Rana Barakat is an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Director of the Birzeit University Museum. Her research interests include the history and historiography of colonialism, nationalism, and cultures of resistance. She earned her PhD in history from the University of Chicago and has since published in several venues including the Journal of Palestine Studies, Jerusalem Quarterly, Settler Colonial Studies, and Native American and Indigenous Studies. She has a forthcoming book with UNC Press titled: "Ongoing Return: Story-Telling as a Map of Return to Lifta and Palestine," which advances an Indigenous understanding of time, space, and memory in Palestine by focusing on the details of the people and place of Lifta village over time. And her second book, in-progress, "The Buraq Revolt: Constructing a History of Resistance in Palestine," argues that the 1929 revolt was the first sign in the Mandate period of sustained mass resistance to the settler-colonial project, including direct and rhetorical actions against both political Zionism and British imperialism, planting seeds of mass political mobilization.
Wijdan Samara is the Ethnographic Collections Coordinator at the Birzeit University Museum. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Media Studies, awarded in 2013, from An-Najah National University. She has over seven years of experience with digital archiving, protecting/preservation work with cultural heritage and technical expertise in archival formations, program management and coordination.
Wijdan is the primary person within BZU Museum who works with and cares for BZUM Ethnographic Collections and is the catalyst behind management and growth of these vital collections.
Ziad Yousef HajAli
Ziad Yousef is a Palestinian multidisciplinary artist who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from Jordan. He works and lives in Ramallah, Palestine, and has been working at Birzeit University Museum since 2009. Ziad has participated in various artistic and cultural events and exhibitions locally and regionally and his art has been shown in Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, United States, London, Morocco. In addition to his work, he has produced and assisted in producing art works with Palestinian and international artists. At BZU Museum, Ziad is in charge of the Art Collections in terms of management, maintenance, care and restoration. He also leads the BZUM design team in terms of our expanding website and in-house advertising and production work. In addition, he facilities and helps produce all BZUM events and activities including production and design work for BZUM Hakawi programming.