HIST 200 A History of the Palestine-Israel Question

The course traces the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict from its roots during the late Ottoman period to the current state of affairs. We will examine this topic through study of the social, economic, and cultural history of the region while remaining cognizant of how global forces from the mid-19th century affected, what was historically, the southern part of Ottoman Syria. The aim of the course is to provide a historical overview of the struggle in the eastern Mediterranean, which has become known as the proper noun, the "Arab-Israeli Conflict." Rather than treating this struggle as the latest, inevitable iteration of a millennia-old, Middle Eastern conflict, this class examines its specific modern historical contexts. Our approach is chronological and we will cover a variety of topics and questions. A sampling of our topics: 19th-century Palestine, the emergence of nationalism as a historical phenomenon, early Zionist settlement in Palestine and Palestinian society at the beginning of the twentieth Century, Zionist women activists and Palestinian women, World War I and British rule, the 1936-39 Palestinian Revolt, the 1948 War for Palestine and its aftermath, Israeli-Arab relations in the 1950s, the Suez War, the implications of gendering the nation, the 1967 War and the subsequent occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights, the demographic "race," Israel in Lebanon, the Intifadas, and the peace processes.

Survey Requirement Met: Middle East and Africa