98450 |
SST 246 Zionism and its Discontents |
Joel Kovel |
M . W . . |
3:00-
4:20 pm |
OLIN
202 |
HUM/DIFF |
A course on the Israel/Palestine conflict from the
perspective of the critique of Zionism as developed in the instructor’s 2007
work, Overcoming Zionism. Themes will
include the history and internal logic of Zionism in relation to the situation
of Jews and their identity; the relation of the state of Israel to great power
imperialism, especially that of the United States, with special attention to
the so-called “Israel Lobby”; questions of ethnic cleansing of the indigenous
Palestinian people and the comparison between Zionist Israel and Apartheid
South Africa; interconnections between anti-semitism, the Holocaust and the
formation of Israel; and a critical survey of various strategies of resolution
of this seemingly intractable conflict, viz., the “Two-State” vs “One State”
positions in their various versions. Principle texts: Lacqueur, A History of Zionism; Morris, Righteous Victims; Pappe, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine;
Kovel, Overcoming Zionism; Walt and
Mearsheimer, The Israel Lobby. The
highly controversial character of this subject requires special consideration
so that the class will be open to a full airing of competitive views. One way
of dealing with this is to have one class a week given over to the reading of
assigned texts, the other, to open discussion of current issues, with students
playing an active role, and engaging in critical readings of alternative views,
along with a study of the way the mainstream media treats the various themes. A
variety of additional speakers may be brought in.
98449 |
SST 332 The Ecological Crisis |
Joel Kovel |
M . . . . |
9:30-
11:50 am |
OLIN
205 |
HUM |
Cross-listed:
Environmental Studies, Human Rights, STS The course surveys the ecological crisis in
all its dimensions: biological, political, economic, technological, scientific,
cultural, psychological, ethical, philosophical, and spiritual. Does it have an
“efficient cause,” a main dynamism that can be isolated and overcome? The
dominant system of production, capitalism, is investigated in this light.
Finally, the course considers the overriding questions, What is to be done?
What social, technological, psychological, and spiritual changes are necessary
to overcome the crisis; how do existing ecological movements measure up against
these goals?