Near East Studies

This course focuses on the topic of negotiations and conflict resolution in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict from 1977 through the present. It is divided into three parts. First, the course examines the general theoretical framework for explaining and understanding negotiations in international relations. In addition, students study the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the main issues and patterns of negotiations. Second, the course addresses several case-studies of successes and failures of negotiations between Israel and its several Arab neighbors including Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the Palestinians. In this context, the students understand the failure of the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. Finally, in the last part of the course, students conduct a simulation and present their papers and research.

This course addresses aspects of pluralism and multiculturalism from a socio-psychological perspective. The course focuses on various kinds of minorities in contemporary Israel society including immigrants (“Olim”), Palestinian Arabs, Israeli Druze, and others. Students analyze the complexity of biculturalism, and its relationship with psychological and socio-cultural adaptation. Finally, students review the DOPA model as a conceptual and methodological tool for the mapping and measurement of perceptions and orientations toward cultural diversity in educational contexts.

This course examines the development in oral and written comprehension and expression in modern Persian as spoken in Iran. General content includes: examination of the phonetics and phonology of the Persian alphabet as it is written in the Arabic script; examination of Persian grammar and syntax; study of Persian vocabulary and the similarities/cognates that are found between Persian and other Indo-European languages such as Spanish and English.

This course begins with an examination of the Zionist idea; its common denominators and variegated factions. Due consideration is given to the late-nineteenth century European context in order to appreciate the socio-economic, political, and cultural factors that impacted upon the Zionist movement. The course explores how competing visions for the Jewish state responded to the realities of Palestine, its local Arab population, Ottoman rulers, and existing Jewish population. The class discusses the McMahon-Hussein correspondence, the Sykes-Picot agreement, and the Balfour Declaration in order to appreciate whether Palestine was “a twice promised land.” The class examines the various British attempts to restore law and order and placate the ambitions of the Arab national movement whilst at the same time not giving the appearance of abandoning its commitments to the Zionist movement. The course studies the Peel Commission partition plan (1937) and the reactions of the Zionists, Palestinian Arabs, and emerging Arab states. The course discusses Arab and Zionist approaches towards the Allied war effort as well as their respective attitudes towards the future of the territory in a post-war settlement. The course explains the various claims as to why the British left Palestine, the recommendations of the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine, and its majority proposal for the partition of the territory. Students discuss the first Arab-Israeli war, the refugee crisis, and the Rhodes armistice agreements. Students are introduced to the writings of the New Historians and their critics. At this half way point the course turns its attention to internal and external dilemmas that faced and indeed continue to face the Israeli state. The schism surrounding religious – secular relations is studied both in its manifestation in the early years of statehood as well in ensuing years. The claim that Israel adopted a position of consociational politics in this arena is examined. A further field of study will be the approach of the hegemonic Labor movement towards the Mizrachi-Oriental immigrations of the 1950s and early 1960s. Expressions of alienation and discrimination are explored as well the claim that the ethnic gap remains real and not only symbolic in contemporary Israel. The course proceeds to examine other competing voices in Israeli society including those of its Arab citizens. It asks whether existing tensions can be accommodated by a reaffirmation of the Jewish-democratic characterization of the state or whether alternative paradigms might be considered. The various expressions of the Israel-Arab conflict are given due consideration as well as the efforts at peace making, particularly those with Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinians. The failure of the negotiations at Camp David in 2000 are addressed as well as the second intifada. Classes take the form of lectures, discussion based on the assigned readings, and one on-site visit.

This course introduces students to intellectual, political, social, and cultural trends in the Middle East (19th-20th centuries). Important political, social, and cultural developments in the region are studied. In this case, Lebanon serves as a case study for various trends that influenced the Middle East during the period in question.

This course focuses on the objectives, methods, and consequences of media involvement in armed conflicts and the importance of armed conflict for the media, in both historical and contemporary perspectives. The course provides tools to analyze and understand different cultural, social, and technical aspects of the relationship between the media and armed conflicts, while also maintaining strong practical components. These practical components include the workshopping based introduction of key journalistic skills including developing sources, interviewing techniques, and writing with a focus on application within active conflict zones. This course includes multiple field visits and interviews with those involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other Middle Eastern wars and offensives. The course considers media interaction in low, medium, and high intensity armed conflicts.