Week 1 (Mar. 11)

Link to the recording of the class: https://brandeis.zoom.us/rec/share/T8st88Yh6qOG1C-vbV8nrylckPzUxQXu2NUunST2p2X7WiEaDpgzbBPEaLQAGOiM.6luhklQIE8e1H8_1

Link to slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Aai2Kx1g61-BbqzsyED50wJw9R9jvwMyW_chDgH6i68/edit?usp=share_link

Reading #1

"A brief history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict explained in fewer than 300 words", Sky News, Nov. 3, 2023: https://news.sky.com/story/a-brief-history-of-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict-explained-in-less-than-300-words-12997971

Guiding questions:
a)    Did you find this helpful?

b)    What did you already know and what is new for you?

c)     What further questions does this article raise in you?

Podcast #1

You Are Not So Smart podcast, Ep. 286: “Notes on Complexity – Neil Theise”

Available at: https://youarenotsosmart.com/2024/05/14/yanss-286-an-introduction-to-complexity-science-chaos-theory-and-how-life-um-finds-a-way/ (or see transcript)

Guiding questions:
a)    How do Malcolm's observations in Jurassic Park, the experience of Edward Lorenz and Conway's Game of Life resonate with you when thinking about conflicts like Israel-Palestine?

b)    What are the four rules of complexity?

c)     What implications might complexity science have for understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Podcast #2

You Are Not So Smart podcast, Ep. 288: “Fluke – Brian Klaas”

Available at: https://youarenotsosmart.com/2024/06/24/yanss-288-how-a-healthy-relationship-with-chaos-randomness-and-change-can-lead-to-a-life-well-lived/ (or see transcript)

Guiding questions:
a)    When thinking about the flukes that saved Kyoto and Kakura, can you think of any flukes that may have significantly affected the course of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

b)    How does the article impact your thinking on the inevitability of the way the conflict has unfolded?

c)     Would you say you take an individual/atomistic or a relational view of conflict? How would looking at it one way or the other change your views?