SOAS creates two new posts in Israel studies

[LeftishBrit]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/apr/12/soas-israel-studies-posts


....But there have also been increasing efforts by institutions and others to promote a more nuanced and academic understanding of what is happening in the region.

The latest of these is the announcement of an expansion in Israel studies at the School of African and Oriental Studies (Soas) in London, and a new European Association of Israel Studies (EAIS) to be launched in September.

Colin Shindler, professor of Israeli studies at Soas and future chair of the association, says the decision to expand Israel studies is a response to growing demand from students to know more about the political, cultural, social and economic background to events in the Middle East and is an attempt to offer an academic alternative to what he terms "the megaphone war".

"The Middle East conflict is always a hot subject that people want to understand because it's so convoluted," he says. "People want rational responses. They are fed-up with slogans and one-sided approaches."

(more at link)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/apr/12/soas-israel-studies-posts