HSY3145 - The history of the Arab-Israeli conflict

Leader(s): Associate Professor Mark Baker and Professor Fania Oz-Salzberger

Offered

Not offered in 2009

Synopsis

This unit will provide an historical analysis of the changing dimensions of the Arab-Israeli conflict from its origins to the present day. Themes to be studied include Jewish-Arab relations under the Ottoman Empire and British Mandate, the emergence of Jewish and Palestinian nationalism, Zionist ideology, the impact of the Holocaust, the birth of Israel in 1948 and the Palestinian refugee crisis, war, the status of the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem, the rise of the PLO, the Intifadas, terrorism and counterterrorism. In tutorials, students will simulate the politics of negotiation by engaging with documents that have attempted to forge a peaceful end to the conflict.

Objectives

Upon completion of the course, students will also be expected to:

1. Understand the competing narratives and claims of all parties to the conflict and how the past informs current perceptions of the conflict;
2. Be able to describe the historiographical debates about the history of the conflict;
3. Have a knowledge of the broader regional and global implications of the Arab-Israeli conflict;
4. Be able to analyse how key documents framing the conflict have been contested by different parties and political streams;
5. Have the ability to interpret the role of the media in shaping perceptions of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

6. To distinguish between different schools of thought in current historiographical debates about the conflict.

Assessment

Class participation 10%; Short essay (1000 words): 20%; Long essay (2000 words): 40%; 2 hour exam 30%.

Contact hours

1 two hour lecture plus 1 one hour tutorial

Prerequisites

First year sequence in Jewish Civilisation or in History

Prohibitions

HSY2145