To mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Institute for Palestine Studies in 2023 — which coincided with the 75th anniversary of the Nakba — the Institute for Palestine Studies is hosting its annual conference, titled “75 Years of an Ongoing Nakba: The Question of Knowledge Production.” The conference is set to open on Monday, May 20, in Beirut, with the participation of researchers, academics, and historians from Palestine and around the world. Additionally, sessions will take place in Birzeit, New York, and online. Originally slated to be held in late 2023, a new date for the conference was set, incorporating new content and themes.
This conference comes at a crucial moment for the Palestinian cause, given the relentless Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which has lasted over 200 days and has targeted every pillar of Palestinian life. This is why the Institute for Palestine Studies sees the commitment to continue scholarly and research work as a vital form of resistance against the Zionist project. The Institute also believes that the current war is a part of the ongoing Nakba.
The primary goal of this conference is to reassess the decades of intellectual and scholarly production about the Nakba — published in Arabic, English, French, and Hebrew — by examining the body of work comprehensively. The aim is to explore new perspectives on understanding this pivotal and foundational event in Palestinian history.
The Nakba isn't merely a historical issue: it's a pressing concern of the present and future, as the Zionist project continues in its attempts to erase the memory of the Nakba, which is a cornerstone of the national identity of the Palestinian people. Today, more than ever, Palestinian people understand the importance of keeping the memory of Nakba alive and teaching it in schools, universities, and beyond. This is vital for fostering unity, navigating current challenges facing the national movement, and injecting renewed vigor into Palestinian political resistance.
The conference is organized in collaboration with several research institutions in Palestine and worldwide, including Birzeit University, the American University of Beirut, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, the Orient-Institut Beirut, the Arab Council for Social Sciences, and the Center for Palestine Studies at Columbia University - New York.
To check the participants' biographies and abstracts, please Click Here.
All times indicated on the program are local (Palestine, GMT+3).
Conference proceedings will be in English and Arabic. Translation is only available for keynote speakers.
The Conference will be broadcasted through Zoom, IPS website and IPS Facebook.
Conference Agenda
Session Title | Session Time | Venue | |
---|---|---|---|
Opening Remarks | 10:00 - 10:15 | IPS Building - Beirut and Zoom | |
Keynote 1: Gaza: A Chapter of an Ongoing Nakba or a Station on the Road to Liberation? | 10:15 - 10:45 |
Speakers: Maher Charif |
IPS Building - Beirut and Zoom |
Nakba Knowledge Production and the Archive | 11:00 - 13:00 |
Chair and Commentator: Ghada Dimashk
|
IPS Building - Beirut and Zoom |
Rereading Constantine Zurayk in Light of the Continuing Nakba (ACSS Constantine Zurayq Program) | 14:00 - 15:00 |
Chair and Commentator: Seteney Shami
Speakers: Elizabeth Suzanne Kassab |
IPS Building - Beirut and Zoom |
Keynote 2: Zionism After Genocide: Preliminary Observations | 15:00 - 15:30 |
Speakers: Nadim N. Rouhana |
Zoom |
Decolonizing the Study of Palestine in Germany (The Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB)) | 15:40 - 17:40 |
Chair and Commentator: Sami Khatib
|
IPS Building - Beirut and Zoom |
Session Title | Session Time | Venue | |
---|---|---|---|
Opening Remarks (Birzeit University and Institute for Palestine Studies) | 09:40 - 10:00 | Institute of Law Annex Building, Hall 243 - Birzeit University and Zoom | |
Narratives of the Catastrophe I | 10:00 - 11:30 |
Chair and Commentator: Lisa Taraki
|
Institute of Law Annex Building, Hall 243 - Birzeit University and Zoom |
Narratives of the Catastrophe II | 11:40 - 13:10 |
Chair and Commentator: Rami Salameh
|
Institute of Law Annex Building, Hall 243 - Birzeit University and Zoom |
Keynote 3: Palestinian National Liberation in the Aftermath of Israels's Genocidal War on Gaza | 18:00 - 18:30 |
Speakers: Leila Farsakh |
Zoom |
Problems in Nakba Litrary and Intellectual Discourse | 18:30 - 20:30 |
Chair and Commentator: Mayssoun Sukarieh
|
Zoom |
Session Title | Session Time | Venue | |
---|---|---|---|
Knowledge Production and Resistance | 10:00 - 12:00 |
Chair and Commentator: Majdi al-Malki
|
Zoom |
Narratives of Geography, History and Modernity | 12:00 - 14:00 |
Chair and Commentator: Atwa Jaber
|
Zoom |
Session Title | Session Time | Venue | |
---|---|---|---|
Revisiting the Nakba: Historical Insights, Justice, and Memory (Center for Palestine Studies | Columbia University, USA) | 17:00 - 19:00 |
Chair and Commentator: Nadeem Karkabi
|
Zoom |