Palestinian Question

Among one of my five classes, I’m taking an elective class called the Palestinian Question. I’m not sure what question we’re supposed to be answering, but the class IS about the Palestinian conflict. I didn’t actually sign up for this class until the day it started, because I didn’t realize I was supposed to be taking five classes instead of four. So I just showed up.

I, myself, find this choice a little bit ironic because I chose this class after reading an article in Time magazine about how maybe the conflict isn’t even at the forefront of everyone’s mind anymore. The reporter made such notes as walls were coming down and people were out on the streets and beaches enjoying life and being happy, and basically ignoring whatever conflict might still be there.

When I stepped into my class for the first time (ten minutes before the professor showed up), she excitedly told us that this conflict is the major conflict of our generation and that we MUST pay attention because this conflict will be talked about for many generations after us. What? It is? It will be? I know my history isn’t that great, but I’m pretty sure this conflict is more in the area of Mom’s generation and a little before—hate to say it, but it’s true. Needless to say, this professor is a little erratic. She spent about half an hour of our two and a half hour lecture talking about how it’s amazing that Americans don’t smoke (Yup, exactly right. We don’t smoke EVER). She continued by noting she can always find a light from a woman on the street who has wrinkles. She’s a classy lady.

While in this class, we will be reading a book called The United States and Islam. She informed us that SHE is in fact the one who wrote the book and that title is not in fact what she chose. The publisher picked it to sell more books. From what I’ve read so far, it pretty well fits. I don’t know what she’s talking about. She probably would have called is something like, oh, I don’t know, “The Palestinian Question.”

To be honest though, the class has been interesting so far. The only news on this particular conflict I’ve ever read has been from an American news source and maybe a little bit of BBC as well. Getting a foreign perspective on it can be quite interesting. The differences are subtle, but they’re definitely there. I catch my professor choosing her words carefully any time she talks about American involvement in any conflict, not just “The Palestinian Question.” It’s also entertaining to pick up on any biases. I never really noticed it before, but yes, all of my history teachers have always had a bias when lecturing about anything. I guess I never really noticed it until I encountered a different bias on the same subject. I can feel my little American brain stretching to the max while embracing the fact that now, I’m actually going to have to interpret what I read. How horrible.

It’s looking to be one of my more interesting and entertaining courses. I’ll keep you posted on what the answer to this Palestinian Question must be. If she knows, she must be the smartest woman on the planet.