Reflections on Teaching Israel/Palestine in the Theatre Studies Classroom
Sruti Bala and Rashna D. Nicholson | 22 November 2023 | The Theatre Times
WHAT IS THE TASK OF A HUMANITIES EDUCATION?
The following incident, which recently took place in India, offers us much material for reflection.
It is an indication of the ripple effects of problematic responses to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in parts of the Global South.
It teaches us a lesson about the importance and complexity of historical context.
It warns us about the perils of shortcuts and hastily jumping to conclusions.
It asks us to carefully consider the difference between explaining violence and condoning it. And why ignoring this difference is, in fact, a form of violence in itself.
More than a month after Israel launched an extensive, genocidal aerial bombardment and large-scale ground invasion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ multi-pronged attack of southern Israel, Dr. Sharmistha Saha, Assistant Professor in English at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in Mumbai, arranged a classroom screening of the Dutch-Israeli documentary Arna’s Children (2004) by Juliano Mer-Khamis and Danniel Danniel. The intention behind the screening of the film and its accompanying introduction by theatre maker and writer Sudhanva Deshpande was for students to gain a deeper understanding of the conflict and to reflect on the role of arts and culture therein.