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Syllabus POLITICAL NARRATIVES IN ISRAEL - 56826
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Last update 11-10-2015
HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 2nd degree (Master)

Responsible Department: political science

Semester: 1st Semester

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Prof. Shaul Shenhav

Coordinator Email: shaul.shenhav@huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: Monday, 10:15-11:30

Teaching Staff:
Prof Shaul Shenhav

Course/Module description:
Recent years have seen a growing number of narrative studies in the social sciences, and also in political science. These studies refer in one way or another to the concept of narrative, and its contribution to our understanding of individuals and collectives.

Course/Module aims:
The course will expose the students to narrative analysis in political science, focusing on the Israeli case. It will allow students to gain experience in conducting a narrative research.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
Recognize narrative structures in political texts; investigate and analyze the use of narratives in the political arena; explain the use of narratives in political systems and demonstrate it on the Israeli case; evaluate the importance of narratives in the political domain, in general, and in the Israeli political system in particular.

Attendance requirements(%):
80%

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: Theoretical lectures and discussions in class.

Course/Module Content:
Introduction

Part one: Narratives and politics
- Introduction and definitions
- Individuals, families and nations: personal narratvies and collective narratives

Part two: narrative approaches in political science
- Story, textú narration and multiplicity
- The relations between political narratives
- Narrative approaches – methodologies and examples: introduction
- Narrative approaches – methodologies and examples: textual analysis
- Narrative approaches – methodologies and examples: interviews
- Narrative approaches – methodologies and examples: quantitative analysis
- Narrative approaches – methodologies and examples: policy analysis
- Narrative approaches – methodologies and examples: theories and empirical studies

Part three: the stories of Israel

Required Reading:
Introduction

* Shenhav, S. R. (2015). Analyzing Social Narratives. Routledge, pp. 1-8.

Rimmon-Kenan, S. (2002) Narrative Fiction, 2nd edition, London: Routledge, chapter 1, pp. 1-5.

Part one:
* Patterson, M., & Monroe, K. R. (1998). Narrative in political science. Annual Review of Political Science, 1, 315-331.

* Shenhav, S. R. (2005). Thin and thick narrative analysis: On the question of defining and analyzing political narratives. Narrative Inquiry, 15, 75-88.

* Czarniawska, B. (2010). The uses of narratology in social and policy studies. Critical Policy Studies, 4(1), 58-76.

Part 2:
* Shenhav, S. R. (2015). Analyzing Social Narratives. Routledge, pp. 9-19.
Rimmon-Kenan, S. (2002) Narrative Fiction, 2nd edition, London: Routledge, chapter 1, pp. 1-5.

* Krebs, R. R., & Lobasz, J. K. (2007). Fixing the meaning of 9/11: Hegemony, coercion, and the road to war in Iraq. Security Studies, 16(3), 409-451.

* van Hulst, M. (2012). Storytelling, a model of and a model for planning. Planning Theory, 11(3), 299-318.

* Hammer, S. (2010). The role of narrative in political campaigning: An analysis of speeches by Barack Obama. National Identities, 12(3), 269-290.

* Riessman, C. K. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences. Sage, chapter 2, pp. 21-51.

* Sheafer, T., Shenhav, S., & Golstein, K.(2011). Voting for our story: a narrative model of electoral choice in multiparty systems. Comparative political studies, 44(3), 313-337.

* Shanahan, E. A., Jones, M. D., & McBeth, M. K. (2011). Policy narratives and policy processes. Policy Studies Journal, 39(3), 535-561.

One item from the following list:

- Auerbach, Y. (2009). The reconciliation pyramid—A narrative-based framework for analyzing identity conflicts. Political Psychology, 30, 291-318.
- Bamberg, M. (2004). Considering counter narratives. In M. Bamberg, & M. Andrews (Eds.), Considering counter narratives: Narrating, resisting, making sense (pp. 351-371). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
- Buthe, T. (2002). Taking temporality seriously: Modeling history and the use of narratives as evidence. American Political Science Review, 96, 481-493.
- Biton, Y., & Salomon, G. (2006). Peace in the eyes of Israeli and Palestinian youths: Effects of collective narratives and peace education program. Journal of Peace Research, 43(2), 167-180.
Cornog, E. (2004). The power and the story: How the crafted presidential narrative has determined political success from George Washington to George W. Bush. New York, NY: Penguin, chapter 3, pp. 49-66.
- Elliott, J. (2005). Using narrative in social research: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Sage, pp. 3-13, chapter 5.
- Franzosi, R. (2010). Quantitative narrative analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, chapter 2, pp. 11-55.
- Shenhav, S. R. (2006). Political narratives and political reality. International Political Science Review, 27, 245-262.
- Shenhav, S. R. (2005). Concise narratives: A structural analysis of political discourse. Discourse Studies, 7(3), 315-335.
- van Hulst, M. (2013). Storytelling at the Police Station The Canteen Culture Revisited. British Journal of Criminology, 53(4), 624-642.
- Yanow, Dvora. 1995. Built Space as Story: The Policy Stories that Buildings Tell. Policy Studies Journal 23 (3): 407-422.

Part 3:
* Ezrahi, Y (1997) Rubber Bullets, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, chapter 5, pp. 77-116.

Additional Reading Material:
Bruner, J. S. (1986). Actual minds, possible worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Bamberg, M. (2004). Considering counter narratives. In M.

Bamberg, & M. Andrews (Eds.), Considering counter narratives: Narrating, resisting, making sense (pp. 351-371). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Elliott, J. (2005).
Using narrative in social research: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Sage, pp. 3-13.

Hammack, P. L. (2011). Narrative and the politics of identity: The cultural psychology of Israeli and Palestinian youth. New York: Oxford University Press.

Fisher, W. R. (1985). The narrative paradigm: an elaboration. Communication Monographs, 52, 347-367.

Franzosi, R. (2010). Quantitative narrative analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, chapter 1, pp. 1-10.

Shenhav, S. R. (2005). Concise narratives: A structural analysis of political discourse. Discourse Studies, 7(3), 315-335.

Shenhav, S. R. (2006). Political narratives and political reality. International Political Science Review, 27, 245-262.

Tannen, D. (2008). " We've never been close, we're very different" Three narrative types in sister discourse. Narrative Inquiry, 18(2), 206-229.

van Hulst, M. (2012). Storytelling, a model of and a model for planning. Planning Theory, 11(3), 299-318.


Elliott, J. (2005). Using narrative in social research: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Sage, pp. 3-13, chapter 5.

Franzosi, R. (2010). Quantitative narrative analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, chapter 2, pp. 11-55.

Geiger, D., & Antonacopoulou, E. (2009). Narratives and Organizational Dynamics Exploring Blind Spots and Organizational Inertia. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 45(3), 411-436.

Borins, S. F. (2012). Making narrative count: A narratological approach to public management innovation. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 22(1), 165-189.

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 5 %
Project work 95 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information:
There can be three kinds of final assignment.
1. Theoretical discussion.
2. Empirical (qualitative or quantitative) textual analysis .

* A full and complete version of the syllabus will be available in the course website at the beginning of the academic year
 
Students needing academic accommodations based on a disability should contact the Center for Diagnosis and Support of Students with Learning Disabilities, or the Office for Students with Disabilities, as early as possible, to discuss and coordinate accommodations, based on relevant documentation.
For further information, please visit the site of the Dean of Students Office.
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