The UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies was pleased to host its fifth annual Undergraduate Scholars Conference in Israel Studies. The conference provided a unique opportunity for undergraduate students to present and discuss their research on modern Israel in any academic discipline. Hosted virtually, the conference showcased some of the best recent undergraduate research in Israel Studies in the United States and abroad.
Congratulations to Our Winning Presenters!
First Place: Niso Nahmiyas (Duke University) for his paper "Democratya? Anti-democratic Forces in Israel—And How to Combat Them"
Second Place: Tatiana Zinn (University of California, Los Angeles) for her paper "Indigeneity, Discourse, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Charting the Rise and Repercussions of Politicized Claims to Indigeneity in Israel-Palestine"
Watch the Fifth Annual Undergraduate Scholars Conference in Israel Studies
View and download the conference program here.
Opening Remarks by Center Director Professor Dov Waxman
Session I: Zionism and Other Nationalisms
Chair/Moderator: Avery Weinman, University of California, Los Angeles
"From Nation-State to Diaspora: The Rise of Transnationalism in Contemporary Israeli Cinema"
Laura Lee, University of California, Los Angeles
"Comparisons of Zionism and Indian Nationalism in the Conflicts Over Israel-Palestine and Kashmir"
Sinaya Joshi, University of California, Los Angeles
"Who Dunnit?: Nationalist Narratives of the Six-Day War"
Samantha Brody, Brandeis University
“To exist is to resist': Tracking Solidarity Between Ireland and Israel/Palestine During the 20th Century"
Noa Kipnis, University of Virginia
Session II: Israel and the Palestinians
Chair/Moderator: Joshua Goetz, University of California, Los Angeles
"Indigeneity, Discourse, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Charting the Rise and Repercussions of Politicized Claims to Indigeneity in Israel-Palestine"
Tatiana Zinn, University of California, Los Angeles
"Palestinians in Zionist Discourse"
Charles Summers, University of Maryland, College Park
"Lost Souls: The Paradox of Intermarriage in the Jewish State"
Ashvini Giridaran, University of Toronto
"Solidarity and Complexity: How the Irish View Israel and Palestine"
Sunoo Lee, Emory University
Session III: Social Diversity
Chair/Moderator: Tamar Hofnung, University of California, Los Angeles
"Becoming Israeli: A Study of Soviet and Ethiopian Integration in the 1990s"
Yael Perlman, Brandeis University
"So You Shall Say to (Some) of the House of Jacob: Israeli Ashkenazi-Sephardi Dynamics and the Bais"
Yaakov System Charna Perman, University of Toronto
"Democratya? Anti-democratic Forces in Israel—And How to Combat Them"
Niso Nahmiyas, Duke University
Session IV: Israel in the World: Transnational and Comparative Perspectives
Chair/Moderator: Nathaniel Shils, University of California, Los Angeles
"The Strategy of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Toward Multinational Brands"
Simon Thorpe, University of California, Los Angeles
"Christians United for Trump? A Case Study into the Christians United for Israel Organization during the Trump Administration"
Zachary Ainbinder-Barkley, American University
"Unlikely Allies? Israel-China Relations"
Zak Vilschick, University of Maryland, College Park
"Minorities in Religious and laic States: A Comparison Between Israel and Spain"
Astur Agun Alvarez, Carlos III University of Madrid / University of California, Los Angeles
Award Presentations by the Center's Israel Institute Teaching Fellow Dr. Tamar Hofnung & Closing Remarks by Center Director Professor Dov Waxman
DISCLAIMER: The views or opinions of our guest speakers and the content of their presentations do not necessarily reflect the views of the UCLA Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies. Hosting speakers does not constitute an endorsement of the speaker's views or opinions.
Download file: Lower-Res-2023-Undergraduate-Scholars-Conference-in-Israel-Studies-Program-e4-1zl.pdf
Published: Thursday, June 22, 2023
