CLME W3042

He really blurs the line between facts and opinions, which gets on everyone’s nerves. Massad treats a lot of his course like a media appearance advocating for one side and berating the other. I can’t say he is as intense as some of his fans in the course who think everyone criticizing him is just trying to paint him as an anti-Semite, but Massad can be frustrating to work with. He brings a lot of analysis to the course but much of that is skewed, something that wasn’t obvious to classmates of mine who were less familiar with the course material than I was.

Murderous amounts of reading. Two midterms and one final that are graded rather harshly but curved at the end. It was incredibly unpleasant while I was doing it, but I think overall it was worth it to come away with the knowledge...

I had a much different experience than the previous reviewer. I also had a different TA so that clearly had an impact. To be fair, Professor Massad has many good qualities. Whether you agree with him or not, he is a very engaging lecturer and he comes to class prepared to teach and answer questions. I don't think that he is anti-Semitic, but he teaches the class thematically and skews his analysis disproportionately, in a way that leads me to believe, he is hoping that students will come away from the class agreeing with him. I guess I don't really blame him, but it is important to point it out so people are aware. All of that being said, he makes a lot of good points. Unfortunately, he also says things that are incorrect (like factually incorrect) and leaves out certain details (for example, when discussing Operation Wrath of God, he told us that the Mossad was "massacring the Palestinian intellectual class in the diaspora". What he left out, was that OWoG was in response to Black September's massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics, and not just a random spree of assassinations.) Although he later mentioned Black September and Munich, he never connected it with Israel's response. He also enjoys espousing conspiracy theories (I mean I do too, but I'm not lecturing on behalf of a major University). To be honest, some of the things he brought up are likely true, but…

This class is INTENSE. We were assigned approximately 100 pages a week, but that easily increased throughout the semester. My TA (Cheryl Eve Leung who was amazing) assigned us 2 to 4 page essays due every week; she won't be TAing this course again, so workload in discussion section really depends on your TA. There were 2 midterms and 1 final, which were pretty intense. They consisted of identifications and essays (for the midterms, about 7 IDs and 2 essays and for the final, about 15 IDs and 3 essays). In my experience, to do well in this class, you really have to keep up with readings and assignments.

This class was INCREDIBLE. If you only know a little about the Palestinian/Israeli issue, you will leave this class knowing more than you could possibly imagine, as happened to me. If you know much about the issue, this class will provide you with incredible insight and resources to further cultivate your understanding and knowledge of the political and social background to the conflict. You will learn A LOT, regardless of how well versed you were in the issue before you took the class. Professor Massad touches on all of the most important details of the conflict from its historical beginnings to our current day. He assigns readings that are super interesting and extremely informative. We were assigned readings written by Israeli, Arab, Jewish and Muslim scholars, and even read two novellas. Though Massad has come under scrutiny from Zionists for being biased in teaching this course, that is quite untrue. Just because he is a Palestinian professor does not mean he is incapable of teaching us material that puts the Palestinians in an unfavorable position when history points to that. We talked a lot about the incompetence of Palestinian leadership and a lot about Arab powers and their fluctuations in their attitudes towards the Palestinian question. Regardless of this, it is ignorant to call this class biased and illegitimate simply because Massad tells the truth about the atroc…

The usual amount of reading, but he covers main points quite well in his lectures. It helps to do them, though the midterm was fairly straightforward. One long paper which initially seems a lot more complicated than it actually is. Final was cancelled.

In one word: wow. Like other reviewers, I came to this class thinking I would have to sort through extraordinary amounts of bias, but that was simply not the case. It's unfortunate that Massad has gotten a bad rep from a handful of students who don't like that he has an opinion different than theirs and can back it up with FACTS. I was constantly blown away by the way he could always, ALWAYS respond to an antagonistic question with facts. Yes, of course, he has his own opinions. I didn't always agree with him, but I always respected that he cared enough about the subject and was so knowledgeable. Massad cares deeply about what he's teaching, and you end up caring too. I can't say that for most of the classes I've taken at Columbia. Beyond his amazing lecturing abilities, Joseph Massad is incredibly nice. Everyone talks about his ego, but I was shocked when he stopped to talk to me in West Side early in the semester. He knows everyone and goes out of his way to have a chat with you, whether or not you actively participate in class.

Without fear or favor (have graduated) and without any political axes to grind, I say without hesitation that Professor Massad was the best teacher I've had at Columbia or anywhere else. I was lucky enough to have him for two classes (three semesters): both CC and his Palestinian and Israeli Politics and Societies. Perhaps more than anything, I admire and have been inspired intellectually by his unfailing, unflinching honesty about his own opinions and assumptions, and his equally unfailing and unflinching willingness to examine these opinions and assumptions with a critical eye. His lectures were uniformly fascinating, especially because it was obvious that he had complete control over the material -- he can field any question, and at a length that suggests that he's thought about it before. But what made the lectures even more fascinating was his enormous interest in them -- both personal interest and intellectual interest (some digressions -- the result, it seemed, of his enthusiasm -- were often the most fascinating part of the lecture!) I know I will carry what I've learned from Professor Massad with me for the rest of my life -- both the content and the method. -- And add to all this: he's simply one of nicest people I know.