A Balanced Empathy
Professor uses The Lemon Tree to Explore Relationships
Between “The West and the World”
THIS AUTUMN, SEATTLE PACIFIC University
Professor of History Don Holsinger introduced
a new text to his sophomore-level
Common Curriculum course, “The West and
the World.” The book is one he hopes will
have as profound an impact on his students
as it has had on him.
Holsinger describes The Lemon Tree, a
true story about an Israeli family and a Palestinian
family written by journalist Sandy Tolan,
as meticulously researched and sensitively
told. “It shows deep understanding and
empathy for both Palestinians and Israelis,”
he says. In class, Holsinger’s students will
be required to read the book and write reflections
about its content.
In the process, he hopes that they will
develop a “balanced empathy” and begin to
see what people on both sides of the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict have in common. “They
speak closely related languages; both trace
their ancestries back to Abraham; and their
basic values are similar,” says the professor.
“They also share a passionate attachment
to the same piece of land. The book really
helps students understand how much these
people share.”
Holsinger has been teaching courses in
the Common Curriculum — SPU ’s general
education program required of all students —
for the last seven years. A specialist on Middle
Eastern and Islamic history, he participated in
a Christian Peacemaker Teams delegation
that monitored the tense boundary between the Israeli and Palestinian-controlled sections
of the West Bank city of Hebron in 2000.
He shares these experiences with his
students in “The West and the World,” a
course that explores the historical interactions
between the West and other civilizations
from the dawn of the modern global
age to the present. Students examine a variety
of world regions with the assistance of
books, including Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall
Apart and thought-provoking films such as The Mission and Gandhi.
The central question of the course, says
Holsinger, is “How has Western civilization
influenced and been influenced by other cultures?”
Ultimately, he continues, the course
examines “Christian responses to a constantly
changing world.”
As conflict continues in the Middle East,
Holsinger believes The Lemon Tree’s theme
of reconciliation has potentially powerful and
far-reaching implications. “It’s about having
the courage to reach out and overcome a
natural human tendency to fear others,” he
explains. “My hope is that students will have
their eyes opened and their hearts touched
by this book. It inspires a vision of reconciliation
— for Israelis and Palestinians, but
also for other peoples around the world, and
here at home.”
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