Organization: American University in Cairo
Registration deadline: 23 Jun 2017
Starting date: 23 Jul 2017
Ending date: 27 Jul 2017
Palestinian Refugees(July 23 - 27, 2017)
Palestinian Refugees are the indigenous inhabitants of Palestine, the majority of whom were dispossessed and expelled when the Israeli colonial state was created in 1948. Consequently the solution of the Palestinian refugee problem is the root for a just solution to the Palestinian question that has been challenged the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Law and refugee policy for decades.
This inter-disciplinary course will be an opportunity for students to engage directly with the major practical and theoretical issues connected with the background of the Palestinian refugee crisis, with special attention to the socio- political historical context and legal status of Palestinian refugees in the region (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank, Gaza and Israel).
Through a mix of lectures, working group exercises and interactive sessions, students examine critically the historical, political, legal and ideological forces that have shaped Palestinian refugees turbulent circumstances and participate actively in the contemporary debates in international law and analyze the specific context of Palestinian refugees in the Middle East.
The key themes, which have taken emergent focus in the debate on the Palestinian refugee crisis, are statelessness, right of return, repatriation, self-determination, restitution compensation and protection. These themes are critically examined along with current discussions about the respective roles of UNRWA and UNHCR in the Palestinian refugee case.
We hope to attract a diverse group of students who have both personal and professional interest in refugee policy and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The course is intended to be a stimulating experience for people who are familiar with issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but would like a broader critical or theoretical perspective, as well as for people who have experience with refugee, humanitarian, or international issues but who would like an intensive introduction to Palestinian refugees. Taking advantage of the short course format, the course will include a number of simulations and small group exercises.
Each of the five days of the course will be organized around a theme related to Palestinian refugees
About the Instructor: Tahreer Araj is an activist scholar who works at American University in Cairo as Assistant professor of Sociology. Tahreer received her PhD in Human and Community Development from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in USA. She accomplished her BA in Sociology and a MA in Gender, Development and Law from Birzeit University in Palestine.As a Palestinian, Dr. Tahreer worked for ten years with a number of grassroots NGOs and international agencies in Palestine and leading many researches and initiatives about Palestinian refugees. She had been also working as a gender expert and consultant with several International development agencies and local NGOs in Egypt.
Her current research and teaching interests extend to a range of topics in; Social Movements; Community Mobilization; Refugees and Identity; Community Organizing and Development; Gender and Development; Cooperatives; Palestinian Women’s Movement; Middle East Social Movements. Dr. Tahreer just finished working on a research to be published by Institute for Palestine studies examining the change in relationships between Egypt and Palestine and its impact on future solutions to the Palestinian question.
How to register:
Application Information:
To apply for the courses:
Fill out the application form. The form is available on CMRS website: http://www.aucegypt.edu/GAPP/cmrs/outreach/Pages/ShortCourses.aspx
Send the application form to cmrscourses@aucegypt.edu with your most recent C.V; Att. Naseem Hashim
Applicants may apply to and be accepted in more than one course. Please do not hesitate to contact cmrscourses@aucegypt.edu if you have any difficulty with the application process.
Applicants accepted for the course will be notified by email within a week after the deadline for submitting the application.
Eligibility for all courses
Requirements: These courses are offered for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and researchers as well as practitioners working with migrants and refugees. A minimum knowledge of displacement and migration terminologies and context is a requirement for participation in any of the three courses.
All courses are conducted in English and no translation facilities are provided. Participants should have a very good command of the English language. Each course will run from 9.30 am till 4pm for five days.
Interested applicants can apply for one course or for all courses.
Number of Participants: minimum of 12 in each course
NB:Non- Egyptian applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early because it takes more than one month to obtain Egyptian visa.
Dates and Location:
Courses will take place at the AUC premises. The exact location and room numbers will be forwarded to accepted participants before the start of the courses. -->