HIST 31205 Fall 2020 the Arab-Israeli Conflict Place
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HIST 31205 Fall 2020 The Arab-Israeli Conflict Place: BRWN 1154 Day and Time: M-W-F, 10:30 am – 11:20 am Instructor: Professor Holden Student Hours: M & W, 8:15 am – 9:15 am Email: [email protected] The US media sometimes presents the Arab-Israeli conflict as an irreconcilable divide between Muslims and Jews, but tensions originated just a little over a century ago. This class traces the emergence of political fault lines by assessing conditions in Ottoman Palestine, the effects of World War I on the Middle East, the immigration of European Jews in the Interwar Era and after World War II, the divisive policies implemented by the British in the Mandate era, the establishment of a Jewish state and the subsequent wars between Israel and surrounding Arab countries. In the end, religion is just a part of a long history of conflict and engagement. Learning Outcomes • Topical --To increase understandings of the political, economic and cultural forces that acted as a catalyst for the Arab-Israeli conflict and continue to underpin and stir them. --To reflect on the symbols (monuments, songs, literature, film, language) of Israeli and Palestinian nationalism in order to understand conflict and culture production. --To assess diverging narratives of the Arab-Israeli conflict in film, memoir and other documents, thereby developing students’ abilities to reflect upon and argue about the past. • Analytical --To improve writing skills. --To improve oral communication. --To stimulate analytical consideration of complex issues. --To increase global fluency, or student knowledge about diverse cultures. Basically, this class attends to the five skills that USA Today (https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2015/05/03/cheat-sheet-skills-college- grads-job/26574631/ ) marks as critical for making a positive impression on employers: ability to interact with people, problem-solving skills, oral communication, and written communication. As for the value of liberal arts classes (no matter your major!), read this Professor in Harvard’s Business School, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/business/liberal-arts-stem- salaries.html?searchResultPosition=1 Class Preparations: I have listed the assignment for each class underneath each meeting. The class preparations are to be done before each class so that we can discuss assigned material. You will find most readings and films on Brightspace or via a link on the syllabus. 2 However, I would like you to acquire the following book: Gelvin, James L., The Israel-Palestine Conflict: 100 Years of War, 3rd edition (Cambridge University Press, 2014). Course Requirements: 10 Short Responses 50% Current Events in Historical Perspective 20% Student Engagement 30% I have listed 27 prompts to the assigned material throughout the course of this semester. These prompts should help you to organize initial thoughts about the readings and films. If you must be absent (see COVID-19 attendance policy below), these prompts can be used at home to inform your readings, and we can arrange via email to communicate summary and analysis of materials. I am asking students to write short responses to 10 of these prompts. These responses are to be uploaded to Brightspace by 10:30 am on the due date. You will write between 200 and 300 words. I will not accept late responses. These responses will help you to reflect deeply on reading material and thus allow you to contribute more meaningfully to classroom conversation. I provide these prompts as a means of fostering thoughts about the material. You do not have to answer each question in a prompt. What interests you in the reading? Why? With what effect for your understanding of historical process? This type of analysis is what I seek in your response papers. This class will spend the last two weeks of the semester putting current thoughts about the Israeli- Palestinian conflict in perspective. This past July, The New York Times published a controversial op-ed by Peter Beinert, “I No Longer Believe in a Two-State Solution” (8 July 2020). It sparked a lot of conversation about the future of Israelis and Palestinians. For your final project, you will read the material assigned for the last two weeks and reflect on Beinert’s argument. Can Israelis and Palestinians live in a single state as co-citizens? How did your readings this semester shape your thoughts on this issue? And what historical events and processes might act as a basis for a one-state solution...or, alternately, might preclude the one-state solution advocated by Beinert? You should write an essay of between 1,250 and 1,750 words. It is due on 8 December 2020. Engagement is an important component of your final grade. This class meets on campus. I will take attendance consistently, but not on set days. If you are unable to attend a specific class in person, please contact me. For that class, we can figure out via email a way for you to engage outside of class. A lot of class time will be devoted to discussion. A college education should foster a strong ability to communicate in both written and verbal forms! Class discussions provide students with an opportunity to debate issues and to raise questions about them. Students will be expected to come to class prepared to discuss a topic and will be evaluated according to their ability to demonstrate knowledge of the assigned material and so to participate in a discussion. There will be a few assignments for which I will ask you to fill out a worksheet responding to questions on a film. This informal worksheet is not graded, but it must be turned it. It is designed to focus your thoughts and also allow me to gauge how you are processing the information in the class. 3 Classroom Guidance Regarding Protect Purdue: The Protect Purdue Plan includes the Protect Purdue Pledge, and it is campus policy. All members of the Purdue community must comply with its guidelines. Required behaviors in your classes include: staying home and contacting the Protect Purdue Health Center (765 496-INFO) if you feel ill or know you have been exposed to the virus; wearing a mask in classrooms and campus building, at all times (so no eating or drinking in the classroom); disinfecting your workspace prior to and after use; maintaining proper social distancing with peers and instructors (including when entering and exiting classrooms); refraining from moving furniture; avoiding shared use of personal items; maintaining robust hygiene (e.g., handwashing, disposal of tissues) prior to, during and after class; and following the instructor’s safety directions. Students who are not engaging in these behaviors (e.g., wearing a mask) will be offered the opportunity to comply. If non-compliance continues, possible results include instructors asking the student to leave class and instructors dismissing the whole class. Students who do not comply with the required health behaviors are violating the University Code of Conduct and will be reported to the Dean of Students Office. Sanctions may include dismissal from the university. Any student who has substantial reason to believe that another person in the classroom) is threatening the safety of others by not complying (e.g., not wearing a mask) may leave the room without consequence. The student is encouraged to report the behavior to and discuss next steps with their instructor. Students also have the option of reporting the behavior to the Office of the Student Rights and Responsibilities. See also Purdue University Bill of Student Rights. Here is the University’s policy on Attendance during COVID-19: Students should stay home and contact the Protect Purdue Health Center (765 496 INFO) if they feel ill, have any symptoms During COVID-19, in-person attendance will not be a factor in the final grades. However, a student still needs to inform the instructor of any conflict that can be anticipated and will affect the submission of an assignment or the ability to take an exam. If a student isolates in this class, your engagement can be modified so that you assess the readings at home and communicate a summary of your thoughts via email to me ([email protected]). Only the instructor can excuse a student from a course requirement or responsibility. When conflicts can be anticipated, such as for many University-sponsored activities and religious observations, the student should inform the instructor of the situation as far in advance as possible. For unanticipated or emergency conflict, when advance notification to an instructor is not possible, the student should contact the instructor as soon as possible by email ([email protected]). When the student is unable to make direct contact with the instructor and is unable to leave word with the instructor’s department because of circumstances beyond the student’s control, and in cases of bereavement, quarantine, or isolation, the student or the student’s representative should contact the Office of the Dean of Students via email ([email protected]) or phone (765-494-1747). Grading A = 94-100 A- = 90-93 4 B+ = 87-89 B = 84-86 B- = 80-83 C+ = 77-79 C = 74-76 C- = 70-73 Class Guidelines • Prepare (Read Book, Watch Film) for a class beforehand to get the most out of it! • Upload response papers to Brightspace by 10:30 am (unless you contact me)! • Be considerate! It may be a distraction to your neighbors if you surf the net during class! Or come in late! Or speak in the vernacular (i.e. drop the F-bomb) during discussions. Week 1 -- Ottoman Palestine 8/24/20 (M) Conflict and Engagement Class Preparations Gelvin, The Israel-Palestine Conflict, “The Land and Its Lure,” 1-13.