Last month I had the chance to interview Elise, the former coordinator of the AIC’s Jerusalem Project and a teacher of sociology at Bethlehem University. In Part II of the interview Elise discusses how teaching can bring about social change, and the role youth can play in this transformation. As several experts on youth and development have noted, all too often internationally funded programs for marginalized youth operate on the premise that idle youngsters are dangerous, and that the sooner they become employed, the sooner society will avert the threat of conflict. As one might expect, without taking the hopes, opinions, and recommendations of youth into account, including what kind of employment they, themselves want, and what kind of an education would be most conducive to their involvement in conflict resolution, such programming can be less than effective at best, and can deepen conflict at worst. Elise’s thoughts on educating under occupation provide an example of how to better involve youth in conflict resolution processes. On a personal note, her thoughts also provide me with ideas for how to teach the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to youth living miles away in the U.S.
“I believe in inspirational education that is not based only on transmitting information but also upon empowering students to think about their lives and society differently and encouraging them to make changes, especially in terms of social justice and the different challenges facing their lives. I believe that education could be empowering for people surrounded by walls. It provides a horizon to freedom.
I try to develop simulation exercises and debates that encourage students to connect between sociology and their daily lives. Palestinian youth are greatly affected by the occupation. Simple students have been challenging a lot: walls, checkpoints, trauma, depression as a result of immobility and feeling caged by the wall…
Elise, former coordinator of the AIC's Jerusalem Project, speaks about social change through teaching
There was a woman coming to the class [I taught] every day very pregnant, trying to do her assignments as if everything was normal, but to imagine the things she went through every day getting from Hebron to Bethlehem for class. First, she would leave her children at home, convince her father and mother in law to let her come to the university, get through the checkpoints, just to study and leave. I had other students traumatized by certain events, for example the loss of a brother or a sister during Israeli shelling on the Bethlehem district. There was someone else who had had a disability as a result of the intifada. Many students had been imprisoned or detained by Israel during the Intifada. I remember in the middle of a semester, a student who had just been released from a four year detention by Israel came to class. He had to resume his studies like the rest of the students. It was so difficult for him to do that because he was always thinking about what had happened in prison. I would ask him to write his assignment connecting sociological theory to his experience, otherwise [he would be] unable to concentrate.
A young boy in the Palestinian areas of Hebron waves to the camera
During Gaza, we would be discussing the course material, and then students would often tell me they were unable to concentrate. This was a dilemma for me sometimes. In those moments I often did not know what to do. On the one hand I had to finish the lesson and course outline but on the other hand, I would sometimes feel students were not present in the class. They were too distracted by what was happening not so far away. I would often let them share their sociological observations in the class. At other times, I had to commit to the outline. I remember there was a final exam during the prime of the Gaza events and many students came to class telling me they could not study at all, and nevertheless they had to make the exam.
One issue I noticed was that many students felt inner despair and powerlessness with regards to the future and their immobility and being surrounded by walls. One time a students asked me on the theme of Sociology of Development, ‘why would we study this? We’re not like the rest of students in developing countries; we don’t have a future, we’re surrounded by walls, and there is no future.’ I would try to tell them we can identify a problem and try and work on strategies and alternatives which could also be success stories for other countries dealing with conflict like Afghanistan or Iraq or Sudan. Instead of complaining all the time it’s important to think of your responsibility and alternatives.
Young conscripted female soldiers chat while off duty in downtown West Jerusalem
I also noticed that the textbooks would often make the students feel powerless. I started thinking of ways that would help the students think of alternatives and about their personal responsibility with regards to certain issues. For example, I would ask them to think about personal stereotypes about other cultures and Occidentalism whenever the issue of Orientalism was discussed. I believe in the importance and value of inter-cultural and inter-religious genuine dialogue. Another thing I noticed is that the history of the Holocaust is not included in Palestinian textbooks. I would speak about the history of Nazism, dictatorship, colonialism and different forms of racial and political oppression and we would have debates about the role of intellectuals, students and the society with regards to such challenges.”
