Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant:Locating Non-Violence: An Ethnographic Study of Contemporary Palestinian Political Culture

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Doctoral student Ala Alazzeh (Rice University), with the guidance of Dr. James Faubion, will undertake ethnographic research on contemporary Palestinian political culture. The focus of the research will be on the discourse and practice of non-violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The research is important because it will contribute to the social scientific understanding of violence, globalization, nationalism, and the Middle East. The research will be carried out in Bethlehem and Ramallah. The researcher will use a mix methods approach, including observations, interviews, focus groups, and archival research. Advocates, political leaders, academics, and local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will be among those studied. The researcher will focus on the local constitution of non-violence ethically, politically, and practically; the historical development of the non-violent movements; relationships to other movements, both within the region and beyond; and local social, economic, and political structures that may affect the development of non-violence.This research on non-violence will contribute to broadening our understanding of the cultural logic of national political violence and the role played by the influx of ideas, values, and practices that cross national boundaries and cultural areas. Funding this research also supports the education of a social scientist.