Call for Abstracts
Talking about (the Silencing of) Palestine
On its Epistemological and Political Challenges
! The deadline for submission has passed !
In recent years, the gap in academic research and open discourse on Palestine within German universities has expanded, primarily due to the repression of critical voices and restrictive funding policies. This limitation in knowledge production raises significant concerns about academic freedom, particularly in contexts where institutional pressures stifle scholarly research and open debate about the humanitarian crisis in Palestine.
The upcoming conference, “Talking about (the Silencing of) Palestine”, seeks to address these concerns by bringing together international scholars from fields such as Palestine Studies, Genocide Studies, Holocaust Studies and further Interdisciplinary approaches. The event aims to highlight the consequences of silencing academic inquiry, as the lack of research in this area goes hand in hand with the normalisation of violence in Palestine rendering its suffering invisible, amidst what several leading human rights organizations and international courts deem a plausible case of genocide.
This conference will explore the importance of academic freedom, illustrating that despite the challenges, a robust base of expertise already exists and offers a broad spectrum for critical academic engagement with questions surrounding Palestine. By drawing on factual evidence, rather than ideological bias, academic exploration can foster more nuanced public and political discourse especially in relation to the history and future of Palestine.
Recognizing the challenges faced by researchers, the conference will offer a supportive environment for participants to share their work, particularly for those who have encountered institutional backlash. It will serve as a platform for critically engaged scholars and activists to collaborate in a way that promotes intellectual and academic integrity.
The participants are invited to explore these challenges in seven sections across two days:
- Critical Histories of Palestine/Israel
- Contextualizing Racism and Antisemitism;
- Epistemic Violence in Palestine
- The relation of science, social movements and the question of democracy;
- Contemporary research on Palestine;
- International Law and the genocide trials;
- (Theorizing) Concrete Utopias of Palestine
The program will include participatory workshops, lectures, panel discussions, and a film screening, culminating in a collective publication that seeks to destigmatize research on Palestine and reinvigorate academic discourse on the subject. The conference sessions will be recorded in multimedia format and compiled into a conference publication.
We invite scholars and students alike to join us in this critical dialogue, as we work to revitalize academic scholarship on Palestine and uphold the principles of academic freedom and intellectual diversity in German universities.
Call for Abstracts
We invite researchers to participate and send in an abstract based on (but not limited to) these suggested specifications:
- (Critical) History and the Contemporary Situation in Palestine
- Epistemic Violence and Epistemicide in (German) academia on Palestine-Studies
- The Archiving of Palestinian Experience in Art, Literature and material culture & practices both within (historic) Palestine and the diaspora
- Nakba-Studies and Holocaust-Studies and their (im-)possible interrelation
- Relating scientific knowledge production to social movements in the context of Palestine/Israel
- Architectures of Settler Colonialism and its security complex
- International Law, the ICC and ICJ trials, “Lawfare”
- Futures of Palestine: Landback, the Right of Return, (Municipal) Democracy and Socialism
Please feel free to submit contributions on topics not listed here. We explicitly seek to foreground research on Palestine that might fly “under the radar” and further welcome (individual or co-authored) submissions from students (both undergraduate and graduate), faculty, independent scholars, artists, organizers and otherwise engaged writers and researchers.
Deadline: 20th November 2024
Send title, abstract and affiliation (if applicable) to: talkingaboutpalestineconference@proton.me