“What is Palestine? A discourse analysis of Palestinian and Israeli Peace Activists”

Dr. Camelia Suleiman, Lecturer, Tri-College Arabic Program, Bryn Mawr College

Thursday, March 25

4:30 PM

Bond Hall

Where are the temporal and spatial borders of Palestine? Generally, to Israeli activists, Palestine occupies a very specific spatial-temporal locality: all the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea prior to the year 1948, the year Israel became a state. Palestine after that year means to them the spatial dimension of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in other words, the remainder of historic Palestine from 1948-1967 (the year Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip). This is not as simple or as straightforward to Palestinian interviewees. Their relationship to Palestine biographically, historically, and experientially is much more complex, despite of the fact that their physical mobility is highly restricted. Further, activists from both groups locate the ‘self’ experientially in two critical moments in their biographies: birth and coming into adulthood. They generally link these moments to historic events taking place, and as formative of their later activism.

Sponsored by the Arabic section of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

I was just visiting the Peace Collection website for some information and was inspired to create this quick blog post inviting you to visit the archives website.  The collection of peace movement organizations and individuals is really remarkable. What a fine resource to have right at our finger tips! Do you know what is IN the Peace Collection? Take a quick browse through the handy “Document Groups” page.  Here are a few of the items you will find:

Gene Sharp [8″ x 10″ black & white photograph]

Albert Einstein Institution Records (DG 220)

125 linear feet

Founded in 1983; dedicated to advancing the study and use of strategic nonviolent action in conflicts throughout the world; committed to the defense of freedom, democracy, and the reduction of political violence through the use of nonviolent action; principal founder, Dr. Gene Sharp.

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Jane Addams,1900 [4″ x 6.25″ sepia photograph; credit: Waters ]

Jane Addams Papers (DG 001)

130 linear feet

A world-famous social reformer; co-founded the first settlement house in America in 1889. Known as Hull-House, it reached thousands of Chicago-area immigrants through social activities and classes. Addams and her co-workers championed many causes on behalf of the urban poor, such as protection of immigrants, child labor laws, industrial safety, juvenile courts, and recognition of labor unions. As a feminist and pacifist, Addams was a leading figure in the movement for international peace. From 1915 through 1919, she served as chairman of the Woman’s Peace Party (U.S.) and the International Committee of Women for Permanent Peace. Both organizations were forerunners of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). Addams was international president of WILPF from 1919 through 1929, and honorary international president from 1929 until her death in 1935. Jane Addams was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.

photograph exhibit

photograghs online

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The Phoenix at sail [6.5″ x 4.5″ black & white photograph, cropped]

A Quaker Action Group Records [AQAG] (DG 074)

19.75 linear feet

Founded in Philadelphia (PA) in 1966 to apply nonviolent direct action as a witness against the war in Vietnam; not an official body of the Religious Society of Friends; in 1971 transformed into Movement for a New Society.

Bayard Rustin with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, India, 1949 (original includes other people) [7″x 5″sepia photograph, cropped; from box “Individuals: A-Z”]

Fellowship of Reconciliation Records [FOR] (DG 013)

171+ linear feet

Founded in 1915 by Christian pacifists; members are now drawn from many religious groups; seeks to apply principles of peace and social justice and nonviolent social change to issues such as disarmament, conscription, race relations, economic justice, and civil liberties. The FOR-USA is affiliated with the International Fellowship of Reconciliation.

National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund Records (DG 155)

8 linear feet

Founded in Ann Arbor (MI) in 1971 as the World Peace Tax Fund to provide a means whereby a taxpayer conscientiously opposed to any participation in war could have his or her income, estate, and gift tax payments spent for non-military purposes only; national office moved to Washington (DC) in 1975; name changed to National Council for a World Peace Tax Fund in 1975, to National Campaign for a World Peace Tax Fund in 1983, and to National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund in 1984 or 1985. Collection ncludes correspondence, office files, brochures, and newsletters. No finding aid available online.

tripod record

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Bayard Rustin & Evan Thomas at 13th Annual WRL Conference, 1942 [9.25″ x 6.5″ sepia photograph, cropped; credit: Sidney Moritz, New York (NY)]

War Resisters League Records (DG 040)

34+ linear feet

Established by Dr. Jessie Wallace Hughan, together with colleagues from the Women’s Peace Society and the Women’s Peace Union, as an rganization with similar goals to War Resisters’ International; seeks to end war and social injustice through pacifist and nonviolent tactics.

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Ron Kovac (Vietnam War veteran) protesting in front of Nixon headquarters, 1972 [3.5″ x 5″ color photograph, cropped]

Women Strike for Peace Records (DG 115)

32 linear feet

Begun in 1961 as a one-day protest against nuclear weapons, led by Dagmar Wilson, in Washington (DC); a nation-wide grass-roots organization most active during the Vietnam War, when it operated draft counseling and amnesty programs, and lobbied against the continuation of the war; has local chapters throughout the U.S.; national headquarters in Philadelphia (PA); legislative office and National Information Clearing House in Washington (DC); also known as WISP (Women’s International Strike for Peace) or Women for Peace; disbanded ca. 1989.

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Washington State Branch with No More War signs, Seattle (WA), Sept. 1922

[10″ x 8″ sepia photograph, cropped; larger size]

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (U.S.) Records [WILPF] (DG 043)

238+ linear feet

Established in January 1920, replacing the Woman’s Peace Party as the official arm of the WILPF in the United States; its aim was to “promote methods for the attainment of that peace between nations which is based on justice and good will and to cooperate with women from other countries who are working for the same ends”; an important leader in the peace movement of the 20th century, as well as in women’s issues; had a Legislative Office in Washington (DC) for many years; had/has many state and local branches established to carry out goals of the national program on a more local level; national office in Philadelphia (PA) closed in 2009; some activities currently being overseen from office in Connecticut (2010- ). Collection includes records from its predecessor organization, the Woman’s Peace Party, some files related to the International WILPF (especially reports of international congresses), the U.S. National records, and the files of the Jane Addams Peace Association [JAPA]. Available as well are photographs and/or negatives (several thousand), periodicals, posters, banners, scrapbooks, postcards, graphics, audiovisual material, campaign buttons, lapel ribbons and pins, bumperstickers and other stickers, and other memorabilia.

photograph exhibit

Dominic Tierney, Political Science, Swarthmore College

How We Fight: Crusades, Quagmires, and the American Way of War

Wednesday, March 31, 2010; 4:30 p.m.

Faculty lectures are open to the entire community and provide an excellent opportunity to learn from the current research and scholarship of our colleagues.  All faculty lectures are at 4:30 in the Scheuer Room.

Economist Sir Richard Jolly to lecture on the U.N. and Economic Development at Swarthmore College

Swarthmore, PA – Economist Sir Richard Jolly will visit Swarthmore College to give two talks about various aspects of U.N. agencies’ involvement in economic development. Both events are free and open to the public.

On Tuesday, March 23 at 7 p.m. in Science Center 101, Jolly will give a talk titled United Nations Ideas That Changed the World. Too often, people think of the United Nations as little more than an endless and often ineffective talk shop on issues of conflict, peace, and security. In fact, 80 percent of the U.N.’s work is on economic and social development. Drawing on a ten year project documenting the U.N.’s contributions in this area and on his nearly 20 years of professional experience with UNICEF and UNDP, Sir Richard Jolly will reflect on a number of successes in this area and the work remaining to be done. He will also share his thoughts on the challenges the U.N. faces today if it is to retain relevance in the world.

On Thursday, March 25 at 7 p.m. in Science Center 101, Jolly will give a talk titled Human Development: Challenges to Neo-Liberal Economic Thinking. Since 1990, human development—putting people at the center of national and international policy making—has gained increasing interest and attention. Economist Sir Richard Jolly has employed this approach to his work on the U.N.’s Human Development Report. Issued annually, it ranks countries by the Human Development Index (HDI). In contrast to GNP and per capita income, HDI measures the ability of a country’s population to live long, knowledgeable and varied lives. At a time when many are questioning the dominance and inadequacy of orthodox economic thinking—especially of the neo-liberal variety—human development is part of the shift of emphasis to broader issues of well-being, happiness and freedom.

Sir Richard Jolly is a co-director of the U.N. Intellectual History Project; in that capacity he is currently overseeing and working on a 14 volume history of the U.N.’s contributions to economic and social development since its beginning in 1945. As recipient of a Carnegie Scholarship, he is also undertaking a study of the trends in global inequality since 1820 and what can be done to narrow global gaps over the next 50 years. Jolly is a trustee of OXFAM, a director of the Overseas Development Institute and chairman of the U.N. Association of the United Kingdom. He was made a Knight of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in the New Years Honours of 2001 for his contributions to international development. Earlier in his career Richard Jolly served an Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, holding senior positions in UNICEF and UNDP.

Sponsored by Swarthmore College and The William J. Cooper Foundation.

Cooper Series events are free and open to the public; there is no reserved seating. Event details may be subject to change without notice.

Directions to Swarthmore College

Contact: Rob Hollister – rhollis1@swarthmore.edu

A Back to Black Film Festival Presentation

Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

7:00 p.m.

Science Center 199

Swarthmore College

Taking Root tells the inspiring story of the Green Belt Movement of Kenya and its unstoppable founder, Wangari Maathai, who, in 2004, became the first environmentalist and first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Taking Root illustrates the development of Maathai’s holistic worldview and model for sustainable development.  Maathai discovered the core of her life’s work when she turned her attention to the rural women with whom she had grown up in Kenya’s central highlands.  Daily life was intolerable: walking exhaustive distances for firewood, clean water was scarce, the soil was eroding, and their children suffered from malnutrition. One hundred years of colonialism and neocolonialism had devastated the forests they’d lived with for centuries.  “Why not plant trees?” Maathai thought and marked the beginning of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya.

Through chilling first person accounts and TV-news footage, Taking Root documents the Green Belt Movement’s dramatic political confrontations of the 1980s and ’90s, a time when Maathai and other Kenyan women endured violent suppression, hunger strike, and risked personal injury. Taking Root also chronicles the women?s successful political action in 2002 that helped to bring down Daniel Arap Moi, dictator of Kenya for 24 years.  Faculty Discussant:  Mark Wallace, Professor of Religion

Sponsored by: Black Studies, Environmental Studies, and the Swarthmore College Library

Eyes Wide Open Exhibit

Followed by a talk with George Lakey on

Parrish Parlors at 7:00 pm

Eyes Wide Open, created by the American Friends Service Committee, is an exhibit and a memorial to inform the public and remember those lost in the Iraq war.  Combat boots and shoes represent individual soldiers and civilians killed, and act as a physical reminder of the immense human cost of war.

The Eyes Wide Open exhibit will visit Swarthmore College on Monday, March 22, 2010 to commemorate the March 20th anniversary of the start of the Iraq war in 2003.  The exhibit will be located in McCabe Library and is free and open to the public.

This event is co-sponsored by Students for a Democratic Society and the Swarthmore Peace and Conflict Studies.

Directions to Swarthmore College

Contact: hbrilli1@swarthmore.edu

This new blog entry by Sigma Chang begins to compile a list of annual meetings with Peace Studies content. (http://bit.ly/a91ATA)  Attending meetings is a great way to learn more about the latest developments and meet others in the field.