Assignment 1 (sorry it's so late)...

Well after some miscommunication, missed emails, and technical difficulties, I've got my blog up and running and I have been able to access the readings. Now the fun begins...

Class expectations:
I am definitely looking forward to this class. I really like small classes where I get to know my classmates and professor, and I think that the size enables people to engage with the material and one another on a deeper level. I'm new to this blogging thing too, and I think it's an interesting way to engage in respectful discussion and to communicate outside of the classroom. I think that's going to be cool. I don't really know much about Jerusalem at this point, and I'm honestly pretty terrible at following current events. One of my goals for this year is to improve in that. So I expect to learn a lot, to be challenged, and probably to offend people (albeit unintentionally). I expect to be misunderstood, to sound (or to be) ignorant, and to have an awesome time. I hope to get to know everyone throughout the quarter and to come to a deeper understanding of the past, present and future of Jerusalem.

Reading Response:
One of the aspects of the reading that stuck out most to me was the complexity of Jerusalem. Intellectually I know that three of the World's major faiths are all significantly represented in one city, but the readings gave me more of a perspective on the complex nature of this issue. Suad Amiry writes, "which Jerusalem and whose Jerusalem do we represent on the Washington
Mall? Arab Jerusalem? Moslem or Christian Jerusalem? Divided, occupied Jerusalem?Jerusalem is none of these and all of these." This last sentence really struck me because it emphasizes just some of the major facets that make Jerusalem the city that it is. While it may be generalized, Jerusalem cannot be fully explained. And while the distinctions and divisions are a source of conflict, they are also the factors without which Jerusalem would be just like any other city.

Another theme that I enjoyed from the readings was questioning how to represent everyday life. In the second article, Amiry writes "For many abroad, Jerusalem is simply the center of three religions, not a place where people engage in everyday life." I find it easy to take this perspective myself, so this sentiment is a good reminder that Jerusalem is a place where people live and work, go to school, play outside, and do the things that people do. The first part of Dr. H's article also touches on this with the poem from Yehuda Amichai who describes tourists who look past a man to a Roman arch. Instead, to truly learn about Jerusalem, they should acknowledge the man and his everyday affairs. Jerusalem is a city made up of individuals and families with real lives, real problems, and real joys. It would be impossible to understand the city without trying to understand its people.

Baggage:
I don't consider myself to have much baggage concerning Jerusalem itself. I am a Christian (which I will explain more in my next post), but that has not produced in my any hostilities or anything of the sort. My dad's dad was Jewish (hence the last name...), and I grew up with many more Jewish classmates than Palestinians or Muslims. Recently, however, I have taken an interest in Arabic and the Middle East, and I went to Jordan this past summer where I met and befriended several Palestinians. I'd like to consider myself objective or neutral, but I don't really believe that's possible with people, so I guess we'll see how my biases play out...