Birzeit University Museum and The A.M. Qattan Foundation invite you to attend the talks programme of Cities Exhibition 6, Lydda – A Garden Disremembered, August 16th, 17:00 at the Foundation’s new Cultural Centre.
CE6 Urban Talks feature a series of conversations with specialists on themes associated with the questions and findings of the selected researchers on the city of Lydda. The conversations build on the marginalized, erased, uncommon and unofficial knowledge of the city. Dialogues are tailored to juxtapose the research of the participants with in-depth theoretical and historical material by means of engagement in conversations with the selected discussants. Urban Talks allow a space for the public audience to share their personal knowledge and experiences with the group.
Programme:
17:00 Introduction by Vera Tamari on Cities Exhibition
17:10 Razan Khalaf in conversation with Abdullah Al-Bayyari, “Memory Deficiency: The Language of Solidarity.”
Abdullah Al-Bayyari is a Palestinian doctor and academic researcher, specialized in critical theory and cultural studies.
The discussion revolves around the continuous pursuit of the map of the Palestinian space wherever it was, to reveal what the colonial forces are creating in its propaganda on one hand, and to dismantle this language on the other hand, in search of everything that represents us; friends of the land – not in the sense of owners but its friends. The discussion hinges to reveal the richness that the pursuit exhibits, fragile mythical signals and contradictions in the treatment of refuges in the diaspora regarding the reproduction of their space (individually/collectively), and the state of its loss.
17:40 Discussion
17:50 Hadeel Yaqob in conversation with Rami Younes, “Lydda’s present in the erasure tool.”
Rami Younes is a blogger and film director, who is currently working on a documentary titled “Lydda in Exile.”
The dialogue seeks a broad and in-depth realization and understanding of the city of Lydda and its daily and ideological crises. While also exploring the motion of its cultural community in resisting violence on one hand and preserving the Palestinian identity on the other, specifically in the area of Mahatta and Shneir and the separation wall inside.
18:20 Discussion
18:30 Tareq Khalaf in conversation with Rana Barakat, “Palestinian Memory of Place.”
Rana Barakat is an assistant professor of history and contemporary Arab studies at Birzeit University in Palestine.
The broad theme of the talk will revolve around the role of memory in social movements. We will begin by discussing briefly the Israeli conception of history and the Zionist effort to shape it in such a way that undermines any Palestinian claim. We will discuss how the oppressor’s narrative propagates itself in the Palestinian political narrative and memory. In contrast to the political historic narrative we find in text books, media and political debate we will open the discussion to examine the power of oral narration as a culture/practice of historic understanding and its role in social change. We will discuss the broad theoretical outlines of oral narration as a tool for social change highlighting the advantages of such a method. In closing we will open the discussion to the audience and invite people to engage in an interpretive exercise where they openly analyse stories and give contemporary meaning to them.
19:10 Discussion
19:20 Summary and closing by Yazid Anani
Cities Exhibition 6, Lydda – A Garden Disremembered is organzied by Birzeit University Musuem and the A.M. Qattan Foundation and is part of Qalandiya International 2018.