Palestine: A Political Travelogue

Palestine has long been central to colonial and anti-colonial imaginaries – of the Ottoman and British empires, and Zionist and Arab nationalisms, before becoming a key site of inspiration for … Watch video »

Palestine has long been central to colonial and anti-colonial imaginaries – of the Ottoman and British empires, and Zionist and Arab nationalisms, before becoming a key site of inspiration for left and anti-colonial internationalism and recent scholarship on decolonial resistance. The International Conference of Critical Geography in Ramallah, Palestine, in July 2015, extended this trajectory of anti-colonial internationalism by enriching our historical and political understandings of Palestine – especially by way of tours of the West Bank and conversations with Palestinian academics and activists. The panelists of this event will reflect on their experiences of this international conference and what it suggests for global left solidarity and decolonial activism.

Introduction and moderated by Norma Rantisi (Concordia University). Panelists:

  • Kanishka Goonewardena was trained as an architect in Sri Lanka and now teaches critical theory and urban design at the Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto
  • Stefan Kipfer researches and teaches social theory, politics, urbanization and planning in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University
  • Karen Wirsig is a labour organizer and sometime journalist who lives in Toronto
  • Kevin Gould is a geographer who teaches at Concordia University as well as a member of Independent Jewish Voices
  • Punam Khosla is a scholar-activist and member of the organizing team for ICCG 7 in Ramallah
  • Free Khalida Jarrar.org

This event was supported by the Socialist Project and the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto. Recorded in Toronto, 7 October 2015.