degree in psychology from Tel Aviv University and studied screenwriting at Sam Spiegel Film School in Jerusalem.
About the Moderator
Jonathan Kirsch is the author of 13 books, the book editor of the Jewish Journal, a book reviewer for the Washington Post, and a publishing attorney. He has written books about the Bible as literature and the history of religion, as well as several novels and books about law.
About the Host
Dov Waxman is a Professor and The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair in Israel Studies at UCLA, where he also directs the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies. He joined the UCLA faculty in January 2020. An award-winning teacher, he previously was professor of political science, international affairs, and Israel studies, and the Stotsky Professor of Jewish Historical and Cultural Studies at Northeastern University.
BOOK SALE
In lieu of an on-site in-person book sale, we have partnered with Diesel, a wonderful bookstore in Brentwood, CA where you can order two popular books by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen – Waking Lions and The Liar. Help us support independent bookstores and take advantage of their convenient online order option.
Sponsor(s): Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, Center for Near Eastern Studies, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, English, Center for the Study of Religion, Promotional co-sponsors: Diesel, A Bookstore in Brentwood, CA, and the Jewish Book Council.