Title: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Solution to the Conflict
Discipline(s) or Field(s): Political Science, International Relations, Conflict Resolution, Area-Studies
Authors: Zohrer Ghavamshahidi and Charles Cottle, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Submission Date: December 3, 2008
Executive Summary
Learning Goals: The learning goals of this lesson study were the following:
- Acquire an overview of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the context of contemporary Middle-East history;
- Be able to identify the major actors in the conflict and know their positions on the major issues of the conflict;
- Be able to identify major features of the major peace proposal currently on the table.
- Be able to identify the major obstacles to peace.
- Be able to identify the pay-offs for peace for the main participants and for United States and regional foreign policy interests.
Instructional Design: The design consisted of two treatment effects, each delivered to a different class of Global Perspectives students. The first was conducted in spring 2007, and the second in fall 2007. In the first stage students were required to read an article prior to a lecture on the topic. Students were also given a set of questions directed toward an assessment of the the learning goals above. In the second treatment effect students again were assigned an outside reading on the subject, but the lesson was modified to include the use of Google Earth to identify regional demarcations of boundaries and terrain, and the in-class viewing of a short video on the subject. Students again heard the lecture and were given the set of questions directed toward the learning goals. In each case there was a discussion after the lecture regarding the questions to assess student success in mastering the material.
Major Findings: Student response, both in terms of knowledge and effect, was much more positive in the second treatment effect than in the first.
Links and References for Class Materials:
- Video Documentary, “Palestine-Israel 101” (published by the American Task Force on Palestine)
- Wikipedia, “History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”
- The Arab-Israeli Conflict and its Transformation (presentation)
- The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (presentation)