RELS 212 Jerusalem: A Holy City
“The Palestinian flag was fluttering…over the Dome of the Rock. Jerusalem had finally become Al-Quds again” (Emad El-Din Aysha, Palestine+100). As we will discuss in this class, the key to understanding such a passionately transformative statement is to recognize that Jerusalem is both historically renowned as a major sacred site of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity and futuristically imagined as a site of (shared) belonging. Inspired by speculative works such as Palestine +100 and East Jerusalem Noir as well as poetic claims from artists such as Naomi Shihab Nye, Mahmoud Darwish, and Mohammed el-Kurd this course will show how belonging to Jerusalem has been established for over three millennia from different standpoints. Our study of poetic, fictional and futuristic works, will be buttressed by historical, archeological, ritual, and autobiographical sources. By the end of the class, students will understand how Jerusalem has been sanctified as a holy city, the various idioms used to establish belonging to Jerusalem, as well as how and why peace is still aspired to within the presence of Israel’s occupation.
Credits
This a 4-unit course. On average, you should expect to spend at least twelve (12) hours a week (including in-class time) on this course.