This course has been challenging for me in several ways. The most difficult thing I found was trying to organize everything that I read and heard from the video conferences in my head and trying to figure out where it all fits into the larger context of the conflict. Before I took this class, my knowledge about the conflict was incredibly basic. I knew there was a conflict, I knew that it was largely over the dispute of territory and I knew that it was also largely between Palestinians and Israelis. I had no idea the depth of the conflict or the ways in which it effects the entire Middle East and in effect, the world.
It was difficult for me because I felt that the rest of the class has a much broader knowledge on the subject. This has also led to a difficultly in regard to the blog comments for me. Although I know that no one in the class is going to necessarily judge me for the comments that I make, I still feel like most of the time I really have nothing to contribute other than agreeing or disagreeing with someones point not on a factual level but rather on an opinion level.
Also in regard to blogging. I think that it would have been a much more effective if we did our reading responses and then had a discussion in class, whether in small groups or as a whole. I would personally like this better because I think that discussions are much more effective in person than via blogging. They more personal and they are generally more engaging.
The last difficulty I had ( and I'm a little embarrassed to admit) is with the cultural distinctions in the regions of the Middle East and what they mean. For example, Arab applied to Palestinian or Israeli.
But, I do know a lot more after taking this class than I did before and most of the difficulties I had have been addressed.
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