Class Description
This course explores the Palestinian national liberation movement from the aftermath of the Palestinian Great Revolt in 1939 through the present. Using a range of primary and secondary sources—including declassified documents, translated revolutionary texts, memoirs, and films—students will trace the evolution of Palestinian resistance in its many forms.
Rejecting the narrative that Palestinian agency over their cause only began in 1965 or that the struggle has been passive or reactive, this course foregrounds the rich and diverse traditions of revolutionary organization that predate, intersect with, and extend beyond the formal institutions of the Palestinian national movement. We will pay particular attention to how Palestinians in exile, under occupation, and in refugee camps understood and pursued liberation across changing regional and global contexts.
Majd Khalid Darwish is an instructor, researcher, and editor at IDCtheory; he holds an MA in International Law from SOAS, University of London. His work focuses on the Palestinian national struggle and decolonial thought and history.
All virtual classes are recorded and made available to participants registered in the class. These recordings are password-protected and available for up to two weeks after the class ends.
What to Expect
Format: Virtual
Class Capacity: 18
Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged
Materials List
Required
- Rashid Khalidi, The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017. Metropolitan Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781627798556
- Max Blumenthal, The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza, Leftword Books, 2020. ISBN: 9789380118154
- PDFs provided by the instructor of excerpts from the following books
- Yezid Sayigh, Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949-1993. Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN: 9780198296430
- Noura Erakat, Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine. Stanford University Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781503608832
- Other Instructor-Distributed Materials
First Reading
- Read the following articles (sent by the instructor about one week before class)
- Hasson, Nir. “A Fight to the Death, and Betrayal by the Arab World: The Most Disastrous 24 Hours in Palestinian History.”
- Shalash, Bilal. “History told by the Vanquished: A Critical Reading of 1947-1948 War Diaries as Historical Sources.” AlMuntaqa, Vol. 2, 2019, pp. 9-23
A Brief Syllabus
- 1939-1948 War on the Horizon: Suppression and Survival
- 1948-1965 The Forgotten Years
- 1965-1970 The Birth of the Contemporary Palestinian Revolution
- 1970-1982 Unity, Division, and Imperialist Encirclement
- 1982-2000 From Revolution to Counterrevolution
- 2000-Present Resistance, Fragmentation, and the Future
Cost and Registration
6 Sessions, $270 ($243 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($270), Community Supported ($250), and Sponsor ($290). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
RegisterSupport the Newberry
Your generosity is vital in keeping the library’s programs, exhibitions, and reading rooms free and accessible to everyone.
Make a GiftQuestions?
Call us at (312) 255-3700 or send us an email at adulteducation@newberry.org.
We are in office Tuesday through Thursday, 10 am–6 pm CT.
We are available by email Tuesday through Saturday.