Doctoral Dissertation Research: Imaginary, Emotional, and Everyday Spaces of Palestinian Childhood and Youth

University Of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington KY

Investigators

Abstract

Doctoral student Sandy Marshall, under the supervision of Professor Anna Secor in the Department of Geography and the University of Kentucky will examine the spaces and spatial practices of refugee children and youth in Palestine. Palestinian children experience the physical and psychological brunt of conflict, as well as a heavy representational burden. These children are symbolized in various ways depending on perspective; they represent the promise of future liberation; a threat to Jewish demographic superiority; innocent victims of violence; and key targets of humanitarian aid and educational intervention. While much is written about the victimization and pathology of Palestinian children in academic and humanitarian communities, little effort has been given to listen to the various voices of children and youth themselves as they articulate the politics of their daily lives. Likewise, while scholarship in the bourgeoning field of children?s geography attempts to understand the spatial perceptions of children, how they affect and are affected by certain spaces, much of this literature remains focused on the local scale of schools and the home, with little consideration given to the significance of these sites within wider, national and global geopolitical imaginings. This research on Palestinian children's geographies will attempt to address both these oversights by examining the conflicting representations of children in Palestine, how such view points are mobilized to suit geopolitical agendas, and also how these discussions shape and are reshaped by children's experiences and spatial practices in Palestine. This project will contribute to the existing literature on children's geographies by considering the role of geopolitics, which looks at the ways in which geopolitical issues like conflict and security are played out and resisted at the level of everyday life. This project not only examines the lives of children within the context of national resistance and international conflict, but also examines the political world of children themselves, particularly how differences in age and gender affect children's experiences, views and practices. By considering the voices of children in these conflicts, this research contributes to a growing body of research on geographies of children and youth, and helps us to understand the lives of young people in Palestine, thus giving us some insight into the future of conflict in this region.