Israel/Palestine: A Narrative Approach POLITIC4156

  • Academic Session: 2022-23
  • School: School of Social and Political Sciences
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
  • Typically Offered: Either Semester 1 or Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Available to Erasmus Students: Yes

Short Description

The course will adopt a narrative approach to engage with the contested history and politics of the Israel/Palestine conflict from late Ottoman Palestine to the present day. Drawing on a range of cultural and academic sources, students will engage with multiple perspectives on the history and politics of the conflict.

Timetable

This course may not be running this year. For further information please check the Politics Moodle page or contact the subject directly.

Requirements of Entry

Mandatory Entry Requirements

Entry to Honours Politics requires a grade point average of 12 (Grade C) over Politics 2A and Politics 2B as a first attempt.

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

1. 75%: Essay (3500 words)

2. 25% Reflective log (1250 words)

Are reassessment opportunities available for all summative assessments? Not applicable

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Course Aims

This course provides a historical overview of some key periods of the Israel/Palestine conflict and explores its political, social and cultural dimensions from late Ottoman Palestine to the present day. By bringing to bear a narrative approach to the conflict, students will be able to engage with the contested history and politics of the conflict from a variety of perspectives. The course will examine not only the 'official' Israeli and Palestinian narratives but also a variety of perspectives 'from below', identifying contradictions and contestations regarding the conflict and its underlying dynamics. Students will engage with films, poems, memoirs and novels as well as scholarly accounts as important representations of the conflict. The course will also enable students to explore the politics of the conflict in their own home country and to reflect on what this means for broader regional and global political analysis.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. develop awareness and understanding of the challenges involved in approaching, in a scholarly manner, a contested history such as the Israel/Palestine conflict;

2. demonstrate a conceptual understanding of the role of narrative in conflict;

3. illustrate how narratives are constructed and the interplay between historiography, national narrative and cultural memory in the context of Israel/Palestine;

4. critically analyse key issues in the history and politics of Israel/Palestine.

5. Advance reasoned and factually supported arguments, orally and in writing.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.