By Braden Bell

The recent act of terror and ensuing regional war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has proved to be a controversial topic and one that has been on the minds of many. More specifically, the Honors History of the Middle East elective here at Collegiate has taken a deep dive into the conflict. The series of events has provided a stream of current news for us to dissect in the class and a microcosm of the historical and political tensions we learn about in class unfolding in real time.    

My understanding of this conflict has been made much easier thanks to the Honors History of the Middle East class. This complicated and sensitive topic would have been nearly impossible to navigate on my own. The class was initially created with the goal to “bring more awareness to a misunderstood region,” according to Upper School history teacher Nate Jackson. He said that “Americans tend not to know much about the region and the massive influence it has on their country,” so he wanted to solve this lack of understanding through his class.   

In years past, the class has focused on the overall history of the Middle East and how it was affected by Islam, the Ottoman Empire, and European colonialism, and then how that history ties into more recent events, such as the US involvement in the region. The class also usually has a large unit on oil and how much the discovery of oil has shaped the region. We were on track to learn the same things this year until the current conflict broke out. This caused our class to pivot rapidly into examining the current conflict, as well as understanding the historical tensions behind it. The conflict has now become the backbone of this semester’s curriculum, and we have been extensively dissecting how the conflict has been unfolding.  

When asked about how the class has helped him stay informed, Braden Felts (‘24) says that “the class has helped me gain a greater global perspective that other classes don’t offer,” which is the exact goal Jackson had in mind. We will often be assigned to spend the majority of a class period simply reading the news. We will be told to look at different sources and compare how they talk about the same topic and also just read to be informed. Having this time has allowed our class to see what is going on in the world and learn how to read the news and be truly informed.  

We also often have projects where we will be assigned questions pertaining to a certain topic, and we will have to use news sources to write a concise reflection in as few words as possible to answer the questions. This has taught us not only how to dissect the news but also how to write concisely, but substantively.

Learning these skills has been especially helpful when trying to learn about a topic as sensitive and as controversial as the Israel-Hamas war. When asked specifically about the topic, Felts said that “the class has allowed me to gain a perspective from the victims on both sides of the conflict.” This is reflected in how the class asks students to look at multiple perspectives and sources.  

After taking the class, I have realized that it is more than just a history class about the Middle East.  It is also a class about being a more informed person and about how to find the truth in a world of bias and misinformation. The methods we have learned in the class are very functional and useful skills that I will continue to employ outside of the classroom and in my daily life.    

Featured image credit: United States National Imagery and Mapping Agency and the Library of Congress.