HYM4135 - Facing history: representing the Arab-Israeli conflict

Leader(s): Fania Oz-Salzberger

Offered

Caulfield Winter semester 2009 (Day)

Synopsis

In this 3-week intensive unit, we will examine the historiography of the Arab-Israel conflict with a focus on the New Historians and their critics. Students will study narratives of the conflict from the dominant Labour Zionist interpretation to the emergence of counter-narratives informed by post-Zionist perspectives. The course will identify the ideological currents that underpin the construction of historical accounts of the conflict and the paradigms that shape the use of evidence, narrative structure and content. A major concern will be to examine the various media through which the conflict is represented - news, documentaries, eyewitness accounts, archives, fiction, and film.

Objectives

Upon completion of this unit, students will be expected to have the capacity to:

1. identify debates surrounding key events in the Arab-Israel conflict from Zionist settlement in the nineteenth century to current affairs
2. identify the disciplinary perspectives that influence the writing of the Arab-Israel conflict
3. analyse how the news media shapes reportage of the conflict
4. explore the different media through which an event can be represented and critically analyse the attributes of that medium
5. In addition, students at fourth year will be expected to have the ability to analyse intellectual currents that have informed the historiography of the Arab-Israel conflict.

Assessment

Research essay (5000 words): 40%
Critical journal (2000 words): 20% +
Seminar presentation (1000 words): 10%
Exam (2 hours): 30%

Contact hours

One 3-hour seminar daily (five days a week), for three weeks.

Prohibitions

HSY3135, HSY4135