Department of Visual and Material Culture
המחלקה לתרבות חזותית וחומרית
قسم الثقافة البصرية والمادة
Dr. Gal Hertz is the head of the Visual and Material Culture Department at Bezalel. He is a Germanist and a cultural researcher. His research creates a connection between the history and philosophy of science and cultural studies. He examines the rise of social disciplines around 1900 in the German-speaking world, such as criminology, sociology, sexology, law and psychiatry; This is from an affinity to popular culture, development of the press and media, theater, literature, and art. According to Hertz, the connecting point between seemingly unrelated fields is the establishment of a social order based on a new imagined normative base. Hertz holds a master's degree and a doctorate from the Cohn Institute at Tel Aviv University, pursued post-doctoral studies at the Leibniz Center for Literary and Cultural Research (ZfL Berlin), and taught at both Humboldt University and the Free University of Berlin. After that he was co-director of the research project "Humanities in Conflict Zones" at the Minerva Humanities center, and served as a research and teaching fellow at the Cohn Institute and the School of Cultural Studies at Tel Aviv University. In parallel to his work at the university, he is the editor of "MiNituk LeShiluv" (“From Disconnection to Integration”), an academic journal of the Ministry of Education Department for the Education of Children and At-Risk Youth, in which he is also involved in the processes of training teaching staff and in the development and implementation of the department's approach: therapeutic pedagogy.
Alongside his own artwork, Shouker initiates artwork and projects in collaboration with communities related to society and culture. In 1997 he initiated Pen Pal Project , which was the personal photographed correspondence between 500 Israeli and Palestinian youths via postcards, which was also presented as an exhibition in Israel and abroad. In 2008 he presented the wide-ranging exhibition The Pyramid Game , the result of a decade of research, which explored the sociological and economic structure of the Israeli art world. In 2004 he initiated the multi-departmental course at Bezalel entitled Art and Activism in the Public Space. In 2014 he won that year's Shosh Berlinski Prize from the Israel Council for Higher Education for an Outstanding Lecturer in the sphere of academia-community.
From 2008 to 2012 he held the voluntary position of Chairman of the Professional Union of Artists in the Fine Arts in Israel, and until 2016 he was advisor to the organization and its liaison with the establishment.
Shouker researches the field of cultural policy and has published studies and reports on the subject in Israel and abroad. Between 1992 and 2015 he owned and operated a studio for photography, advertising and PR. In 2014 he created the YouTube Pyramid Channel and developed a television-style format for items related to the politics and sociology of art and culture.
[i] Over the years the course was taught in conjunction with additional lecturers: Eldad Cidor, Lea Mauas and Diego Rotman.
I immigrated from South Africa with my husband in 1987. Our two children were born in Israel. I have been teaching English as a foreign language at the Hebrew University since 1991.
My first degree is in Psychology and History from UNISA (University of South Africa). I have a teaching Diploma and post-graduate degree in remedial Education from The University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) and a master’s degree in English Literature from The Hebrew University.
In my years at the university I have taught English to students studying humanities, social sciences, sciences and nursing. I am looking forward to teaching new material to creative students and working with Joanna and the other members of English Unit.
I have always incorporated all four skills in teaching and I am happy that the MALAG has now made this approach official. I believe Bezalel students want to be part of the international academic community. Proficiency in English is essential to achieve this goal.
I will be teaching the basic level course. This course aims at building a solid foundation in English; preparing for the challenges of the higher levels and increasing confidence to use English both academically and for everyday usage.
A historian of visual art and lecturer. Involved with the fields of Israeli art and modern Jewish art.
2012 - Ph.D., Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Title: Cross-Stitching Cross-Cultural Identities: Elaine Reichek's Art of Text and Textile.
2003 - M.A. Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Title: Micha Ullman: The Quiet Dialogue, Hidden Sculptures in Public Space.
Dr. Yona Weitz is a field anthropologist (Ph.D), a Researcher and a Lecturer teaching in the undergraduate Department of Visual and Material Culture studies and in M.Des, the Graduate Industrial Design Programme in Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. Yona`s research, teaching and mentoring work in Bezalel focuses on human based research & toolkits for design, social design, design management and urban socio-spatial analysis for site planning.
