Keele Badge

PIR-30151 - Module Specification
School of Social, Political and Global Studies
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

For academic year: 2022/23 Last Updated: 19 January 2023

PIR-30151 - Israel/Palestine: Key Debates and Issues
Coordinator: Moran Mandelbaum Room: N/A Tel: +44 1782 7 33513
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 6
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office:

Programme/Approved Electives for 2022/23

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Yes

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2022/23

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.

Aims
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.

Talis Aspire Reading List
Any reading lists will be provided by the start of the course.
http://lists.lib.keele.ac.uk/modules/pir-30151/lists

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

1: Book Review weighted 30%
1000-word book review
Students will choose a book from a list and write a 1000-word review in which the main arguments of the book are explained and the contribution of and/or the potential problems with the book are addressed. It is recommended to choose a book that will be useful for the essay in assessment 2.

2: Essay weighted 70%
3,000-word essay
A 3,000-word essay which will offer students an opportunity to undertake independent research by applying a specific theoretical approach/ analytical lens to the study of a particular issue or debate on Israel/Palestine.

Please note that for the 2022/23 Academic Year programmes may be adapted to operate in accordance with a flexible, digital approach. This means that there may be some changes made to how modules are delivered and assessed. The latest information will be provided to you by your School in module handbooks. We endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes and details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/student-terms-and-conditions/

Last Updated: 19 January 2023