Near East Studies

This course provides a basic overview of Israel's legal system, its core principles, and its central institutions. The course focuses on the development of Israel's law since the founding of the state; important issues, including politics, affecting Israeli law; and the Israeli approach to specific and focused fields of law. The course aims to introduce the fundamentals of Israel's legal system, important developments and key jurists since the founding of the state, and discuss specific areas of law in Israel.

This course begins by examining early Jewish religious responses to modernity in Western and Central Europe and then turns its attention to the national, secular, and haredi responses in Eastern Europe. It then follows the fortunes of these groups as they were expressed in the New World, most particularly the United States of America. The course then focuses on Zionist formulations of the “New Jew” and their later reconfiguration given the realities of Palestine. It concludes by asking if the fragmentation of Jewish identity has become so profound as to end shared contours.

Radical Islam is one of the most significant political phenomena of the last decade. This course examines major contemporary Islamist movements and ideologies in the Sunni Muslim world, and the major changes within Islam and jihadism since the events of the Arab Spring of 2011. It explores the origins, motivations, and practices of radical Islamic movements. It examines major Sunni Islamist thinkers, schools, and movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, Sayyid Qutb, post-MB Egyptian radicalism, and modern Salafism. The course also looks at the rise of ISIS and the impact of the Arab Spring.

This course examines some of the pivotal events in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict from the early 20th century to the present. The evolution of the conflict between Arab states, the Palestinians and the Zionist movement, the Arab-Israeli wars, and the peace negotiations and treaties between Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinian national movement, are some of the main themes in this course. The course discusses the complexity of the conflict, the role of the conflict with Israel in intra-Arab relations, and the development of the Palestinian national movement from its inception, its relations with Arab countries, and its division between PLO and Hamas. Beyond discussions, the course includes panels and historical “trials” where students present the case of conflicting views on the events discussed in class.

This course addresses a fundamental question of political science: political legitimacy. The seminar is divided into three main parts. The first part is more philosophical in nature and focuses on the source and limits of political power in different types of political regimes. The second part of the course deals with some of the key concepts of political theory, including questions about political power, domination, social justice, and exploitation. The third part is composed of four thematic sessions dedicated to Turkey. Examples covered include the Gezi Park protests of 2013, as well as other moments of popular uprisings and their political meanings for different regimes in the region and beyond. The course provides the theoretical and empirical resources needed to develop the skills to critically apprehend current political events.

The history of Jewish education spans millennia. This course examines the history of Israeli education from its religious roots in the 18th century to its current national expressions in the 21st century. In the process of communicating this historical overview of Jewish and Israeli education, students witness the different roles of religion, nationalism, languages, politics, gender, and culture in the formation of Israeli education. These forces also had a role in separating and integrating different segments of Israeli population, including European and Mizrahi Jews and Arabs. This education system and its forces of integration and segregation emanated both from internal forces within the Jewish and Zionist world as well as from foreign forces and influences. Education in the Zionist movement and Israel played a crucial role in formulating the identity and nature of Israeli nationalism and in forming the state.

The course explores the rich body of literature on multiculturalism that has developed and raises questions regarding the advantages and disadvantages, the freedom, and the limits that a society of separate and sometimes semi-autonomous culture presents. The course examines various theories regarding multiculturalism and applies them as part of an analysis of the complicated relations between political authorities and the many minorities in Jerusalem, including Ultra-Orthodox Jews, various Christian sects, and the large Moslem minority. The course addresses the conflicting interests of these groups on both municipal and national levels, as well as the international aspects and ramifications of recognizing the various ethnic, religious, and national groups. The lecturer draws on their experience with timely issues as a member of Jerusalem's City Council.

This course is an introduction to the history of the Islamic world from 550 to 1050 CE. It covers the pre-Islamic background to Islam, the life of the Prophet Muhammad, the Arab conquests, the formation of the first Muslim world empire (the Caliphate), the emergence of the "orthodox" Islamic traditions of Sunni and Shi'i Islam, and the fragmentation of the Caliphate into a "commonwealth" of successor states.

This course begins with a brief history of Islam in Ireland. It will subsequently examine the Islamic “other,” and Muslim identities in Europe from historical and modern perspectives. The focus of the course then shifts to the modern era and to debates concerning Muslims living in Europe, including discussions around secularism, human rights, and religious freedoms.