Social and religious conflicts in Israel 3600-HE-KSRI-OG

During the semester, the course focuses on the social and political transformations in Israel following the First Intifada, the effects of which continue to shape the state’s contemporary reality. Participants in the course will engage with the latest scholarship in the field, which introduces elements of meta-reflection on the dominant research perspectives in the field of Israel Studies into the discussion.

Topics discussed during the course:

- the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, the second intifada, the ‘separation barrier’, socio-political changes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the development of Jewish settlement in the occupied territories and its impact on the dynamics of Israeli society within the ‘green line’;
- main trends in contemporary research on Israel - the perspective of settler colonialism (‘settler colonial turn’), the relationship between academic research and public discourse on Israel;
- ethnic and class divisions - contemporary relations between Ashkenazim and Mizrahim, the social consequences of large aliyahs from the former USSR and Ethiopia, the situation of Palestinian citizens of Israel;
- Post-secular Israel? - processes of secularisation and the parallel growth of religion's influence in public life, the development of religious Zionism (dati leumi) and religious parties, tensions between secular and ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) communities;
- socio-spatial stratification - divisions between the Israeli centre and the peripheries (Negev, Galilee), the functioning of Arab cities (ha-meshulash), mixed cities (arim me'oravot) and so-called development towns (ajarot pituach);
- the army in a changing society - military service as a field of contention, civil equality and exemptions for religious communities, service of ethnic minorities;
- contemporary social movements, protests and polarisation - from the 2011 demonstrations against economic inequality to the mass protests against judicial reform in 2023 and the anti-war demonstrations of 2023-2025;
- Israeli memory culture in the twenty-first century - dominant themes and their transformations - between top-down narratives and grassroots initiatives, between individualisation of experience and collective identity; the role of law, institutions and the media in shaping social perceptions of the past.

Type of course

general courses

Mode

Classroom

Prerequisites

The State of Israel - Institutions and Politics

Prerequisites (description)

Knowledge of English enabling reading of academic texts; Knowledge of the history of the State of Israel until the end of the 1980s.

Course coordinators

Maria Piekarska-Baronet

Learning outcomes

The student, upon completion of the course provided in the program:

Knows and understands:

- Detailed socio-cultural issues of Israel in terms of ethnic, demographic and political situation (K_W09),
- Fundamental cultural phenomena of Israel (K_W10),
- Detailed issues of geopolitical and economic conditions and their relevance to Israel's historical and contemporary situation (K_W11).

Is able to:

- Apply knowledge of Israeli history to analyze and interpret contemporary world events (K_U04),
- Correctly situate the states of Israel in the context of environmental, geopolitical and economic conditions (K_U05),
- Apply knowledge of socio-cultural issues of Israel in typical professional situations (K_U09),
- Correctly function in the linguistic and cultural environment of Israel (K_U17),
- Present detailed issues in the field of cultural problems of Israel and in Polish and in Hebrew taking into account the intellectual tradition of Judaism and Israel (K_U21).

Is ready to:

- Lifelong learning (K_K01),
- Realize the importance of Israeli culture in world culture (K_K07).

Assessment criteria

Final grade on the basis of:

* attendance control,
* active participation in class,
* written final exam (test + 2 open questions).

Attendance:

In accordance with the order of KJD WO UW dated 31.07.2021, the allowable number of unexcused absences from classes is 15%, and the total number of excused and unexcused absences to allow approaches to the exam is 30%.

A student should excuse an absence from classes immediately and no later than within 7 days of the cessation of the reason for the absence. In particularly justified cases, the lecturer may excuse an absence after this deadline.

Bibliography

The course is based on participants' work with academic and press articles as well as cultural texts from recent years, a list of which is provided at the first meeting. In addition, the following basic literature on the subject is recommended:

- Anita Shapira, Historia Izraela, Dialog 2018.
- Oz Almog, Wielokulturowy Izrael, Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna 2011.
- Daniel Bar-Tal, Złudzenia niszczące życie: o konflikcie państwa izraelskiego z Palestyńczykami. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar 2024.
- Routledge Handbook on Contemporary Israel (eds. Guy Ben-Porat, Yariv Feniger, Dani Filc, Paula Kabalo and Julia Mirsky), Routledge 2022.

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3600-HE-KSRI-OG in USOSweb