I am excited for the Living Jerusalem 2011 blog to get underway. I believe the layout of the course is not only different from traditional courses, but it is also exciting. I have never read or created a blog before, so in a sense, I am quite nervous. I know I do not know as much as I should about the Jerusalem conflict and now I am expected to right a blog sharing my thoughts and insights about the problem? To me this alone is a daunting task; but add in the fact that I lack any creative bone in my body, and I become even more anxious about this course. Anxieties aside, I am greatly looking forward to achieving an understanding about the conflict through actual people and not textbooks. The most appealing aspect of the course is that we will be able to talk to faculty and students who live in this area and must deal with this every day.
Before reading these articles, I knew very little about the conflict going on over this land. I did know this is a battle over a holy land and that both sides were extremely passionate for their cause. These articles show the intense passion of the conflict. Each article demonstrates how the conflict runs so deep that it affects every aspect of their lifestyles. Although, the researchers’ and ethnographers’ job was to just represent the influence folklore has for the people of Jerusalem, each part of the project had to keep in mind people’s sensitivity; the political boundaries affected every aspect of the Jerusalem project. For example, the naming of the program had to be meticulously scrutinized so the audience would not think the Festival was trying put in their own political beliefs.
