1) Course overview, methods of evaluation, defining terminology 2) This introductory class provides an analysis of the current situation in Israel-Palestine; establishing the fundamentals of the conflict, the primary and secondary stakeholders, along with the political, cultural, and geopolitical factors that exacerbate this most intractable of conflicts.

The historical relationship between the US and Israel will be reviewed understanding underlying trends. Students will then, using a series of media theories, examine the factors that contribute to the construction and dissemination of a variety of mainstream Western media narratives pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Looking at both the Israeli military and Palestinian militias, this class seeks to examine the culture of war and the nationalistic rhetoric that accompanies it. How does militarization affect the media in Israel and Palestine? And how do Israelis and Palestinians perceive the military and its role in their societies?

Taking a step back from current events, students will now learn about Theodor Herzl’s movement of secular Zionism in the late 19th century that helped fuel mass-migration of European Jews to Palestine and ultimately a new Jewish national revival that led to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

Following on from the previous class, the final class of the first half of the semester will finish with an analysis of the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. Our aim is to understand the media rhetoric at the time, both in Europe, the United States, and the Middle East, gaining valuable insights into the driving forces and prevailing views behind this historic moment.

Student will have three hours to complete two essay questions based on all classes and readings up to this point of the semester.

This class serves as an introduction to critical theory and its utility in reframing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The late Palestinian-American academic Edward Said will be central to the discussion, giving students a clear understanding of his Orientalism thesis, its role in helping deconstruct powered systems, and the its contribution to the broader study of postcolonial theory.

As a continuation into critical theory, students will examine one of the lead influencers of Edward Said, the French sociologist Michel Foucault, and his revolutionary take on power, language, and knowledge.

In No Other Land, the young Palestinian activist Basel Adra documents the destruction of villages on the West Bank where Israeli soldiers destroy homes and drive out the inhabitants. An unlikely friendship blossoms when Basel meets Israeli journalist Yuval.

Taken from Gyatri Spivak’s essay of the same name, this class examines the role of global media outlets, specifically Al Jazeera, in defending the rights of the Palestinians – and analyzing the degree to which the production of pro-Palestinian-pro-Arab/anti-Israeli-US rhetoric contributes to both positive and negative outcomes within the conflict and the wider region.

This guest lecture will center on the impact of social media in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Our final class will look at the role of citizen journalism in the conflict as an alternative to mass-media systems. Leading on from the preceding guest lecture, student will analyze the effectiveness of social media as tool for disseminating information in times of war, ethnic cleansing, and statelessness.

Fourteen years after his first visit, Louis Theroux meets some of the growing community of religious-nationalist Israelis who have settled in the occupied West Bank.

Student will have three hours to complete two essay questions based on all classes and readings after the midterm exam.

This guest lecture will examine the types of bias found in Czech media with regards to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the unfolding humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

From Ground Zero is a collection of 22 short films made in Gaza. Initiated by Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi, the project was born to give a voice to 22 Gazan filmmakers to tell the untold stories of the current war on film.