Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL2051: War and Peace in the Middle East

This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.

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:

History of the Arab-Israeli/Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The emergence of the states system in the Middle East and the British mandate for Palestine, 1920-1948

The creation of the state of Israel, the Palestinian refugee issue and the first wars: 1948, 1956

Occupation and changes in the regional balance of power: the 1967 and 1973 wars, and the 1978 Camp David Accords

Israeli state and society: Zionism, state-building and the conflict’s impact on Israeli democracy

Palestinian nationalism: three generations/faces

The role of global powers and peace negotiations, from Madrid to Annapolis

Permanent status issues (1): negotiating Jerusalem

Permanent status issues (2): the Palestinian refugee issue

Permanent status issues (3): borders and settlements

Alternative visions: one state or two?

Other conflicts in the Middle East/Levant (1): Lebanon: civil wars, the Palestinian factor and the Israeli invasion

Other conflicts in the Middle East/Levant (2): the Syrian civil war: a new-generation conflict

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
26.5	123.5

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	16.5	11 x 1.5 hour lectures to be supplemented by student group work where students learn from each other through group discussions, individual and collaborative presentations and a simulated negotiation exercise.
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	10	10 x 1 hour tutorials
Guided Independent Study	60	60 hours reading for tutorials
Guided Independent Study	10	Team discussions
Guided Independent Study	53.5	Reading and completing assignments

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).