25th of June, 2016
The research cluster Conflict and Development based at the Department of Development Studies (DDS) organized a workshop to “Rethink research in/on Palestine”.

Since the Oslo accords, scientific research in/on the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) has been reshaped by transformative Israeli occupation practices, the implementation of a neoliberal development agenda, and processes of societal restructuring of Palestinian communities. Shifting power relations through conflict and war also highly influenced and reconfigured knowledge production and its political implications. At the same time, many Palestinian scholars have been formulating a longstanding critique on orientalised, Eurocentric and top down research agendas and argue for alternative research methods, methodologies, and epistemologies.
The workshop provided a space for advanced MA students, PhD candidates, and early career researchers from European universities to critically discuss their research projects regarding the following questions:

• What are the main methodological, epistemological, and political challenges we are confronted when researching in/on Palestine?
• What are the main contradictions we are facing when doing research on Palestine at
  European universities?
• What does it mean to decolonize knowledge production on Palestine?

The fruitful workshop was a starting point to establish a network of PhD students and researchers that can be further elaborated due to a lacking of institutionalisation of Palestine Studies at European universities.