Understanding Israel and Palestine: Contested Pasts and Presents

This collaboratively taught course investigated the long and often contested histories of the region that is simultaneously known as Palestine and Israel. It began by examining this history from ancient times through the Middle Ages and discussed how competing historical narratives have factored into contemporary debates over national sovereignty. Subsequent sessions explored the rise of Jewish and Palestinian Arab nationalisms, British rule over Palestine after World War I, the Nazi Holocaust, the founding of the state of Israel and the Palestinian Nakba in 1948, and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinians. Understanding Palestine & Israel will brought together seven faculty members from Wake Forest University’s Middle East and South Asia Studies Program and Jewish Studies Program to provide a wide range of disciplinary approaches and scholarly perspectives to the study of this contentious issue.