Synopses & Reviews
Many decades have passed since the Palestinian national movement began its political and military struggle. In that time, poignant memorials at massacre sites, a palimpsest of posters of young heroes and martyrs, sorrowful reminiscences about lost loved ones, and wistful images of young men and women who fought as guerrillas, have all flourished in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Heroes and Martyrs of Palestine tells the story of how dispossessed Palestinians have commemorated their past, and how through their dynamic everyday narrations, their nation has been made even without the institutional memory-making of a state. Bringing ethnography to political science, Khalili invites us to see Palestinian nationalism in its proper international context and traces its affinities with Third Worldist movements of its time, while tapping a rich and oft-ignored seam of Palestinian voices, histories, and memories.
Review
"Khalili is to be congratulated for her perception that commemorative practices would offer an illuminating path to reworking a history that combines tragedy and resistance in unusual measure. The skill with which she brings together wide-ranging archival research and live-in observation has produced an outstanding study that balances cool analysis with lively sympathy." - Middle East Report, Winter 2007
Synopsis
The history of the Palestinians since the middle of the twentieth century has been one of turmoil, a people living under occupation or exiled from their homeland. Theirs has been at times a tragic story, but also one of resistance, heroism and nationalist aspiration. Laleh Khalili's book is based on her experiences in the Lebanese refugee camps, where commemorations of key moments in the history of the struggle have helped forge a sense of nationhood. She also observes how, as discourses of liberation have evolved in recent years within the international community, there has been a shift in the representation of Palestinian nationalism from the heroic to the tragic mode. This trend is exemplified through the elevation of martyrs to iconic figures in the Palestinian collective memory. This book will appeal to students and scholars of the Middle East, and to those interested in the politics of nationalism, commemoration and conflict.
Synopsis
By examining commemorations of key moments, this book traces recent transformations in Palestinian nationalism.
Synopsis
Heroes and Martyrs of Palestine tells the story of how dispossessed Palestinians have commemorated their past, and how through their dynamic everyday narrations, their nation has been made even without the institutional memory-making of a state. Bringing ethnography to political science, Khalili invites us to see Palestinian nationalism in its international context.
About the Author
Laleh Khalili is Lecturer in Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction; 2. Transnational movements and discourses; 3. Palestinian lives and local institutions in the camps of Lebanon; 4. Forms of commemoration; 5. Contents of commemoration: narratives of heroism, suffering, and Sumud; 6. Guerrillas and martyrs: evolution of national 'heroes'; 7. Between battles and massacres: commemorating violent events; 8. Commemoration in the occupied Palestinian territories; 9. Conclusions; Bibliography.