Israel/Palestine

Fall 2016
Ethnic Studies 98/198
1 Unit(s)

About the Course:

This 1-unit lecture and discussion-based course will examine key historical developments that have taken place in Palestine, from the 1880s to the present, through the lens of settler colonialism. First, by utilizing a comparative approach and engaging with existing scholarship, we will gain a broad understanding of settler colonialism. Second, we will explore the connection between Zionism and settler colonialism, and the ways in which it has manifested, and continues to manifest, in Palestine. Lastly, drawing upon literature on decolonization, we will explore the possibilities of a decolonized Palestine, one in which justice is realized for all its peoples and equality is not only espoused, but practiced.

Upon completion of this course, students will have:

Been introduced to Palestine’s history from the 1880s to the present
Acquired a basic understanding of settler colonialism as a distinct colonial formation, as it has been implemented in various settings, and as it relates to Palestine
Developed a set of vocabularies specific to the colonial and settler colonial analytics
Gained the analytical skills necessary to ground research on Palestine and its history
Learned to express oneself using this history and these concepts and vocabularies
Researched, formulated, and presented decolonial alternatives to the current situation in Palestine/Israel
This course is open to all students and no prior knowledge is necessary.

Subject to change as class needs arise
Week 1 |
Course Introduction: Syllabus, Community Agreement, Expectations
Week 2 |
Understanding Settler Colonialism: Distinct, Structural, Eliminatory
• Readings:
o Patrick Wolfe, Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the Native
o Selections from Lorenzo Veracini, Settler Colonialism: A Theoretical Overview
Week 3 |
Contextualizing Zionism: Anti-Semitism, Nationalism, Imperialism, and Colonialism in the Late
19th and Early 20th Century
• Guest Lecture: Keith Feldman
• Readings:
o TBA by guest lecturer
Week 4 |
Zionism Manifest: Settling Palestine, 1882-1947
• Readings:
o Patrick Wolfe, Purchase by Other Means
o Selections from Nur Masalha, Expulsion of the Palestinians: The Concept of
“Transfer” in Zionist Political Thought, 1882-1948
Week 5 |
The Nakba: Indigenous Dispossession, Settler Independence
• Readings:
o Selections from Ilan Pappe, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
o Selections from Nur Masalha, The Palestinian Nakba: Decolonising History, Narrating
the Subaltern, Reclaiming Memory
• Assignment Due:
o Village Portfolio
Week 6 |
The Character of the Zionist Settler Colonial State, 1948 - 1966
• Readings:
o Fayez Sayegh, Zionist Colonialism in Palestine
• Assignment Due:
o Discriminatory Laws
Week 7 |
The Naksa: Settler Colonial Occupation, 1967-1987
• Assignment Due:
o Documentary Reflection
Week 8 |
Anti-Colonial Resistance and Intifadat Al-Hijar, or the “Uprising of Stones:” Political, Social,
Economic, and Transnational Resistance, 1960s – 1993
• Guest Lecture: Dr. Hatem Bazian
• Readings:
o TBA by guest lecturer
Week 9 |
The Oslo Accords: Entrenching Colonialism, Outsourcing Occupation, 1993 - 2000
• Readings:
o Edward Said, The Morning After
o Leila Farsakh, The Political Economy of Israeli Occupation: What is Colonial about
It?
Week 10 |
Intifadat Al-Aqsa, or ”Al-Aqsa Uprising,” and the Matrix of Control, 2000 - 2006
• Readings:
o Selections from Eyal Weizman, Hollow Land: Israel’s Architecture of Occupation
o Selections from Saree Makdisi, Palestine Inside Out
Week 11 |
The Neoliberal Turn, 2007 – Present
• Readings:
o David Rose, The Gaza Bombshell
o Adam Hanieh, Chapter 5, Class and State in the West Bank: Neoliberalism Under
Occupation in Lineages of Revolt
• Assignment Due:
o Final Presentation Proposal
Week 12 |
Reservation Gaza: Siege, Calorie Counting, and “Humanitarian Warfare,” 2007 – Present
• Readings:
o Selections from Report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza
Conflict, also known as the Goldstone Report (2009)
o Selections from Breaking the Silence, This is How We Fought in Gaza: Soldiers׳
testimonies and photographs from Operation “Protective Edge˝ (2014)
Week 13 |
Decolonial Horizons
• FINAL PRESENTATIONS
Week 14 |
Decolonial Horizons
• FINAL PRESENTATIONS