Browse Hierarchy HST6780: A History of Palestine, 300-1800

While Palestine is the unrivaled global focus of political and religious emotions, its history in the medieval and early modern periods is commonly overlooked, skewing conceptions of the current conflict. This module will examine the history of the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, and the people who lived in it, from the spread of Christianity, through the Islamic period, and until the beginning of Western domination in the nineteenth century. Students will be encouraged to tell the story of the land from the bottom up, focusing on peasants and the urban non-elites, and to encompass the diversity of the ethnic and religious groups who made Palestine their home - Muslims, Christians, Jews and others. Students will then consider the impact of the 1948 War and the Palestinian Nakba on practices of remembrance and erasure of the pre-modern history of the land. This module MUST be taken in conjunction with HST6700 History Research Dissertation.