REVIEW OF GESHER: RUSSIAN THEATRE IN ISRAEL-A STUDY OF CULTURAL COLONIZATION BY OLGA GERSHENSON

摘要

In Recovered Roots: Collective Memory and the Making of Israeli National Tradition, Yael Zerubavel observes that "the construction of a new nation's memory is one facet of creating a new national culture, and cultures do not lend themselves well to academic disciplinary divisions" (xvii). As a force that can at once bolster and subvert the construction of stable, nationalistic identity, artistic culture—art museums, concert halls, public theatre, and the like—continually presents opportunities and challenges for confronting national memory. Consider the rampant public debate that occurs, for example, when a celebrated composer chooses to perform Wagner, whose music is understood to embody the brutality of Nazi aspirations, in an Israeli concert venue. Artistic culture, and its easy articulation with national memory, identity, and ideology, is interrogated in a number of academic disciplines that employ methodologies privileging aesthetics and sociological criteria. Nevertheless, exploring the communicative dimensions that bind artistic expression with other forms of political and cultural dialogue is key to understanding these relationships. Enter Olga Gershenson's acute study of the Gesher public theater, a touchstone for contemporary Israeli identity politics.