Nitza Ben-Dov
Nitza Ben-Dov | |
---|---|
The Hebrew University University of Michigan | |
Thesis | The Dream as a Junction of Theme and Characterization in the Psychological Fiction of S.Y. Agnon |
Academic advisors | Robert Alter |
Nitza Ben-Dov (
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Reuven_Rivlin_in_a_ceremonies_at_the_International_Convention_Center%2C_Jerusalem%2C_April_2021_%28MN3_4415%29.jpg/220px-Reuven_Rivlin_in_a_ceremonies_at_the_International_Convention_Center%2C_Jerusalem%2C_April_2021_%28MN3_4415%29.jpg)
Biography
Nitza Ben-Dov was born in
Ben-Dov studied
In 1989, she began to teach Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of Haifa, becoming a full professor in 1999. She has served as Editor-in-Chief of Haifa University Press/Zmora-Bitan (1996–2000) and as chair of the Academic TV channel (2001–2005). In 2006 she established the program of Women's and Gender Studies, and in 2013 the program of Cultural Studies.
In June 2023 she received the Haifa Distinguished Citizen Award.[3]
Ben-Dov is married to Yosi Ben-Dov, the principal and managing director of the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa. They have three children and seven grandchildren.
Research
Ben-Dov has published books, articles, and essays on
Her book Agnon's Art of Indirection: Uncovering Latent Content in the Fiction of S.Y Agnon, published in 1993, revealed the possibility of analyzing Agnon's work (characterized by "the art of indirection", a term coined by Ben-Dov) even when translated into English. Ben-Dov has introduced Agnon to scholars of literature outside Israel and proved that it is possible to analyze word by word, through close reading, the unique nature of Agnon's work. Although the nuanced relations of the 'latent' and the 'uncovered' layers are attached through the essence of the Hebrew language, Ben-Dov illustrates that the greatness of a writer must withstand translation. The book surveys the methods, themes, and materials in Agnon's art, and deals extensively with dreams and their interpretation. It presents intersections of meaning in Agnon's writings, in which various layers are brought to light:
The Hebrew book Unhappy/unapproved Loves: Erotic Frustration, Art and Death in the Work of Agnon (1997) enlarges the discussion of the Agnonian corpus and contains psychoanalytical discussions in the spirit of
Her Hebrew book And It Is Your Praise: Studies in the Writings of S. Y. Agnon, A. B. Yehoshua and Amos Oz (2006) concerns particular, intra-textual research, mapping repetitive primary themes and literary formats in Agnon, Yehoshua, and Oz. It also conducts inter-textual research, singling out the tangential points of Yehoshua (to whom is devoted Ben-Dov's Hebrew book In the Opposite Direction, 1995, about the novel Mr. Mani) and Oz on the one hand, and Agnon and the other: Agnon is a 'father figure' and the creator of literary models on which Oz and Yehoshua draw. In addition, the book indicates the unique elements in the works of Oz and Yehoshua after they lay down a mature fictional mode. The writings that Ben-Dov chose to discuss are timeless.* [8]
Her Hebrew-language book Written Lives: On Israeli Literary Autobiographies (Hayyim Ktuvim, 2011) is a scholarly response to the wave of
Ben-Dov studies autobiographic writings that preceded the torrent of late 20th and early 21st century: Agnon's story "The Mark" (Hasiman), the full version of which was published in 1962, the two semi-autobiographic novels by Sami Michael Refuge (Hasut) and A Handful of Fog (Hofen shel arafel), published in the late 1970s, and the complex of Dahlia Ravikovitch's prose and poetry, from which the experience of orphanhood erupts.
Written Lives also contains scholarly discussions of writings that are not purely literary, such as the Baghdad Yesterday: The Making of an Arab Jew (Bebagdad etmol), which is the memoirs of the literature scholar
Her book, War Life: On the Army, Revenge, Grief and the Consciousness of War in Israeli fiction (2016) was published by Schocken. The book deals with the consciousness of war, the experiences of the army, the urge to take revenge, the place of the individual within a group, the occupier-occupier relationship and dealing with loss and bereavement as reflected in selected works in Israeli fiction, from the First World War to the eve of the Second Lebanon War. Each chapter focuses on a different issue in the existence of Jewish and Israeli living in the shadow of wars.
Published books
- Agnon's Art of Indirection: Uncovering Latent Content in the Fiction of S.Y. Agnon, Brill's Series in Jewish Studies, Leiden and New York, 1993.
- In the Opposite Direction: A Collection of Studies on Mr Mani by A. B. Yehoshua. Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1995 (Hebrew).
- Unhappy/Unapproved Loves: Erotic Frustration, Art and Death in the Fiction of S.Y. Agnon. Am Oved, 1997 (Hebrew)
- Ve-Hi Tehilatekha (And It Is Your Praise): Studies in the Writings of S. Y. Agnon, A. B. Yehoshua and Amos Oz. Schocken, 2006 (Hebrew).
- The Amos Oz Reader. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, 2009.
- Intersecting Perspectives: Essays on A.B. Yehoshua's Oeuvre, edited by Nitza Ben-Dov, Amir Banbaji and Ziva Shamir, United Kibbutz Press, 2010 (Hebrew).
- Written Lives: On Israeli Literary Autobiographies, Schocken, 2011 (Hebrew).
- War Lives: On the army, revenge, grief and the consciousness of war in Israeli fiction, Schocken, 2016 (Hebrew).
- Where the Heart is Drawn, Schocken, 2022 (Hebrew).
References
- ^ University of Haifa prof. wins Israel Prize for Hebrew Literature Jerusalem Post, 18.2.2021
- ^ "Israel Prize Official Site (in Hebrew) – Recipient's C.V."
- ^ [1] City of Haifa, 23.6.2023
- ^ In the backyard of Agnon's house: The Liberated Bride by A.B.Yehoshua, Hebrew Studies, Vol. 47 (2006), pp. 237-251
- ^ The Vegeance of Skull in Yehuda Amichai's Not of this time, Not of this place, Prooftexts, Vol. 37, No. 2 (2019), pp. 328-353
- ^ They call you the Parisian: on Thera by Zeruya Shalev, Hebrew Studies, Vol. 55 (2014) pp. 295-303
- ^ Agnon's Art of Indirection: Uncovering Latent Content in the Fiction of S.Y. Agnon. Brill's Series in Jewish Studies, Leiden and New York, 1993.
- ^ Mor Altshuler, He cast a giant shadow: A review of And It Is Your Praise by Nitza Ben-Dov. Ha'aretz Literary Supplement, 16 Dec. 2006.
- ^ Doron Cohen, "Written lives: On Israeli literary autobiographies by Nitza Ben-Dov" Archived 28 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Hebrew Studies 54, 2013
Further reading
- Shalom Ratzaby, Notes on Agnon's Art of Indirection: Uncovering Latent Content in the Fiction of S.Y. Agnon by Nitza Ben-Dov (A review article), The Journal of Israeli History, vol. 15, no 1 (1994), pp. 123–124.
- Wendy Zierler, Probing Agnon: Agnon's Art of Indirection: Uncovering Latent Content in the Fiction of S.Y. Agnon by Nitza Ben-Dov, The Jerusalem PostMagazine (25 March 1994), p. 26.
- Ziva Shamir, Agnon's Art of Indirection: Uncovering Latent Content in the Fiction of S. Y. Agnon. A review of the book by Nitza Ben-Dov, Edebiyāt, vol. 7 no.1 (1996), pp. 163–165.
- Gabriella Avigur-Rotem, A Journey into the Lands of Agnon: A review of Unhappy/Unapproved Loves: Erotic Frustration, Art and Death in the Work of Agnon by Nitza Ben-Dov. Haaretz Culture and Literature Supplement, 27 June 1997, p. D2. (Hebrew)
- Sarah Halperin, Princes of language and simple folk: A review of Unhappy/Unapproved Loves: Erotic Frustration, Art and Death in the Work of Agnon by Nitza Ben-Dov. Maariv Literature and Books Supplement, 9 Jan. 1998, p. 29. (Hebrew)
- Fania Oz-Saltzberger, First, second and third truth: A review of And It Is Your Praise: Studies in the Writings of Sh. Y. Agnon, A. B. Yehoshua and Amos Oz by Nitza Ben-Dov. Kivunim Hadashim (New Directions), no. 16 (July 2007), pp. 278–284. (Hebrew)
- Robert Alter, And she is the praise: A review of And It Is Your Praise (Ve-Hi Tehilatekha): Studies in the Works of S.Y. Agnon, A.B. Yehoshua and Amos Oz by Nitza Ben-Dov. Archived 25 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine Keshet Hahadasha (New Array), no. 19 (spring 2007), pp. 31–35. (Hebrew).
- Adia Mendelson-Maoz, Ve-Hi Tehilatekha: Studies in the works of S. Y. Agnon, A. B. Yehoshua, and Amos Oz, Hebrew Studies 51, 2010
- Yael Halevi-Wise, Nitza Ben-Dov, Ve-hi’tehilatkha: Iyyunim bi-yetsirot Shai Agnon, A. B. Yehoshua ve-Amos Oz, AJS review, v.35, no.1 (2011), pp. 208–211.
- Eilat Negev, "The thin line between fiction and autobiography in Israeli novels" a review of Hayyim Ktuvim (Written Lives: On Israeli Literary Autobiographies) Haaretz, Books November 2011, p. 10.
- Doron Cohen "Where are the Hebrew War Novels,", Haaretz (English Edition) 3.3.2017
- Adia Mendelson-Maoz, Lives of Wars and Trauma, Hebrew Studies 59, 2018
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Israel Prize Ceremony, 2021 15.4.2021
- Distinguished Citizen of Haifa 23.6.2023
- Nitza Ben-Dov on the Haifa University website
- [2] List of articles on the RAMBI website: Index of articles on Jewish studies
- Nitza Ben-Dov, "The Dead Do Not Praise the Lord": Alter’s Psalms, Agnon’s "Tehilla," Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago, Hebrew Studies Volume 51, 2010
- Nitza Ben-Dov, Literary Criticism / The mother lode, Haaretz 5 November 2010