May
20
23
Type of event: 
75 Years of an Ongoing Nakba: The Question of Knowledge Production
Special Series: 
Organizing office: 
Institute for Palestine Studies
In partnership with: 
Birzeit University
Center for Palestine Studies at Columbia University
​​​The Palestine Land Studies Center (PLSC) at the American University of Beirut
Arab Council for the Social Sciences
Département d'Histoire-Relations Internationales de l'Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth
Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB)
Date: 
Monday, May 20, 2024 - 09:15 - Thursday, May 23, 2024 - 20:30
Eastern Date:: 
Monday, May 20, 2024 - 02:15 - Thursday, May 23, 2024 - 02:30
Language: 
Arabic
English
Location: 
Beirut
Birzeit
New York
Online
Venue: 
IPS Building - Beirut, Institute of Law Annex Building, Hall 243 - Birzeit University and Zoom
Program OF the event
About the event: 

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

75 Years of an Ongoing Nakba: The Question of Knowledge Production
First Day
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
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
Second Day
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
Third Day
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

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