Place under Threat: Mapping the Lived Experience of Young Palestinians

Through examining the lived experience of young Palestinians, this project explores how everyday threats shape lived experiences of place. By focusing on Israel's mechanisms of control, it will uncover the multiple layers of people's sense of place. The study situates sense of place as a multidimensional construct to capture its three key aspects, namely identity, geography, and memory. Each layer encompasses a different side; a sense of identity captures the emotional connection and physical interpretation of place (E.g., borders, architecture). A sense of geography examines spatial activity, mobility, and navigation through the various space threats. A sense of memory is concerned with the collective memory of place, and whether it differs among groups depending on their residency. Looking into these aspects allows us to understand young Palestinians' multi-leveled responses to the fragmented geographies and the ways they navigate and resist.
Since the founding of the state of Israel in 1948, generations of Palestinians have experienced ongoing, direct, and routine threats to their spaces, including ethnic cleansing, surveillance, movement restrictions, displacement, and housing demolition. However, the specific nature of these threats manifests differently across various geographies. As a result, Palestinians face a range of common threats stemming from the bordering and surveillance by Israel's colonial regime, as well as others that are more specific to their unique geographical location. This project aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how spatial threats impact the emotional connections, geographical perceptions, and memories of young Palestinians in relation to place in historic Palestine.
The research design involves a muti-sited and multi-layered approach with complementary methods. Including focus groups, in-depth interviews, creative auto-ethnography, and social media content analysis.