Half a Century through Personal Stories: Palestinian and Israelis in 1967 and Onward

这一民族志项目涉及个人的个人经历，他们的生活跨越了自1967年以来以色列/巴勒斯坦动荡不安的几十年冲突。国际、国家和地方政治机构凭借其军事力量在领土上塑造和行政控制这一区域，并普遍无视具有不同身份的个人在这一日常背景下的交流和文化做法。发现自己从公寓撤离，目睹其他人搬进来，在政治动荡的情况下维持睦邻关系，在敌方家庭工作并照顾孩子，为那些被一国政府压迫的人抗议：这些被忽视但强大的经历可以追溯到50多年前，由一名以色列人和一名巴勒斯坦PI领导的研究人员将联合记录下来。他们将联合培训初级研究人员进行定性采访方法，并通过实例展示在冲突各方之间和之外传播的对生活经验的实地关注的启发式价值。先前的研究表明，了解对手的恐惧和渴望会减少对对方的敌意，并有助于承认共同经历的困难。个人故事以辛酸的形式概括了复杂的经历。它们的分析和在有关人口中的传播有助于对个人愿望和政治两极分化之间的差距有更有区别的理解。该项目与年龄最大的几代人合作，为那些生活在僵化的边疆中的人准备了一个散漫的会议场地。一个元项目伴随着两个地方研究团队；它依赖于与主要项目相同的方法，并说明即使在和平时期，高质量的社会和文化研究人员也必然与他们的研究地点交织在一起。元项目详细阐述了在冲突局势中必须调动的那种自反性，以便在努力实现跨越冲突线的合作的同时，对外地顾问保持真正的同理心。作为一个整体，这项研究试图为以色列/巴勒斯坦的年轻一代以及其他此类冲突树立一种缓和顽固的政治立场并超越共同人性基础的方法。

This ethnographic project addresses the personal experiences of individuals, whose lives span over the tumultuous decades of conflict in Israel/Palestine since 1967. International, national and local political bodies with their military power territorially shape and administratively control this region, and generally disregard the communicative and cultural practices of individuals with heterogeneous identifications in this everyday context. Finding oneself evacuated from an apartment and witnessing others moving in, upholding neighborly relations despite political turmoil, working in enemy households and taking care of their children, protesting on behalf of those whoare oppressed by ones government: These overlooked yet powerful experiences reaching back over five decades will be jointly documented by researchers led by an Israeli and a Palestinian P.I. They will jointly train junior researchers in qualitative interview methods and demonstrate by example the heuristic value of on the ground attention to life experiences, brought into circulation among and beyond the conflict parties. Prior research has shown that understanding the fears and aspirations about the opponent reduces antagonisms towards the other and contributes to an acknowledgement of shared if differently experienced hardships. Personal stories encapsulate complex experiences in poignant form. Their analysis and dissemination in concerned populations contributes to a more differentiated understanding of the gap between individual aspirations and political polarization. Working with the oldest generations, the project prepares a discursive meeting ground for those whose lives began in the midst of hardened frontiers. A meta-project accompanies the two local research teams; it relies on the same methods as the primary project and illustrates how qualitative social and cultural researchers are by necessity entwined with their research sites, even in peaceful of times. The meta-project elaborates on the kind of reflexivity that has to be mustered in conflict situations to work toward cooperation across conflict lines while simultaneously maintain a stance of genuine empathy vis-à-vis field consultants. The research as a whole seeks to model for younger generations in Israel/Palestine as well as for other such conflicts an approach to defuse hardened political stances and transcend to the basis of common humanity.