On the Edge Symposium 2025

Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society
Elon University (NC)
Feb. 9-11, 2025

2025 Symposium: Teaching Israel/Palestine in Turbulent Times

Developments since the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas on southern Israel have raised the stakes for teaching about the Middle East at colleges and universities in the US and beyond. While the preparation of students for global citizenship demands robust engagement with Israel/Palestine, concerns about provoking conflict may prompt faculty to proceed with caution or avoid the topic altogether.

We believe, however, that professors around the world continue to engage in excellent teaching about Israel/Palestine—about relationships and conflicts between Israel and Palestine and between Israelis and Palestinians; about relationships between and among Israeli and Palestinian socio-political, economic, and cultural lives; and about their connections to neighboring communities and beyond.

This symposium invites proposals for papers that address critical and innovative approaches to teaching Israel/Palestine today. We encourage proposals from scholars from a variety of disciplinary or interdisciplinary backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We welcome proposals about teaching Israel/Palestine as the focus of an entire course or course unit and in any course format (quarter/semester long, online, etc.).

Among the topics proposals might address are:

    • Application of evidence-based strategies for teaching
    • Approaches that facilitate engaged learning
    • Course design and student learning outcomes
    • The role of campus dynamics or student groups in shaping classroom dynamics
    • How concerns about anti-Jewish, anti-Israeli, anti-Palestinian, or anti-Muslim bigotry shape classroom dynamics
    • The boundaries of acceptable classroom speech regarding Israel/Palestine
    • The role of politics and lawmakers in shaping pedagogies
    • Faculty classroom responses to the current crisis
    • Nurturing critical-mindedness, open-mindedness, respect, and other virtues required in classrooms
    • Emerging curricular initiatives
    • Relating the Israel/Palestine context to relevant local and global debates
    • How teaching Israel/Palestine compares with teaching other difficult subjects

Elon faculty conveners

Geoffrey Claussen, Professor of Religious Studies, Lori and Eric Sklut Professor in Jewish Studies and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies

Baris Kesgin, Associate Professor of Political Science and Policy Studies

Sandy Marshall, Associate Professor of Geography