JNL324   Media and the Arab-Israeli Conflict   (20 credits)

Description

The conflict in the Middle East has been the staple of news coverage for well over 60 years. Despite the relative size of the state of Israel, its history, existence and its on-going relations (diplomatic, military, religious) with its immediate Arab neighbours and distant Western neighbours have given rise to a set of circumstances in which it is constantly in the news. The aim of this module is to trace the broad outlines of the contested history of the birth of the state of Israel and of the Middle East region more generally and to explore how the news media (old and new) have covered the birth of the state, its relations with its neighbours, and the many conflicts internal and external in which the state of Israel has been involved. Detailed attention will be paid to coverage of acts of terrorism, the idea of asymmetric conflict, the emergence of Palestinian resistance, and public diplomacy.

Reading List