Rozik, Eli 1932-

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ROZIK, Eli 1932-

PERSONAL: Born June 12, 1932, in Argentina; immigrated to Israel, 1953; son of Benjamin (in commerce) and Catalina (in commerce) Rozik; married Sara Kamin (marriage ended); married Atara Minz; children: Galit Avni, Maya Schuldiner. Ethnicity: "Israeli-Jewish." Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, B.A., 1964, M.A., 1968, Ph.D., 1974; postdoctoral study at Queen Mary College, London, 1973-74, University of California, Berkeley, 1980-81, University of Paris VIII, 1988-89, and Cambridge University, 1993-94. Hobbies and other interests: Music, cinema, art, literature.

ADDRESSES: Home—10 Madregot Habatsir, Eyn Karem, Jerusalem 95744, Israel. E-mail—rozik@post.tau.ac.il.

CAREER: Hebrew University High School, Jerusalem, Israel, head of educational project, 1967-73; Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, lecturer, 1974-79, senior lecturer, 1979-90, associate professor, 1990-94, professor of theater studies, 1994-2000, professor emeritus, 2000—, department head, 1979-80, 1994-96, dean of Faculty of the Arts, 1996-2000. Hebrew University of Jerusalem, lecturer, 1978, senior lecturer, 1979, faculty member, 1990-91; International University of Venice, guest faculty, 2000; guest lecturer at Free University of Berlin, National Institute of Theater Arts, Moscow, Russia, University of Helsinki, University of Szeged, University of Cracow, University of Buenos Aires, Seijo University, and other institutions. Khan Theater, member of steering committee, 2002—. Cultural attaché at Israeli embassy for the United Kingdom and Ireland, 1983-86; National Council for Culture and the Arts, member, 1995-98; Mifal Hapais Council for the Arts, member, 2001.

MEMBER: International Federation for Theater Research (member of executive committee, 1993-99), Israeli Society for Theater Research (founder; president, 1988-91), American Society for Theater Research.

AWARDS, HONORS: Award from Tel Aviv Foundation for the Arts and Culture, for The Language of the Theatre.

WRITINGS:

On Metaphor in Theater and Poetry (in Hebrew), Dvir (Tel Aviv, Israel), 1981.

The Language of the Theatre (in Hebrew), Dvir (Tel Aviv, Israel), 1991, published in English translation, Theatre Studies Publications (Glasgow, Scotland), 1992.

Elements of Play Analysis (in Hebrew), Or Am (Tel Aviv, Israel), 1992.

The Roots of Theatre: Rethinking Ritual and Other Theories of Origin, University of Iowa Press (Iowa City, IA), 2002.

Contributor to books, including The Play out of Context, edited by H. Scolnicov and P. Holland, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1989; Small Is Beautiful, edited by C. Schumacher and D. Fogg, Theatre Studies Publications (Glasgow, Scotland), 1991; Theater in Israel, edited by Linda Ben-Zvi, University of Michigan Press (Ann Arbor, MI), 1996; Semiotics of the Media: State of the Art, Projects, and Perspectives, edited by Winfried Nöth, Mouton de Gruyter (New York, NY), 1997; and In Search of Identity: Jewish Aspects in Israeli Culture, Cass (London, England), 1999. Chief editor, "Assaph Book Series," beginning 1997. Contributor of more than 100 articles, interviews, and reviews to theater journals, including European Journal of Semiotic Studies, Contemporary Theatre Review, Essays in Poetics, Journal of Literary Semantics, Journal of Pragmatics, and Israel Affairs. Assaph: Studies in the Theatre, member of international editorial board, 1985-88, editor, 1988-99; coeditor, Mothar, 1993; editor of special issues, Theatre Research International, 1988, 1997, and Bamah, 1992; member of editorial board, Gesture, 2001—.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Theatrical Performance Analysis.

SIDELIGHTS: Eli Rozik told CA: "In my research, my main motivation is to understand the complexity of human systems of signification and communication. My interests focus on nonverbal thinking and communication and on the relationship between them and language. Although my main object of research is theater, the other arts fire my curiosity and imagination, too. I have been influenced by structuralism, semiotics, linguistics, and philosophy of language. My theories, however, are quite critical of these sources.

"My writing process is bizarre. The moment I identify an interesting problem, my brain starts suggesting ideas, which I write down immediately, before I forget them. At first glance, these ideas do not seem to follow any order or necessarily relate to the problem in question. Such a process may last for weeks. Then, while trying to make sense of these ideas and put some order among them, I gradually realize that they are like the pieces of a puzzle and easily combine and integrate into an organic whole. The last stage reflects a process of presenting this whole in a sensible and readable form.

"My inclination to do research on theater stems, I believe, from my attempts to act on stage and direct theater productions during my youth. A professional actor or director I did not become, but my attempts to understand this art probably better reflect my reflective nature."