Teaching

Overview:

I have extensive teaching experience at both undergraduate and graduate level. I was a
Visiting Lecturer in the History Department at Stanford University, worked for two years full-time as a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham, and for three years as a part-time Departmental Teaching Associate in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford. As a result, I have acquired a range of teaching skills at undergraduate and graduate level, including convening modules, lecturing large groups, managing medium sized seminars and tutoring one or two-on-one. 

I have taught undergraduate and graduate modules on the history and politics of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the politics of the Middle East. My teaching has covered a wide span of historical topics from the emergence of Zionism and Palestinian Arab nationalism to the British Mandate in Palestine, the Arab-Israeli wars of 1948, 1967 and 1973, and the failure of the ‘peace process.’ In addition, I have taught key themes relating to Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including gender in Israel, debates about Israel as a 'Jewish and democratic state,' the relationship between territory and demography, and the history of US-Israel relations.  


In addition to my module teaching, I have supervised undergraduate and master’s dissertations on a wide range of topics, with a particular focus on those related to Israel, the Middle East and gender.


Teaching Innovation:


To enhance my students’ learning experience and enable further discussion of Israel-related topics beyond the physical classroom, I developed a 'virtual classroom' in the form of a dedicated module Facebook group. My innovative use of social media has proved very popular with students, who utilised the group to continue seminar discussions, share articles and links, and alert one another about relevant events on campus. 


Student Feedback:


At Stanford, Birmingham and Oxford, I received excellent feedback from my students. I was praised for being very knowledgeable, an excellent communicator and very approachable. 


Below are some comments from my former students:

Aaqib: “It has been a pleasure learning more about the Arab-Israeli conflict over the course of the year. It was an experience which was made better through your teaching and guidance. It is nice and refreshing to see a tutor who is genuinely enthusiastic and passionate about the module being taught. I thank you once again for allowing me to take this module and hope you continue to teach this module for the foreseeable future.”

Aaron: “I can safely say I am taking away experiences and learning outcomes from the module that go beyond its pure content.”

Adam: “I really want to thank you again for teaching me this year. I have thoroughly enjoyed the module, and it is the one module during my time at university which really pushed me 'outside the box' and outside of my comfort levels, and because of that I felt that I learnt a huge amount that I will take away with me for the rest of my life.”

Shahreen: “I thoroughly enjoyed your module and all the effort you put in. I have learnt so much through your teaching methods and felt that you really went the extra mile to make sure we all understood the work and enjoyed the course at the same time.”