For over a hundred years Arabs and Jews have engaged in what is arguably the modern world's most embittered, intractable dispute. This course assesses the origins, dynamics, and the amazing, chameleon-like persistence of the conflict. How did the Arab-Zionist rivalry begin? What historical, legal, and moral arguments does each side marshal to justify its position? What has been the role of the United States? How are ISIS and regional upheavals likely to affect the conflict? Will it ever end?

This course welcomes students who have no knowledge of the conflict, students who already know a good deal, and all those who fall between these poles. It considers a great variety of viewpoints and interpretations in inclusive, sympathetic fashion. The goal is to develop a non-partisan, balanced, comprehensive, and intellectual understanding of this too often emotional conflict. If you can't achieve such an understanding at one of the world's great universities, you're unlikely to achieve it anyplace else.

Class Format:

2 lectures and one section meeting per week.