Place of publishing:

Warszawa

Description:

Supervisor: Prof. Joanna Kurczewska ; Date of defence : 2015.01.14

Degree name:

PhD in Social sciences

Level of degree:

2

Degree discipline :

sociology

Degree grantor:

Institute of Philosophy and Sociology PAS

Type of object:

Thesis

Abstract:

The aim of my dissertation is to explore the experience of extended exile and encampment aslived by the inhabitants of Al-Am‘ari, a quasi-permanent Palestinian refugee city-camp locatedin the West Bank. Specifically, I analyze the condition of double exclusion understood, afterMichel Agier, to stem from (1) refugees leaving behind their social and material worlds of originor inhabitation; and (2) their unique position within the new environments as newcomers, whosepresence the host population expects to be temporary. In the course of extended exile the initialcondition of double exclusion is subject to change. I am therefore interested in Al-Am‘arians’efforts to challenge the exclusion from places of origin and to retain links with the pre-exilicpast, as well as in the processes, events and practices through which the social boundariesseparating the camp from the neighboring towns have been re-negotiated. Contrary to what hasbeen a dominant focus of research in studies on refugees, namely mass displacement in ruralareas, quasi-permanent refugee city-camps are critical sites for investigating and redefiningdisplacement and emplacement alike. I aim to contribute to the literature by exploring how a newsocial entity, Al-Am‘ari camp, emerged within the context of double exclusion. The commonlyused model of refugee integration assumes that refugees’ adaptation to life in exile is inextricablylinked to a gradually loosening attachment to their places of origin and their commitment toreturn. My findings challenge this model: instead, I discuss how Al-Am‘arians’ longing anddedication to the places of origin have become an integral part of their contemporary identities.While most studies deal with the geopolitical dimension of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, myfocus is on Al-Am‘arians’ daily lives analyzed at individual, family and community levels. Thedissertation is based on eight months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Al-Am‘ari camp atintervals between January 2010 and August 2012. In the course of fieldwork I conducted fiftyone in-depth interviews, carried out participant observation on a daily basis and gathered visual,textual and statistical data.

Relation:

Prace Doktorskie. Socjologia - Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Filozofii i Socjologii. Szkoła Nauk Społecznych

Detailed Resource Type:

D. Sc. Thesis

Format:

application/pdf

Resource Identifier:

oai:rcin.org.pl:50828

Language:

eng

Rights:

Rights Reserved - Restricted Access

Terms of use:

Copyright-protected material. Access only on terminals at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, may be used within the limits of statutory user freedoms.

Access:

Closed