Understanding the Palestinians: 1700-1948

This course draws on new scholarship that centers Palestinian experiences for understanding their transformation from a largely peasant society under Ottoman rule (1516-1917) into a dispossessed and stateless people after the Nakba (catastrophe) of 1948.We explore the emergence of modern Palestinian society in the 18th and 19th centuries, the encounters with European Zionist settlers since the 1880s, and the transformative period of British colonization (1917-1948). Ultimately, we ask: Who are the Palestinians? And what does the Nakbateach us about the making of the modern world? A sequel course (1457B) covering the period from 1948-present, will be offered in the Spring 2027 semester.