Classes

We started "real" classes this week, which has been challenging. Classes here are longer than at Smith, as is the commute, so I often end up on campus for quite a while. I'm taking two seminars and a supplemental study group as part of the Middle Eastern Honors Program. I switched from Archaeology to Israeli Legal Systems, which I think was a good choice for me. I will also continue with Hebrew for 10 hours per week.

My first seminar, Nationalism and Colonialism is taught by a woman who just received her PHD from NYU and specializes in Feminism in Morrocco. She has spent the last year researching in the archives in Cairo, and seems a bit nervous as a teacher. I am always drawn to the idea of Nationalism that arises in my other classes involving the Middle East, but it has always been mentioned in more of a fleeting manner, and now I have the time to really delve into the notion. I'm also weak when it comes to understanding Colonialism, so it should serve me well. The syllabus notes a lot of Fanon, with Algeria as an epitomizing case study, and Smith has prepared me well to discuss that at length.

The second seminar, Rapprochement and Coexistence, is taught by one of the most renowned professors here, Prof. Medzini. He is quite seasoned; he's known almost all of the Prime Ministers and talks about the wars from experience. We're starting with the '73 War, which is kind of different, and he really emphasizes strategy, which I enjoyed most from my last Warfare class. We'll be making a field trip to the North to examine strategy from the Yom Kippur War.

I went to the law class as part of course shopping, and instantly liked it. The class will be visiting the High Court, and that alone would make the course worth it, but it is also really interesting. Israel does not have a written constitution and uses a mix of common and civil law, so this class will serve as a good juxtoposition of my Con Law class last semester. Our professor is this adorable Canadian man with really funny anecdotes.

Hebrew is not as good as Ulpan; it suddenly got a lot harder and I miss my old teacher, Michal. I ran into her today, though, and she told me all about what her three children are dressing as for Purim, as well as offering to snag me a pastry.

While waiting for a meeting with my advisor, I noticed and advertisement posted by a professor at the Truman Institute on campus who explained that she has a grad student working for her who is blind and needs help translating, synopsizing, and reading works for her dissertation in Middle Eastern Studies. I answered the ad and met with the student, Laila, today. She is absolutely lovely and we decided that I would take articles and write a short piece on the main ideas in English and then meet with her to go over them. In exchange, she's going to give me lessons in basic Arabic. I am so happy to help because she is so nice, and the work will greatly hone my research skills for my thesis next year. Everyone wins!

In short, I have a lot to look forward to this semester by way of academic endeavors. My professors are at the top of their fields, the classes are more specialized than at Smith, and my classrooms overlook the very place I am studying. For once I am in it, rather than looking in from a distance.