Middle Eastern Studies 351 - CrossngBordersIsrael/Palestine

This course will provide a literary lens through which to approach the Palestine-Israel Conflict and the narratives, concerns and dreams of those living in its crosshairs. Building upon notion of crossing borders, this course will consider some of the most prominent Arabic and Hebrew-language literary and cultural works of the conflict via thematic units including Empathy, Rage and (In)Justice; History and Memory, The Body and the Senses, and Shaping The Future. Throughout, we will consider Israeli and Palestinian literatures and cultures comparatively, both within and beyond the geopolitical borders, epistemological confines and linguistic proscriptions of the political status quo. To this end, we will read and analyze in light of debates concerning competitive and multidirectional memory, politics and aesthetics, citizenship and refugees, social and restorative justice, self-determination, and the politics of translation. (Gen. Ed. AL, DG)