Palestine/Israel

Catalog description

This course provides a thorough grounding in the state of the field of the history of Palestine/Israel. It examines the encounter between Palestinians and Israelis from a perspective that questions our ability to understand them separately and it emphasizes interdependency between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and internal tension within Palestinian and Israeli societies. Topics will include but are not limited to: Palestine/Israel as case of settler-colonialism, the place of religion in defining national identities and boundaries, intra-ethnic divides, competing discourses of citizenship, the fragile status of Palestinian citizens and non-citizens under the Israeli control system, struggles over collective memory, and the place of gender and sexuality in the conflict. The course emphasizes the intersection of politics and culture, demonstrating the political relevance of cultural fields such as music, cinema, and sports.