Module POC3088 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POC3088: Understanding Israel and Palestine: One Land, Two People
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Please note that this module is only delivered on the Penryn Campus.
Module Aims
This module will:
1. Introduce you to the causes, dynamics, key issues, and main developments in the politics of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and situate the analysis within the academic debates on nationalism, identity, ethnicity, violence, conflict, security, regional relations, and international relations.
2. Introduce you to various, often contradictory, interpretations of the conflict going beyond the two 'official' narratives.
3. Provide you with the opportunity to develop a range of study skills, including the ability to work individually and in a group, evaluate and constructively critique peers’ work, and to construct a coherent and well-reasoned critical analysis of the issues discussed in both oral and written forms.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate a detailed and comprehensive knowledge of the main developments, issues and actors in the Israel-Palestine conflict, taking account of varying narratives of events and dynamics of the conflict; 2. Critically assess and analyse Israeli and Palestinian internal political and social structures, and apply this analysis in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict; 3. Understand, analyse and critically evaluate the political ideas and ideologies that have guided the dynamics of the conflict; |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. Find, use, and analyse primary and secondary data relevant to specific issue areas; 5. Apply theoretical debates of nationalism, identity, violence or security to empirical data and vice versa; 6. Understand assessment criteria, engage in constructive peer-evaluation and produce feedback and suggestions for improvement. |
| Personal and Key Skills | 7. Develop oral presentation and communication, group interaction, and analytical writing skills; 8. Locate, research and critically evaluate relevant information from academic sources to form a critical analysis; 9. Articulate and defend positions on the seminar topics; 10. Understand assessment criteria, engage in critical, yet constructive, peer-evaluation and produce feedback and suggestions for improvement; 11. Study independently and in groups; |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
- Introduction to the module: One Hundred Years of Violence.
- Conflicting Promises and Competing Nationalisms
- The Creation of Israel and Al-Naqba: Two Sides of the Same Coin
- Israel-Palestine and the Israel-Arab conflict
- Greater Israel and Life under Israeli occupation
- Israel's Security and Life under Terrorism
- Palestinian Society and Politics
- Israeli Society and Politics
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 11 | 11x1 hour lecture and discussion facilitated by the convenor |
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 11 | 11x1 hour seminars led by student presentations and discussion led by convenor |
| Guided independent study | 37 | Reading and preparing responses for seminar questions |
| Guided independent study | 36 | Research and preparation of student-led seminar |
| Guided independent study | 15 | Research and composition of Essay Plan |
| Guided independent study | 37 | Research and composition of essay |
| Guided independent study | 3 | Composition of peer reviews |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Amnesty International. Israel and the Occupied Territories-www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/
B'Tselem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories-www.btselem.org/
International Crisis Group-www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/middle-east-north-africa/israel-palestine
Israel Foreign Ministry-www. mfa.gov.il
Israel Democracy Institute- www.en.idi.org.il
Negotiations Affairs Department, Palestine Liberation Organisation- www.nad-plo.org
Other Learning Resources
The Gatekeepers (2002, Dror Moreh)
Occupation 101 (2006, Abdallah Omeish, Sufyan Omeish,)
State 194 (2013,Dan Setton, 2013)
Paradise Now (2016, Hany Abu-Assad)
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research Paper plan | 1 page | 1-11 | Oral comments from tutor and written peer-review in class |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Paper | 60 | 2,500 | 1-11 | Written |
| Portfolio | 40 | 1,500 | 1-11 | Written |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research Paper | Research Paper (2,500 words) | 1-11 | August/September assessment period |
| Portfolio | Portfolio (1,500) | 1-11 | August/September assessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Bishara, M. (2001) Palestine/Israel: Peace or Apartheid. London and New York: Zed Books
Caplan, N. (2010)The Israel-Palestine Conflict. Contested Histories. Malden and Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
David, S. (2009) ‘Existential Threat to Israel’ in Freedman Robert O. (ed.) Contemporary Middle East. Boulder CO: Westview Press. Chapter 13
Gerner, D., J. (1991) One Land, Two Peoples: The conflict over Palestine, Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press
Gelvin, J.L.(2007) The Israel-Palestine conflict: one hundred years of war. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press
Kamrava, M. (2011)The Modern Middle East: A Political History Since the First World War. London: California University Press Ltd. Chapter 9
Milton-Edwards, B. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A People’s War (London: Routledge, 2009)
Mahler. G. S. and Mahler, A., R. (2010) The Arab-Israeli Conflict: An Introduction and Document Reader,.London: Routledge,
Peters, J. and Newman, D. (2013)Routledge Handbook on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. London and New York:Routledge
