2024 Workshop

Palestine and the Palestinians after October 7

The ninth annual workshop of New Directions in Palestinian Studies (NDPS) is to be held at Brown University on March 8–9, 2024, on the theme, "Palestine and the Palestinians after October 7." 

The workshop will bring together three generations (emerging, established, senior) of engaged scholars to envision how to move forward conceptually and practically as a community. Roughly two dozen attendees will discuss, in a closed seminar setting, twelve short think pieces. In line with the NDPS mission, which centers Palestinians in research projects, the think pieces—diverse in terms of topic, themes, disciplines, and theoretical approaches—are expected to focus on the internal landscape of the Palestinian body politic within regional and global contexts.

Venue: Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute 
By invitation

LETTER OF INVITATION

The 2024 NDPS theme, "Palestine and the Palestinians after October 7," simply asks: How did we get here? And where are we going? 

The workshop will bring together three generations (emerging, established, senior) of engaged scholars to envision how to move forward conceptually and practically as a community. Roughly two dozen attendees will discuss, in a closed seminar setting, ten short think pieces that will be circulated at the end of February 2024. In line with the NDPS mission which centers Palestinians in research projects, the think pieces --diverse in terms of topic, themes, disciplines, and theoretical approaches-- are expected to focus on the internal landscape of the Palestinian body politic within regional and global contexts. 

Some of the general questions for discussion include: How does this moment challenge dominant paradigms – nationalist, relational, settler colonial, and indigeneity—and their associated conceptual vocabularies?  How can we critically re-evaluate our visions for Palestinian futures both beyond and between the interstices of the state-centric and human rights approaches? What are the horizons and priorities for knowledge production, intra-Palestinian activism, and intersectional solidarities? What Palestinian institutions and networks, existing or imagined, can constitute scaffolding for these futures? As the first day of the workshop falls on March 8, International Women’s Day, the afternoon panel on that day will focus on feminist approaches to rethinking Palestine and the Palestinians. 

Format and Logistics

The workshop format facilitates intellectual exchange via pre-circulated papers, brief presentations, and extended discussions in five panels over a two-day period. Usually, invited senior and mid-career scholars chair panels and/or participate in discussions, while most presentation slots are reserved for younger scholars. For this workshop, the mix of presenters will be evenly distributed.

Middle East Studies at Brown will reimburse reasonable travel expenses and two nights lodging (three nights for those coming from overseas) for panel members (authors of think pieces and discussants). In keeping with our tradition at NDPS, senior scholars with research funds are encouraged to pay their own expenses in order to make possible full funding for emerging scholars. For those traveling from abroad, please keep in mind that reimbursement is possible only for those entering the United States on a Visa Waiver Business (VWB) or B-1 visa. Please direct any questions to palestinianstudiesconference@brown.edu.

About NDPS

Over the past generation, the field of Palestine and Palestinian studies has grown rapidly, attracting some of the best and brightest scholars. NDPS provides a platform for new lines of inquiry that seek to decolonize, globalize, and de-exceptionalize knowledge production about the Palestinians. Launched in 2012 as a research initiative of Brown University’s Middle East Studies program, NDPS is dedicated to supporting the work and careers of emerging scholars through annual workshops, an endowed post-doctoral fellowship, and a book series. 

NDPS workshops have earned a reputation for frank and rigorous discussions that consider the intellectual, ethical, and moral stakes of new research agendas in Palestinian Studies and the political spaces they open and foreclose. Select NDPS papers and think pieces have been published as double-blind refereed articles in special issues of the Jerusalem Quarterly, the Journal of Palestine Studies, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and other journals.