HY 300 Section 009: Special Studies in History
Fall 2011
3 Credit Hours
Primary Instructor: Dr. Daniel Levine
Syllabus subject to change.
This course traces the unfolding of the Israel-Palestine Conflict from its beginnings in 19th century
imperial politics until the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 – further, if
time permits. We will review principal episodes in the history of that conflict, analyzing them both
inwardly and in relation to broader geopolitical developments. So, for example, we will study the
1948 war – what Israelis refer to as either the War of Liberation or Independence (Milchemet ha-
Shichrur/Atzma’ut) from Great Britain, and Palestinians as the Naqba, or Catastrophe – both in local
terms and in relation to decolonization struggles unfolding elsewhere in the British Empire.
The aim here is to ‘disenchant’ the conflict, but in a very particular way. This conflict wields an
enormous symbolic presence: one out of all proportion to its size or – in regional and global terms
at least – intensity. That fact must be accepted, even as it is interrogated. To that end, we will work
from two perspectives at once. First, we will consider the conflict in terms of defined events, causes
and effects. Second, we will explore those perspectives that see it primarily in terms of ‘bigger’
questions: as an extension of broader religious, cultural, ‘civilizational’ or ideological conflicts.
At the conclusion of the course students will be able to:
• Identify central individuals, events, and turning points in the Israel-Palestine conflict;
• Locate on a map important topographical features, population centers, and political units in
Israel/Palestine, and in adjacent territories;
• Demonstrate an understanding of key driving factors of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with an
eye both to its persistence and to the broader cultural, religious, economic, historical and
political narratives ascribed to it;
• Critically evaluate their own suppositions, beliefs and understandings regarding the region,
with an eye to those narratives;
• Evaluate and interpret primary sources, and construct historical insights from them;
• Further develop their skills in written communication, including formulating and sustaining a
written argument based in part on such sources.
Unit I. Introduction
How should we study this conflict? What can we hope to learn from its study? What presuppositions, expectations or beliefs of our own must we confront before we address ourselves to it?
Wed., 8/24: Introduction
Topics: Overview of course & requirements. Territorial-geographical survey.
Readings: n/a
Monday, 8/29: Is there a Middle East?
Topics: From Orientalism to Aladdin: the invention (and re-invention) of the Middle East
Readings:
• Roderic Davison: “Where is the Middle East?” Foreign Affairs 38 (1960). (packet)
• Edward W. Said: “Arabs, Islam and the Dogmas of the West,” New York Times Book Review,
31 October 1976. (Packet)
In-Class Screening:
• “Arabian Nights.” (from Aladdin, dir. Ron Clements and John Musker, wr., Ron Clements et
al., 1992). Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fANdw8AWkDU&NR=1
Weds., 8/31: The Problem of Beginnings: Israel, or Palestine?
Topic: Conflicting and mutually exclusive narratives about the land and its people, and the lack of a
common language to describe them.
Readings:
• Morris: Righteous Victims, pp. 3-13. (Bookstore/reserve)
• Mark Tessler: A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Indiana, 1994), pp. 1-24 and 69-96.
(packet)
MAP QUIZ TODAY
UNIT II. Empires: Palestine, the “Eastern Question” and the “Sick Man of
Europe,” 1798-1914
Here, we consider the emergence of a collective Palestinian identity in the context of growing European incursions and mounting
challenges to the Ottoman Empire. We will also explore the beginnings of modern Jewish nationalism, and the creation of a new
Jewish community in Palestine – the ‘new Yishuv.’
Mon., 9/5: Empires and Imperialism 1: Palestine under the Ottomans
Topics: Palestine and the Ottomans: the peasant revolt, the Ottoman reconquest, and the Tanzimat.
Readings:
• Kimmerling and Migdal: The Palestinian People, ch. 1, pp. 3-27. (bookstore/reserve)
• Michelle Campos: Ottoman Brothers: Muslims, Christians and Jews in Early 20th Century Palestine
(Stanford, 2011), pp. 1-19. (packet)
Wed., 9/7: Empires and Imperialism 2: Europe and the “Eastern Question”
Topics: European (and especially British) imperial expansion, the capitulations, and the ‘civilizing
mission’ of Europe
Readings:
• David Fromkin: A Peace to End all Peace: Creating the Modern Middle East, 1914-1922. (New
York: Henry Holt, 1989), pp. 23-44. (packet)
• Eric Hobsbawm: Age of Empire. (Vintage, 1989), ch.3, pp. 56-83. (Packet)
• Cromer: On the Government of Subject Races – Recommended (uploaded to course website)
Mon., 9/12: The Intensification of European Nationalism and the “Jewish Question”: 1871-1914
Topics: Modernization, the rise of nationalism in Europe, and its effects on Jewish politics and identity
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 14-26. (bookstore/reserve)
• Mitchell Cohen: Zion and State: Nation, Class, and the Shaping of Modern Israel. (Blackwell, 1987),
ch. 2, pp. 42-63. (packet)
• Theodor Herzl: selections from The Jewish State, infra Dahbour and Ishay (eds.): The
Nationalism Reader. (Humanities Press, 1995), pp. 125-131. (Packet)
In-Class Screening (if we have time):
• “Anatevka” (from: Fiddler on the Roof, Dir., Norman Jewison, Wr. Scholem Aleichem and
Joseph Stein, 1971). Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWiRetxeviw&feature=related
Wed., 9/14: Jews and Arabs among the nations (1): The Beginnings of Palestinian
Nationalism
Topics: Palestine’s entry into the world market, Arab liberal thought, and the beginnings of
Palestinian nationalism
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 26-36. (Bookstore/reserve)
• Weldon C. Matthews: Confronting and Empire, Constructing a Nation: Arab Nationalists and Popular
Politics in Mandate Palestine. (IB Tauris, 2006), ch. 1, pp. 9-43. (packet)
• NB: you must pass your map quiz by today or drop the course!
Mon., 9/19 Jews and Arabs among the nations (2): Jewish Nationalism in Palestine
Topics: Jewish nationalism comes to Palestine
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 37-66. (bookstore/reserve)
• Haim Hazaz: “The Sermon.” [“Ha-Derasha”] Partisan Review, Vol. 23 (1956). (packet)
• “Yefim Gordon comes to Palestine.” In Tom Segev: One Palestine, Complete. (Metropolitan,
2000). Recommended. (from Gorgas, or available from me)
In-Class Screening:
• “A Collective Adventure.” (1939) online via Spielberg Film Archive, Hebrew University:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUvjSFnK8XM&feature=search
Unit III. World War One and a ‘New World Order’: The Origins of a Zionist-
Palestinian Civil War
WWI would not only remake Europe; it also profoundly transformed the political map of Israel/Palestine and the region. We will begin by surveying Great Britain’s promises to various political actors to gain their support during the course of the war and the tensions that emerged from those promises. Then we will look at the “British Mandate” – a period that lasted from 1918-1948, in which Britain ruled Palestine under a sanction (or ‘mandate’) from the League of Nations. Ostensibly placed in Palestine to foster its development as an independent state, the mandate period witnessed a growing contest for hegemony between Zionist and Palestinian nationalists, culminating in the creation of an independent Jewish state and the expulsion or flight of some 700,000 Palestinians.
Wed., 9/21 The Great War and the Orient: HMG’s “Three Promises”
Topics: The Sykes-Picot agreement, the Husain-McMahon correspondence, and the Balfour declaration
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 67-88. (bookstore/reserve)
• Laqueur pp. 11-20. (bookstore/reserve)
• William Roger Louis: “The Era of the Mandates System and the Non-European World,” in
Bull and Watson (eds.): The Expansion of International Society (Clarendon, 1984), ch. 13, pp.
201-13. (packet)
In-class screening:
• Lawrence of Arabia (Motion Picture, Dir. David Lean, 1962), runtimes TBA.
Assignment:
• Topic for your short paper will be distributed in today’s class.
Mon., 9/26 British Mandate (1): Building an Arab-Jewish Homeland?
Topics: Britain’s ‘dual responsibility’ and the challenges it faced
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 88-120. (bookstore/reserve)
• Laqueur, pp. 25-36. (bookstore/reserve)
Wed., 9/28 British Mandate (2): Imperial interests and local obligations
Topics: Was the ‘dual responsibility’ doomed from the start?
Readings:
• Ilan Pappe: A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples (Cambridge, 2006), ch.3, pp.72-102. (packet)
• Ze’ev Jabotinsky: “The Iron Wall” (1922). Infra Rabinovitch and Reinharz (eds.): Israel and
the Middle East. Brandeis, 2008), pp. 41-43. (packet)
Mon., 10/3 The Great Revolt (1): No More Illusions
Topic: The Palestinian uprising of 1936-39, with an eye to its causes, and its effects on both the
Palestinian and Zionist leadership in Palestine.
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 121-60. (bookstore/reserve)
Wed., 10/5 The Great Revolt 2: Partition, Fascism and the Road to '48
Topic: The revolt in its larger context: the rise of fascism in Europe, Britain’s eventual departure, and
the road to civil war.
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 161-73. (bookstore/reserve)
• Laqueur, pp. 41-57. (bookstore/reserve)
• “Interview of a deputation of Arab Women’s Committees in Jerusalem, at Government
House on Thursday, 24 March 1938.” In Fortina and Frierson (eds.): The Modern Middle East:
A Sourcebook for History (Oxford, 2006), pp. 205-213. (packet)
Assignment:
• SHORT PAPER DUE TODAY
Unit IV. 1948, WARS OF DECOLONIZATION, AND THE EMERGENCE
OF THE ‘ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT’
Here we examine the period between UN’s Partition of Palestine in 1947 and the Suez Crisis of 1956: we will focus on the War of 1948, the dispossession of the majority of the Arab population of Palestine, the establishment of the State of Israel, and the waning influence of Britain and France as colonial powers.
No less important, we’ll examine a subtle shift in nomenclature: from an Israeli-Palestinian conflict to an Israeli-Arab one. What does that change in nomenclature conceal, and what events will force its subsequent reconsideration?
Mon., 10/10 1948 (1): From Civil War to Nakba
Topics: First phase of the 1948 war: Yishuv vs. the Palestinian Arabs
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 173-214. (bookstore/reserve)
• Walid Khalidi (ed.): All that Remains (Institute for Palestine Studies, 1992), pp. 193-198.
• Laqueur, pp. 62-77. (bookstore/reserve; recommended)
In-class screening:
• “New immigrants learn to fight” and “We shall be a mote in your eyes” segments, from
Kedma (motion picture; dir. Amos Gita’i), runtimes TBA.
Wed., 10/12 1948 (2): Regional War and Atzma'ut
Topics: Second phase of the 1948 war: Israel and the Arab states
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 215-58. (bookstore/reserve)
In-class Screening:
• 'A State is Born' (1949).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdnxZMI2G6o&feature=search
Mon., 10/17 Midterm
Wed. 10/19 Postwar: “Small, Beautiful Israel" and Palestinian Organization in Exile
Topics: Israeli state-building and Palestinian politics-in-exile; the disappearance of ‘Palestine’ and the
emergence of the ‘Arab-Israeli conflict’; the “missing peace.”
Readings:
• Kimmerling and Migdal, pp. 185-208. (bookstore/reserve)
• Tom Segev: 1949: The First Israelis. (Henry Holt, 1986), introduction, pp. ix-xx. (packet)
• Laqueur, pp. 81-7. (bookstore/reserve)
• “Provisional Declaration of the Palestinian National Council,” infra Rabinovich and
Reinharz, pp. 87-9. (Packet)
In-Class Screening:
• Song: “Shir ha-Re’ut” [‘Song of Comraderie’] (Lyrics, Esther Ofarim; perf.. Pioneer Fighting
Youth Corps Entertainment Troop [Lahakat ha-Nacha”l]).
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=tw8-CVakruA&vq=small
Mon., 10/24 “Who’s In Charge Here?!” Israel and the Arab States between Imperial Orders
Topics: Doves vs. Hawks in Israel and the Suez crisis (with quick asides to the Baghdad Pact and
Nasserism)
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 259-301. (bookstore/reserves)
In-class screening:
• “What will become of the Empire!?” from Lipstick on your Collar (Television miniseries; Dir.,
Renny Ryle, Writing, Dennis Potter, 1993/6). Runtimes TBA.
Wed., 10/26 Two Asides
Topics: We will briefly explore two aspects of the conflict that, while important, do not fit neatly in
any one place along our timeline. First, we will consider the origins and development of Israel’s
national security policy and its combat doctrine – both would have major implications for the future
of the conflict. Second, we will consider the dilemma of those Palestinian Arabs who remained in
Israel after 1948, and the complications facing their situation as citizens of the Israeli state.
Readings:
• Kimmerling and Migdal, pp. 159-84. (bookstore/reserve)
• Yisrael Tal: National Security: The Israeli Experience (Greenwood, 2000), chs. 6-9, pp. 39-58.
(packet)
• Ze’ev Schiff: A History of the Israeli Army (Macmillan, 1985), ch.8, pp. 115-23. (packet)
Unit V. THE MIDDLE EASTERN COLD WAR
The great powers of the 19th century – Britain and France – fade into the background as the age of the ‘superpowers’ (a new word, invented in the 1940s by Columbia professor William TR Fox) begins. Israel and Palestine are now subsumed into the geopolitical contest between the US and the USSR; that standoff which we know as the Cold War. We examine the 1967 War, the War of Attrition, the 1973 War, and finally, Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1981-2 in relation to the politics of the bipolar order.
Mon., 10/31 June 1967 and After (1)
Topics: In Israel it’s called the “Six-Day War”; in Arabic either the June War or the Naksa
(“setback”). Either way, it transformed the conflict and the region profoundly; today we consider
the events leading up to it and its immediate outcomes.
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 302-46. (bookstore/reserve)
• Laqueur, pp. 98-116. (bookstore/reserve) – recommended.
Wed., 11/2 June 1967 and After (2):
Topics: we consider the conflict from a longer-term perspective: its place in the Cold War; the armed,
violent stalemate that ensued between Israel and Egypt (the ‘War of Attrition’) in the wake of it; the
emergence of a more capable Palestinian resistance movement; and Jordan’s “Black September.”
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 347-86. (bookstore/reserve)
• Laqueur, pp. 121-31. (bookstore/reserve) – recommended.
• Yezid Sayigh: “Guerrilla War in Theory and Practice ” in Armed Struggle and the Search for State:
The Palestinian National Movement, 1949-1993. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1997) ch. 8, pp. 195-242.
(packet) – recommended; on reserve @ Gorgas or from me.
Mon., 11/7 From the 'Year of Decision' to the War of 1973
Topics: Anwar Sadat’s initial diplomatic efforts, and the surprise attack of 1973
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 387-400, 433-443 (bookstore/reserve)
• Laqueur, pp. 143-63 (bookstore/reserve)
Wed., 11/9 The Americans Take Over: Camp David, the Egyptian-Israeli Peace and Détente
Topics: Kissinger’s shuttle diplomacy, the rise of the Israeli peace movement, and the Egyptian-Israeli peace
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 444-493 (bookstore/reserve)
• Laqueur, pp. 203-228 (bookstore/reserve) – recommended
Screening:
• Clips: on Sadat in Jerusalem
Mon., 11/14 & Wed. 11/16 The Second Cold War (1): The Lebanon War
Topics: A close examination of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and its consequences.
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 502-516; 525-60 (bookstore/reserve)
• Laqueur, pp. 239-48; 252-63; 269-76 – recommended.
In-Class Screening:
• Selections from Waltz with Bashir (wr. And dir. Ari Folman, 2008), Runtimes TBA.
Mon., 11/21 The Second Cold War (2): Israeli Settlement Policy and the First Intifada
Topics: Israel’s ‘creeping annexation’ policy, settlement expansion, the emergence of a local
Palestinian leadership, and the Palestinian uprising of 1987.
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 561-602 (bookstore/reserve)
• Selections from Joe Sacco: Palestine. (Fantagraphic, 2001), pp. 265-275.
• Laqueur, pp. 314-21; 323-53 (bookstore/reserve) – recommended.
Unit VI. AFTER THE COLD WAR (or, the “New World Order?”)
In this final section we examine the contemporary history of the conflict, focusing in particular on two related and nearly-coincident events: the Palestinian uprising against Israel known as the Intifada and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The course concludes with an examination of international peacemaking efforts in 1994 (the “Oslo-Madrid Process”) that established partial Palestinian rule over some of the West Bank and the Gaza strip. If time permits, we will also consider events that have taken place since 2000, with the collapse of the Oslo-Madrid Process and the outbreak of the Second Intifada.
Mon., 11/28 From Baghdad to Oslo: Pax Americana?
Topics: The US-led peace efforts of the 1990s, considered in local, regional and geopolitical context
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 603-40
• “Another Encounter,” in Uri Savir: The Process: 1,100 Days that Changed the Middle East
(Random House, 1998), pp. 314-5. (packet)
• Laqueur, pp. 403-435; 442-477; 487-99 – Recommended.
Wed., 11/30 New World Orders (2): The Collapse of Oslo and the Second Intifada
Topics: The failure to reach a comprehensive solution will be explored, as will the consequences of
that failure: the move from conflict resolution to conflict management in the context of 9/11, and
the collapse of ‘statist’ camps in both Israel and Palestine. If time permits, we will consider the
Occupied Territories as a ‘laboratory of catastrophe’, the domestic political deadlocks in both Israel
and Palestine, and ongoing state-building efforts on the West Bank (‘Fayyadism’).
Readings:
• Morris, pp. 640-75 (bookstore/reserve)
• Ari Shavit, "Survival of the Fittest," [interview with Benny Morris] Haaretz, January 9, 2004
(Reprinted in Logos, 3:1 (Winter, 2004), np. http://www.logosjournal.com/issue3.1.htm; (packet)
• Joel Beinin: “No more tears.” Middle East Report, 34:230 (Spring 2004), np. (packet)
• Laqueur, pp. 541-545; 548-560; 562-7, 591-4 – recommended.
Mon., 12/5 Catch-up & Exam Review
Readings:
• Morris, 676-94 (bookstore/reserve) -- recommended.
FINAL EXAMINATION
Map quiz. There will be a map quiz at the end of the second week (Wed, Aug. 31). It will cover the
central areas of the contemporary (post-1918 and post-1967) Middle East: key states, cities, regions,
bodies of water, and the like. You will receive map handouts and a study guide to help you prepare.
80% is a passing mark. You must pass the quiz by Wed. Sept. 14 or drop the class. The maximum
grade possible on the second and subsequent attempts will be 80%. This quiz is weighted as 10% of final
grade.
• Participation, quizzes and discussion questions/argument summaries. If class size permits, your direct
participation – discussion in class, in on-line forums, and in office hours – will provide the bulk of
this portion of your grade: grades in the “A” range will be earned by a combination of both regular
attendance and informed participation.
If either class enrolment or a sustained lack of participation makes this impractical, I may
assign quizzes (multiple choice & fill-in-the-blank) based on core readings, or assign advance
questions, argument summaries, or evaluations of sources or arguments. In the event that such
assignments are given, the lowest grade (one grade only) will be dropped in the final grade
calculation. Quizzes, discussion questions and participation will collectively total 15% of your final grade.
• One essay, 4-5 pages. Based on the readings from Sept. 21, and due on Oct. 5. I strongly
recommend that you avail yourself of the services offered by the Writing Center, Lloyd Hall Room
322 (for directions and setting up appointments, visit www.as.ua.edu/writingcenter. Request the
History Writing Center when making the appointment online). An extra set of eyes proofreading
your work never hurts. Question to be handed out later. 25% of final grade.
• Examinations. There will be two exams: a midterm and a final. The final exam will be
comprehensive, though weighted to the second half of the class. The exams are weighed equally. I
provide study guides for all exams, handed out in class usually 1 week before the exam. I’ll give you
additional information concerning the exams during class. Students will be responsible for
bringing TWO exam booklets to each exam. The examinations will consist of three sections:
multiple choice/fill-in-blanks; one-page identifications; and a minimum three-page essay question
based on the class lectures and the text. Two exams x 25% of final grade = 50% of final grade.
To sum up, your grade for this course will be based on the following:
Exams 50%
Essay 25%
Participation 15%
Map Quiz 10%
Total 100%
Preparation for Class & Course Assignments
The syllabus is built around units and modules. Each module corresponds to a class session. You
should prepare for each class by doing the required readings and preparing any other assignments
(reviewing study questions, posting online discussion points, etc.) as may be assigned.
We will alternate between lecture and discussion, so you should come to class prepared. If I sense from discussion
that lack of preparation has become endemic, I may assign reading quizzes. While secondary sources
will provide the bulk of our reading, primary source documents – as well as films, songs, and literary
works – will be woven throughout.
Doing the readings. This is a lower-division survey course. This means that while we will cover a great
deal of ground, we are still dealing in bare beginnings: marching quickly through questions that
would ideally merit sustained and lengthier examination, and bypassing some number of knotty
issues that time will not permit us to consider. With that in mind, additional readings have been
supplied. Readings marked ‘recommended’ are offered to give you greater depth and understanding
of key issues and moments – usually primary-source documents from the Laqueur & Rubin reader.
At the end of the syllabus, I have also supplied a number of reading lists (grouped under the heading
‘would you like to learn more?’). These are intended to guide you should you wish to consider a
particular question or issue area at greater depth. These lists are a work in progress; that is, they are
neither complete nor authoritative, and I will be adding to them periodically. To be clear: they are not
required reading for this course.
Comportment
I will strive to show you the utmost courtesy in this classroom and I expect the return, both for me and for
your fellow classmates. This is especially urgent given our current subject matter: few areas are more
contentious, and few discussions more difficult, than those which we will be raising here. Many of you come
to this course with deeply-held beliefs that relate, either directly or tangentially, to the topics we will discuss.
We must all be free to speak our minds; yet we must be mindful of one another as we do so. I will therefore
ask you to commit yourselves to respectful – but still vigorous – inquiry, argument and exchange. I will do so
as well.
It should also be self-evident that students who engage in behavior that is disruptive or obstructive to the
teaching/learning environment will be subject to disciplinary sanctions. Recording of lectures is prohibited.
Please turn off or mute electronic devices before class starts.
All students in attendance at the University of Alabama are expected to be honorable and to observe standards of conduct appropriate to a community of scholars. The University expects from its students a higher standard of conduct than the minimum required to avoid discipline. Academic misconduct includes all acts of dishonesty in any academically related matter and any knowing or intentional help or attempt to help, or conspiracy to help, another student.
The Academic Misconduct Disciplinary Policy will be followed in the event of academic misconduct.
In the case of a tornado warning (tornado has been sighted or detected by radar, sirens activated), all university activities are automatically suspended, including all classes and laboratories. If you are in a building, please move immediately to the lowest level and toward the center of the building away from windows (interior classrooms, offices, or corridors) and remain there until the tornado warning has expired. Classes in session when the tornado warning is issued can resume immediately after the warning has expired at the discretion of the instructor. Classes that have not yet begun will resume 30 minutes after the tornado warning has expired provided at least half of the class period remains.
UA is a residential campus with many students living on or near campus. In general classes will remain in session until the National Weather Service issues safety warnings for the city of Tuscaloosa. Clearly, some students and faculty commute from adjacent counties. These counties may experience weather related problems not encountered in Tuscaloosa. Individuals should follow the advice of the National Weather Service for that area taking the necessary precautions to ensure personal safety. Whenever the National Weather Service and the Emergency Management Agency issue a warning, people in the path of the storm (tornado or severe thunderstorm) should take immediate life saving actions.
When West Alabama is under a severe weather advisory, conditions can change rapidly. It is imperative to get to where you can receive information from the National Weather Service and to follow the instructions provided. Personal safety should dictate the actions that faculty, staff and students take. The Office of Public Relations will disseminate the latest information regarding conditions on campus in the following ways: