Courses
Espionage, Treason, and Propaganda: Power and Politics in the Middle East and Israel-Palestine
Explores the hidden history and cultural politics of espionage, treason, and propaganda in the modern Middle East, focusing on Israel/Palestine. Examines how intelligence networks, psychological warfare, and media campaigns have shaped political borders, national identities, and collective imaginations from the colonial era to the present. Through historical case studies, films, memoirs, and literature, students analyze the figures of the spy, the traitor, and the propagandist as cultural and moral intermediaries who blur the lines between loyalty and dissent. By tracing secrecy and persuasion as tools of both governance and resistance, the course offers new insights into how power, knowledge, and deception have defined the political landscape of the modern Middle East.
Arab-Jewish Modern Thought and Culture
Against the backdrop of the partition of the 'Jew' from the 'Arab' in the modern national era, this course focuses on the Arab-Jewish borderland cultural world which simultaneously embodies Arab and Jewish histories, traditions, and identities. It traces different manifestations of Arab-Jewish culture from the early 20th century to today and explores the complex relationship between culture and politics in relation to questions of language, identity, nationality, borders, exile and memory.
Middle Eastern Cities: Navigating the Transition from Empires to Nation-States and the Globalized World
Against the backdrop of the partition of the 'Jew' from the 'Arab' in the modern national era, this course focuses on the Arab-Jewish borderland cultural world which simultaneously embodies Arab and Jewish histories, traditions, and identities. It traces different manifestations of Arab-Jewish culture from the early 20th century to today and explores the complex relationship between culture and politics in relation to questions of language, identity, nationality, borders, exile and memory.
Formative Moments in the Disputed Land of Israel-Palestine
Examines the history of Israel/Palestine during the 20th century by focusing on several formative moments that took place pre and post 1948. It reexamines key issues that emerged around each of those events and explores the implications they had on the formation of Israeli and Palestinian societies.
Popular Culture and Politics in Israel/Palestine: Media, Sound, and Screen
This course explores how popular culture shapes and reflects everyday life in Israel/Palestine. Through film, music, television, and digital media, we examine how artists and cultural producers engage with questions of identity, politics, and social change. From early cinema to contemporary streaming series, and from Mizrahi and Palestinian music scenes to global pop culture, we consider how culture both responds to and reshapes political realities. Rather than treating culture as a passive reflection of conflict, the course highlights its role in challenging dominant narratives and creating new forms of expression. Themes include nationalism and diaspora, religion and secularism, gender and performance, language and translation, and the power of media in shaping public debate.
