University of Haifa: Academic Summer Courses Online

DATES: July 6 - August 6, 2020 

Each course will run for 5 weeks and will award students 3 credits.  Classes will take place via ZOOM on Monday and Thursday between the hours of 12pm-3pm (New York time)/ 9am-12pm (California time)/ 7pm-10pm (Haifa time). Both courses are academically accredited in accordance with the standards and criteria of North American and European universities.

Arab-Israel Relations
Dr. Daniel Zisenwine

This course introduces students to the study of the Arab-Israeli conflict, from its initial stages starting from the first waves of Zionist immigration to Palestine through the 1948 war and the establishment of the state of Israel. It will focus on the emerging features of the conflict, the struggle between the Palestinian Arab and Jewish Nationalist movements, and the regional and international involvement in these  events. Subsequent sessions will focus on the wars of 1956, 1967, 1973 and later developments such as the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty (1979) and Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Moving closer to the present, the course will highlight the 1987 Palestinian Intifada, the Oslo accords and the prospects for peace leading up to the second Intifada and the breakdown of negotiations. We will conclude with a discussion of the current age of uncertainty in the region and the impact of non-state actors (such as Hizballah and Hamas) on the conflict, in an effort to bring the class up to the present as possible. A variety of scholarly studies, diverse opinions, and approaches will provide the background for class discussions.
For the course syllabus please see here.

Refugees' Mental Health: Global and Local Perspectives
Dr. Kim Yuval

Contemporary armed conflicts and complex humanitarian crises create substantial mental health burdens that damage health and well-being, and limit development. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, this course examines the field of forced migration, focusing in particular on psychosocial and mental health issues. Throughout the semester we will try to understand forced migration as a global phenomenon while learning to recognize and assess its influence on the mental health of the millions it affects around the world. The interconnections between forced migration and mental health will be explored in this course through reading and discussing academic research, professional guidelines and prominent theoretical debates. Moving from a global perspective to the “here-and-now”, in the second half of the course we will explore the specific case of the African asylum seekers in Israel, analyzing their conditions and discussing possible solutions and interventions. The course will also include virtual meetings with activists and other professionals working in southern Tel Aviv where many asylum seekers reside.
For the course syllabus please see here.