Hidden histories: reframing belief systems in Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean

Hidden histories: reframing belief systems in Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean Speaker: Professor Bassem Ra'ad, Al Quds University Monday 31 January 2010 18:00 - 19:30 Room NAB.LG.09, New Academic Building, LSE Lincoln's inn Fields Middle East Centre London School of Economics and Political Science London WC2A 2AE  Finding your way around LSE| Basem L. Ra'ad's new book, Hidden Histories: Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean, offers alternative understandings of what is commonly called 'the Middle East' or 'cradle of civilization' — a region associated with 'Holy Land' and, as such, appropriated time and again by three religions. The book discusses a range of issues including constructs and terminologies over the centuries, the development of religions, exploitation of sacred sites, ancient/modern place names, the alphabet, Ugarit, identity, appropriation, self-colonization, and heritage retrieval.  'A study in deep time, wide space . . . an anthropology of the present' is how Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak describes this book. Hilton Obenzinger calls it 'a brilliant tour de force of recovery, decolonization, re-vision, and inclusivity,' while Naseer Aruri considers it 'the first corrective history of Palestine, its people, its region, and its culture.' An open discussion with the author and book signing will follow the presentation. Basem L. Ra'ad is a Professor at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem. Born in Jerusalem, he received his education in Jordan, Lebanon, the US and Canada, earning a PhD at the University of Toronto in 1978. He has been an editor and community organizer, and has taught in Canada, Bahrain, Lebanon and Palestine. For further information about Hidden Histories, please see http://www.hiddenhistories.ca| http://www.plutobooks.com/display.asp?K=9780745328300| This lecture is free and open to all and registration is not required.