"Jumping the Wall": Negotiated Resistance of Bodies and Borders by Queer Palestinians between the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Israel

这个项目以后殖民时期的酷儿和女权主义认识论为基础，以一种交叉的方法为指导，强调多方法定性数据收集。将酷儿作为一种方法论和分析框架，加深了我们对巴勒斯坦定居者殖民暴力和非殖民化政治的理解。在这项研究中，性行为可以通过“差异政治”来理解，承认不同的同性恋经历和身份认同。同性恋方法论可以是一种“清道夫方法论”，利用不同的方法，在这种情况下，将访谈与行走的人种学结合起来，以触及那些经常被排除在学术研究之外的人。这项研究以自下而上的分析为中心，将亲密、身份和空间理解为主观和结构上构建的。范围如此之广的面试可以被视为是对这一领域的“挑战”。酷儿定位是关于未来想象的，也是探索定居者-殖民背景下酷儿巴勒斯坦人谈判抵抗的关键空间。实地工作将在两个3个月的时间内进行，以适应签证限制，选择4个研究地点(东耶路撒冷、伯利恒、希伯伦和拉马拉)，因为它们靠近隔离屏障或以色列的主要检查站。现象学数据收集将包括半结构化的定性访谈，以及与同性恋参与者的步行人种学研究，这些研究将通过研究发现不同的性别认同。通过与参与者一起漫步在空间中进行观察和做笔记，行走的民族志使研究人员能够关注日常生活的情景，并认识到叙事和身份都生活在当地空间及其历史中。在选择参与者时，我将使用基于邻近的社交网络应用程序(Grindr/Atraf)，其英文/阿拉伯语简介说明他们的目的，并表明我是研究人员。APP是一种新颖而有效的抽样技术，可以接触到那些可能没有被淘汰的人。使用应用程序将使我能够探索技术在塑造身份和亲密关系方面所起的作用，以及物理边界在多大程度上被虚拟地再现，以评估它们如何重新配置“空间和空间实践”。我认为自己是酷儿，非二进制，曾在世界银行生活/工作，但作为英国白人，我可能会影响研究人员和参与者之间的动态，因此在实地工作和分析期间，我将练习“反身性定位”，以承认和反思我的偏见、情绪和研究过程中核心的权力关系。我将通过上课提高我的阿拉伯语基础，通过敏感、团结和社区意识来建立融洽的关系，并与我的参与者打交道。为了确保我的参与者的福祉和我自己的安全，采访将在公开场所进行，讨论保持私下进行，参与者选择这些场所是为了鼓励“深度披露”。我将获得阿拉伯语/英语的书面/口头同意，并将保密，确保任何身份细节都是匿名的(使用化名)，数据加密并安全地保存在大学服务器上。这项跨学科研究利用了包括性别研究、人文地理学、民族政治和非殖民主义研究在内的各种领域，以推进非殖民主义的酷儿知识生产模式，并丰富我们对巴勒斯坦/以色列的视角。我的项目在巴勒斯坦背景下采用了一种新颖的抽样技术(通过虚拟网络应用程序)和方法(行走的人种学)，这将使人们能够获得独特的见解和分析。这项研究补充了巴勒斯坦研究中心的工作，产生了新的知识，并促进了与布里斯托尔和埃克塞特集体的联系。最重要的是，它旨在通过强调空间化的不平等是如何产生、经历和抵制的，对挑衅巴勒斯坦非政府组织有用。

Grounded in postcolonial queer and feminist epistemologies, this project is guided by an intersectional approach that emphasises multi-method qualitative data collection. Engaging queer as a methodology and analytical framework deepens our understanding of both settler colonial violence and decolonial politics in Palestine. In queer(y)ing the research, sexuality can be understood through a 'politics of difference', recognising the spectrum of queer experience and identification.Queer methodology can be a 'scavenger methodology' utilising diverse methods, in this case, pairing interviews with walking ethnography, to reach those often excluded from academic research. This research centres on a bottom-up analysis, understanding intimacy, identity and space as subjectively and structurally constructed. This wide range of interviewing can be seen as 'queering the field'. Queer positionality is about future imaginings and a critical space to explore the negotiated resistance of queer Palestinians within a settler-colonial context.The fieldwork will be conducted over two 3-month periods to accommodate visa restrictions with 4 research sites (East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron and Ramallah) chosen for their proximity to the Separation Barrier or to major Israeli checkpoints. Phenomenological data collection will involve semi-structured qualitative interviews alongside walking ethnographies with queer participants across a spectrum of gender identities that will emerge through the research. By walking through spaces with your participant making observations and note-taking, a walking ethnography allows for the researcher to be attentive to the situatedness of everyday life and recognise that narratives and identities are lived within a local space and its history.In selecting participants, I will utilise proximity-based social networking apps (Grindr/Atraf) with profiles in English/Arabic stating their purpose and identifying myself as researcher. Apps are a novel yet effective sampling technique in reaching those that may not be "out". Using apps will allow me to explore the role technology plays in shaping identities and intimacies and to what extent physical borders are reproduced virtually, to assess how they reconfigure 'space and spatial practices'.I identify as queer non-binary and have lived/worked in the WB, but being white British may influence dynamics between researcher/participant, thus during fieldwork and analysis, I will practice 'reflexive positionality' to acknowledge and reflect on my bias, emotions and the power relations at the core of the research process. I will improve my basic Arabic through classes to build rapport and engage with my participants through sensitivity, solidarity and a sense of community. Ensuring the wellbeing of my participants and my own safety, interviews will be conducted in public locations where discussions remain private, chosen by participants to encourage 'deep disclosure'. I will obtain written/verbal consent in Arabic/English and, maintaining confidentiality, will ensure any identifying details are anonymised (using pseudonyms), with data encrypted and held securely on university servers.This interdisciplinary research draws upon a variety of fields including Gender Studies, Human Geography, Ethno-Political and Decolonial Studies to advance decolonial queer modes of knowledge production and enrich our perspective of Palestine/Israel. My project employs a novel sampling technique (via virtual networking apps) and methodology (walking ethnography) in the Palestinian context, which will enable unique insights and analyses. This research complements the work of the Centre for Palestine Studies, producing new knowledge and fostering connections with collectives at Bristol and Exeter. Most importantly, it is intended to be useful to queer Palestinian NGOs by highlighting how spatialised inequalities are produced, experienced and resisted.