Palestinian Village Histories : Geographies of the Displaced

Rochelle Davis

ISBN 10: 0804773122 / ISBN 13: 9780804773126

Published by Stanford University Press Nov 2010, 2010

About this Item

Neuware - This book chronicles the local histories written by modern Palestinians about their villages that were destroyed in the 1948 war.

Seller Inventory # 9780804773126

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Palestinian Village Histories : Geographies of the Displaced
• Publisher: Stanford University Press Nov 2010
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0804773122
• ISBN 13: 9780804773126
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 231W x 155H x 23D millimeters 231 millimeters width by 155 millimeters height by 23 millimeters depth
• Weight: 576 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Throughout modern-day Israel, over four hundred Palestinian villages were depopulated in the 1947-1949 war. With houses mostly destroyed, mosques and churches put to other uses, and cemeteries plowed under, Palestinian communities were left geographically dispossessed. Palestinians have since carried their village names, memories, and possessions with them into the diaspora, transforming their lost past into local histories in the form of "village memorial books". Numbering more than 100 volumes in print, these books recount family histories, cultural traditions, and the details of village life, revealing Palestinian history through the eyes of Palestinians.

Through a close examination of these books and other commemorative activities, Palestinian Village Histories reveals how history is written, recorded, and contested, as well as the roles that Palestinian conceptions of their past play in contemporary life. Moving beyond the grand narratives of 20th century political struggles, this book analyzes individual and collective historical accounts of everyday life in pre-1948 Palestinian villages as composed today from the perspectives of these long-term refugees.

About the Author

Rochelle A. Davis is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.