HIST 098 PZ -Palestine and Israel: the Ongoing Crisis & the Plausible Path to a Just Peace

Institution: Pitzer

Description: This course starts by examining key concepts in debates about Palestine and Israel, notably bias, peoples, participation, and statehood. The course then examines both the history of the crisis and the uses of historical representations to prop up the the current political and social order of Israel and Palestine. In contrast with most received narratives, we find the making of the crisis primarily in the shaping of ethnic conflict and ethno-national state-making by partition under British colonial rule–not in timeless enmities. The course is also concerned to understand why the status quo of the present is at once so violently oppressive for Palestinians and yet something many Jewish Israelis and their state accept. We also look at the crucial role of the US in maintaining, funding, and arming the status quo - and how that may be changing. In the final section of the course, we identify plausible futures for Palestine-Israel, and consider how a globally dispersed social justice movement can support the Palestinian struggle for equality and freedom - and thereby foster a positive or just peace for all persons in Palestine and Israel.

Prerequisite(s): Please check the current course schedule for requirements.

For up-to-date information on current course offerings and details, please refer to the Pitzer class schedule on MyCampus2 Portal.