History, Rationality, Narrative, Imagery: A Four-Way Conversation on Teaching the Arab-Israeli Conflict

The Arab-Israeli conflict can be a difficult topic to teach, for a variety of reasons. As such, this article represents a conversation by four scholar-teachers of the Middle East and the conflict about our approaches to teaching it. We discuss our motivations for the manner in which we teach the conflict and some of the specific tools we use to do so, including the use of history, role-playing and simulations, emphasis on narratives, and active learning instruments (such as movies and music). We also engage with each other, interspersing our own suggestions and reactions to each other's discussion. By doing so, we aim to provide an open atmosphere for others to consider how we teach the conflict, in the hopes of better understanding it.