congregated, met and wrote, I found that cafés were important in each and every city. In the beginning, I thought that these places stood out because of my own love of cafés, but when I came back to Ann Arbor and looked at the literature and archival materials I realized that it wasn't a coincidence. At this point, I was fortunate to spend the Fall semester as a fellow at the Frankel Institute for advanced Judaic Studies in its inaugural year, when the topic was "Jews and the City." This was just the perfect occasion to work on my project with a wonderful group of scholars from various fields dealing with issues of urban space and Jewish culture. I wrote most of the first part of Literary Passports during this fellowship period. Another interesting surprise came when I was writing the part of the book that dealt with gender and sexuality in modernist Hebrew fiction. I came across a number of translations into Hebrew and Yiddish of works by Oscar Wilde, as well as essays and studies about him, including by figures as remote from Wilde as possible. This pushed me into a small but intense research on the extent on the interest in Wilde and the reasons for it. I discovered that there was a real "Wildemania" in the world of Jewish literature and culture during the early decades of the 20th century. This deep interest (which was _ not limited to Wilde but extended to writers of Russian, German, Scandivian, Polish and other languages) had to do, among other things, with wide-ranging changes in perceptions of gender and sexuality that I identified and analyzed. So, I began the part of the book that is devoted to the topic, with a discussion of the Hebrew translation of Oscar Wilde's Salome, which was commissioned and published by Yossef Haim Brenner, who lived in London's East End. you planning to teach any dasse5 at Michigan. that relate to this book? The truth is that until now it was very difficult to teach a course that deals directly with the topic of my book. This is partly because until I've written the book, there was no good framework in which one could look at the materials in a dear and comprehensive way. Also, for the contemporary reader, the literary texts are difficult and not accessible, unless you are trained in the Hebrew written in early 20th century (which is very different from Hebrew spoken today!). I was very fortunate to have a wonderful group of graduate students, with whom I conducted a seminar on modernist Hebrew literature while researching the book. I have learned much from their wise comments, UP AGAINST A WALL: "Shifts-in-Political Decision- -Makiiig-frocesses in and:Palestine" — 930-11:00 -Panel h Yoram Peri, University of Maryland; Wendy Pearlman, Northwestern University Respondent Yael Aronoff, Michigan State University Chair: Victor Lieberman, University of Michigan Michigan League, Koessler Room, 911 N. University, Ann Arbor, MI the outstanding discussions we had in the classroom, and their thoughtful, superb seminar papers and other written work, which I cited in my book extensively. I am indebted to their work and rejoice in our scholarly dialogue and warm intellectual and interpersonal relationships. Beyond these graduate-level seminars, I make much use of the research and writing I have made for the book in a course on "Exile and Homecoming in Modern Hebrew and Jewish Literature," "From Bible and Midrash to Modern Hebrew Literature," and "Ethnicity and Nationalism in Modern Hebrew Literature." Materials from my book are also featured in a team-taught course which I teach together with my Judaic Studies colleagues Mikhail Krutikov and Julian Levinson (which is my favorite course): "Jews in the Modern World: Texts, Images, Ideas." Finally, I draw on my book in new courses I develop, like "A Tale of Two Cities: Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in Israeli Culture," which I am teaching in Winter 2012. The ultimate satisfaction in teaching is to introduce to students materials, texts and questions about which I thought long and hard, and to discover that they come up with something new and original that never occurred to me. Fortunately, this happens very frequently and will probablj continue to happen. Israel in a Changing Middle East Monday, February 6, 2011 - -- 2:00-3:30 Panel Ill: "Has the Israeli Public Debate Changed?" Sammy Smooha, Haifa University, Frankel Institute Fellow Sarni Aharoni, University of Michigan Respondent Zvi Gitelman, University of Michigan Chair: Olena Bagno Moldayski, Stanford University, Frankel Institute Fellow Michigan League, Koessler Room, 911 N. University, Ann Arbor, MI - "Cooperation or Isolation? Israel in International and Regional Politics" 11:15- 12:45 Panel II: Robert Axelrod, University of Michigan; Shai Feldman, Brandeis University Respondent Mark Tessler, University of Michigan Chair: Gottfried Hagen, University of Michigan Michigan League, Koessler Room, 911 N. University, Ann Arbor, MI •■ 1.11%00,, Oli, N :Eike Rkger Coheri, New Ydirk Times Israeli SpiaingTThe Enduring Jewish Question" .1 Keyrote: air: Deborah Dash Moore, Universit Michigan 6 prq, Michiga0 Union, !loge! Ballroom, 530 South :State Street, Ann Arbor, MI1 Bir Nal:ela, 2007. Pliotoaraph by Yigal Feliks. All sessions are open iwthe public and Studies at the University of Michigan. For pihisiiieliby the Jean SidHittet'Ficinkel Cehtet for Judaic Studies mid thetenter for Middle East and North African ore information, visit http://www.lsa.umich.edu/judaici, email JudaicStudies@umich.edu , or call 734/163.9047.