Zionism & Modern Israel

Catalog description

This course traces the growth of the Zionist movement at the end of the 19th century, first in Russia and then in Western Europe and the U.S., and its role in the creation of modern Israel coupled with an examination of Israel’s history since 1948. There are two major goals in this course: to trace the development of modern Jewish nationalism as a response to 19th century anti-Semitism and understand its relationship to the creation of Israel; and second, to examine how new interpretations of Israel’s history published in the past decade challenge the myths and presuppositions underlying the creation and development of the state. Course Attributes: Humanities Elect/Integrations College of Arts & Sciences History