“Issues in Israeli National Security”
HIST 489SWR/ HIST 585 – graduate students
Fall 2008 Semester – David Tal
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The course will deal with various issues relating to Israel’s national security. It will touch upon general strategic topics as well as military events, and issues relating to the Israeli-Arab conflict.
“Israeli Society and Politics”
HIST 385 – junior/senior lecture
Spring 2012 Semester – Yaron Ayalon
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The State of Israel was founded in 1948. For Jews, it was the fulfillment of a 2000-year long dream to return to their ancestral homeland of Eretz Yisrael. For others, notably the Arab inhabitants known as the Palestinians (named after their land, Palestine), the establishment of a Jewish state was a tragedy. This course, however, will deal very briefly with the dispute between the two parties, also known as the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Although the conflict has undoubtedly shaped Israeli society and its political system, this course will mostly have an inward focus on Israel itself: its political system, international relations, how it functions as a society of immigrants, relationships between secular and religious Jews and between Jews of various ethnic backgrounds, and the role the military plays in Israeli society. We will also look at Israeli culture through music and film.
“The International Oil Market and the Political Economy of the Middle East”
HIST 351/ECON 351-00P/MESAS 370R – all levels
Spring 2008 Semester – Paul Rivlin
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This course examines the connections between world’s reliance on oil and the political economy of the Middle East. The first part of the course examines world energy markets and their development, with emphasis on the USA. It then places oil consumption into the wider energy context. The rise of China and India as energy consumers is also examined and some environmental issues are analyzed. The second part looks at the Middle East as an oil supplier: what was the role of the West and how renter states have come into being. Economic and strategic conclusions are drawn.
“Topics in 20th Century Middle Eastern History”
HIST 489/ JS490/ MES 370 – introductory – all levels
Spring 2006 Semester – Stein
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The purpose of this course is twofold. First, it is designed to acquaint students with an in-depth understanding of the major issues affecting the Middle East in the 20th century. Students will review the origins and development of the modern Middle East and understand the social, economic, and political foundations that set the stage for the region this century. Second, students will become familiar with original source material that frame the key issues in the modern Middle East and engage in non-partisan discussion through written and oral presentations.
