PIR-30151 - Module Specification
School of Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

What are the major issues and key debates in the scholarship on Israel/Palestine? How can we understand the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? What theoretical and analytical tools can we deploy in our interrogation of Israel/Palestine? This module¿s main objective is to introduce students to major issues and key debates in/on Israel/Palestine through a critical and interdisciplinary perspective. Students will familiarise themselves with key issues and debates concerning, for instance, Zionism and Palestinian nationalism; historiographical debates over the 1948 war and the Nakba; the role and politics of memory; Jewish-Palestinian relations; Israel¿s systems of control; Israel¿s regime and the one-state vs. two-state debate. Moreover, the module will introduce students to a rich and interdisciplinary repertoire of theories and approaches to the study of Israel/Palestine drawing on analytical tools from political sociology, international relations, history, human geography, scholarship on nations and nationalism and more.

This module aims to enhance students' ability to evaluate, asses and critically analyse key debates and issues in/on Israel/Palestine and as a result strengthen students' profile as a graduate in IR and/or Politics. Specifically, the module aims are:
To introduce students to key debates and issues in/on Israel/Palestine from an interdisciplinary and critical perspective;
To provide a specialised module on Israel/Palestine that goes beyond the typical discourse of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the politics of the Middle East;
To provide an interdisciplinary module that draws on a rich repertoire of theories and approaches from the social sciences such as political sociology, human geography, international relations, political theory, nations and nationalism;
To enable students to practice their analytical and writing skills.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Engage with and understand key issues and debates in/on Israel/Palestine: 1,2
Critically evaluate different theoretical and analytical approaches to the study of Israel/Palestine: 1,2
Specialise in one or more key issues on Israel/Palestine: 1,2
Apply a particular approach in their interrogation of a major issue and/or debate on Israel/Palestine: 1,2
Communicate their findings in written form: 1,2

Study hours

1. Seminars: 10 meeting/weeks x 2 hours each=20
2. Independent Study Hours:
a. Preparations for seminars: 9 meetings/weeks x 6 hours per week= 54
b. Preparations for book review assessment: 20 hours
c. Essay research and writing: 56 hours

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment