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Ilana Feldman Faculty Member
Positions
- Associate Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs, IAFF , Elliott School of International Affairs 2007 -
Ilana Feldman is Professor of Anthropology, History, and International Affairs at George Washington University. She is the author of Governing Gaza: Bureaucracy, Authority, and the Work of Rule, 1917-67 (2008), Police Encounters: Security and Surveillance in Gaza under Egyptian Rule (2015), Life Lived in Relief: Humanitarian Predicaments and Palestinian Refugee Politics (2018); and co-editor (with Miriam Ticktin) of In the Name of Humanity: The Government of Threat and Care (2010).
Research Areas
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Affiliation
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Publications
selected publications
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academic article
- Conflicted Presence: The Many Arrivals of Palestinians in Lebanon. Migration Studies. 2021
- Elimination Politics: Punishment and Imprisonment in Palestine. Public Culture. 2019
- Staying With the Ambiguity: Anthropological Encounters With Security and Surveillance. Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. 2019
- Care and Suspicion: Corruption as Definition in Humanitarian Relations. Current Anthropology. 2018
- Humanitarian Care and the Ends of Life: The Politics of Aging and Dying in a Palestinian Refugee Camp. Cultural Anthropology. 2017
- “Reaction, Experimentation, and Refusal: Palestinian Refugees Confront the Future”. History and Anthropology. 2016
- Palestinian refugees and the humanitarian experience. The Institute Letter. 2016
- Punctuated Humanitarianism: Palestinian Life Between the Catastrophic and the Cruddy. International Journal of Middle East Studies. 2016
- Life Lived in Relief: Palestinian Refugees and the Humanitarian Experience. IAS School of Social Science Occasional Paper Series. 2016
- Looking for Humanitarian Purpose: Endurance and the value of lives in a Palestinian refugee camp. Public Culture. 2015
- Gaza as an Open-Air Prison. Middle East Report. 2015
- What is a Camp? Legitimate Refugee Lives in Spaces of Long-term Displacement. Geoforum. 2014
- “New Texts Out Now: on ‘The Challenge of Categories: UNRWA and the Definition of a ‘Palestine Refugee’’. Jadaliyya. 2013
- The Humanitarian Condition: Palestinian Refugees and the Politics of Living. Humanity: An International Journal of Human Rights, Humanitarianism Development. 2012
- The Challenge of Categories: UNRWA and the Definition of a ‘Palestine Refugee. Journal of Refugee Studies. 2012
- Ad Hoc Humanity: Peacekeeping and the Limits of International Community in Gaza. American Anthropologist. 2010
- Gaza’s Humanitarianism Problem. Journal of Palestine Studies. 2009
- Refusing Invisibility: Documentation and Memorialization in Palestinian Refugee Claims. Journal of Refugee Studies. 2008
- Waiting for Palestine: Refracted Citizenship and Latent Sovereignty in Gaza. Citizenship Studies. 2008
- Observing the Everyday: Policing and the Conditions of Possibility in Gaza (1948-67). Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies. 2007
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article
- The Dheisheh Style. Refugee Heritage: World Heritage Nomination Dossier. 2021
- Reframing Palestine: BDS Against Fragmentation and Exceptionalism. Radical History Review. 2019
- On the Poverty of Our Humanitarian Imagination. Middle East Report. 2018
- Palestinian Refugee Experience in a Changing Humanitarian Order. Birzeit University Working Paper 2011/58. 2012
- Being a Refugee: Humanitarianism and the Palestinian Experience. AnthroNotes, Museum of Natural History Publication for Educators. 2010
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book
- Life Lived in Relief: Humanitarian Predicaments and Palestinian Refugee Politics. University of California Press. 2018
- Police Encounters: Security and Surveillance in Gaza under Egyptian Rule. Stanford University Press. 2015
- In the Name of Humanity: The Government of Threat and Care. Duke University Press. 2010
- Governing Gaza: Bureaucracy, Authority, and the Work of Rule (1917-1967). Durham: Duke University Press,. 2008
- Academic Freedom and Professional Responsibility After 9/11: A Handbook for Scholars and Teachers. None.
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chapter
- The Global Movement for Palestine. Global Middle East. 2021
- Reckoning with Time: Vexed Temporalities in Human Rights and Humanitarianism. Humanitarianism and Human Rights: A World of Differences?. 2020
- Ruination and Rebuilding: The Precarious Place of a Border Town in Gaza. Deepening Divides: How Physical Borders and Social Boundaries Delineate Our World. 2019
- Humanitarianism and Revolution: Samed, the Palestine Red Crescent Society, and the Work of Liberation. Humanitarianism & Media, 1900 to the Present. 2018
- Humanitarian Refusals: Palestinian Refugees and Ethnographic Perspectives on Paternalism. Paternalism Beyond Borders. 2016
- Gaza: Isolation. Gaza as Metaphor. 2016
- Anthropology and Humanitarianism in the Middle East. Anthropology of the Middle East. 2015
- The Humanitarian Circuit: Relief Work, Development Assistance, and CARE in Gaza, 1955-1967. Forces of Compassion: Humanitarianism Between Ethics and Politics. 2010
- Working in the In-Between: Archives, Ethnography, and Research in Gaza. Trans/Formations of the Disciplines: Evaluating the Project of Anthropology and History. 2010
- Government and Humanity. In the Name of Humanity: The Government of Threat and Care. 2010
- Mercy Trains and Ration Rolls: Between Government and Humanitarianism in Gaza. Interpreting Welfare and Relief in the Middle East. 2008
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conference paper
- Humanitarian Departures: Reflections of a Refugee Aid Worker 2021
- Archives of Ruins, Archives in Ruins: Encounters with Palestinian History 2021
- Untimely Optimism? Recognition, Redress, and the Limits of the International in Palestinian Experience 2019
- Living and Dying in the Humanitarian Condition 2019
- Imprisoned Life: Confinement, Elimination, and Political Subjects in Palestine 2018
- The Promise and Peril of the International: A Palestinian Conundrum 2018
- “Occupation and the Limits of the International: Confronting Israeli Practice in the West Bank and Gaza” 2018
- “Refugee Style: On Inhabiting the Camp” 2018
- “BDS and the Global Palestine Solidarity Movement” 2018
- “Time and the Other Intervention: The Vexed Temporalities of Human Rights and Humanitarianism” 2018
- “Compulsory Movement as Occupation Strategy: From “thinning out” refugee camps to “mowing the lawn” in Gaza,” 2017
- “Livable Lives in a World in Crisis: The Refugee as a Political Figure for our Time” 2017
- Reaction, Experimentation, and Refusal: Palestinian refugees confront the future 2016
- “Punctuated Humanitarianism: Rhythms of Aid and Abandonment” 2016
- “‘Where is Humanity and What They Call Human Rights?’: Palestinian Refugees and the Impossible Boundaries of Humanitarianism,” 2016
- Palestine, Boycott, and International Solidarity 2016
- Imagining the Future in a Palestinian Refugee Camp 2015
- Humanitarianism and Revolution: Samed, the Palestine Red Crescent Society, and the work of liberation 2015
- Non-Humanitarian Futures? Palestinian experiments with living otherwise in long-term displacement 2014
- The Archive and the Work of the Present 2014
- Humanitarian Governance and Palestinian Refugees 2014
- “Disrupting the Aid Paradigm: Palestinian experiments in Decolonization” 2014
- Looking for humanitarian purpose: Endurance and its limits in a Palestinian refugee camp 2013
- Humanitarian refusals: Palestinian refugees and the challenge of paternalism” 2013
- Humanitarian Governance: A worm’s-eye view 2013
- “Humanitarian Purposes: Endurance and the chronic in a Palestinian refugee camp” 2013
- “What is a Camp? Relations, regulation, and appropriation in spaces of long-term displacement” 2013
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review
- Red Tape: Bureaucracy, Structural Violence and Poverty in India, by Akhil Gupta. American Ethnologist. 2015
- Review of Juridical Humanity: A Colonial History. Arab Studies Journal. 2013
- review of Good Arabs: The Israeli Security Agencies and the Israeli Arabs, 1948-1967 2011
- Review of The Making of a Human Bomb: An Ethnography of Palestinian Resistance. PoLAR: The Political and Legal Anthropology Review. 2010
- Review of The Politics of Women’s Rights in Iran. American Anthropologist. 2010
presentations
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presentation
- Past, Present, and Future for Palestinian Refugees, The Future of Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East, Palestinian Return Center Side Event at 73rd UN General Assembly meeting 2018
- Palestinian Refugees and Humanitarian Assistance, Foundation for Middle East Peace 2018
- On Seven Decades of Displacement”, Nakba at 70:Palestinian Rights, Refugees, and the Prospects for Just Peace, Arab Center, Washington, DC 2018
- The Challenges of Long-term Humanitarianism: Lessons from the Palestinian Experience”, World Affairs Council, Asheville, North Carolina 2018
- “Humanitarian Life Cycles: Managing aging, illness, and dying in a Palestinian refugee camp”, University of Connecticut 2013
- “Political Life and Humanitarian Assistance: Palestinian Refugee Claims and Values”, Campus in Camps 2012
- Humanitarianism and the Palestinian Political Condition, The Palestine Center, Washington, DC 2010
- Between Government and Humanitarianism: Conflict, Community, and Citizenship in the Gaza Strip, Oak Institute for Human Rights, Colby College, Waterville, ME 2009
- What You Need to Know About Gaza, colloquium, George Washington University 2009
- Care Packages and Self-Help Kits: CARE’s Work in Gaza, Between Politics and Ethics: The Anthropology of Global Humanitarianism, Advanced Seminar, School of Advanced Research, Santa Fe, NM 2008
- Difficult Distinctions: Refugee Law, Humanitarian Practice, and Identifications of People in Gaza, Politicizing the Humanitarian, Humanizing the Political, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 2005
- Palestine: History and Prospects, Kent School, Kent, CT 2005
- Difficult Distinctions: Refugee Law, Humanitarian Practice, and Identifications of People in Gaza, Politicizing the Humanitarian, Humanizing the Political, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 2005
- Difficult Distinctions: Refugee Law, Humanitarian Practice, and Identifications of People in Gaza, Politicizing the Humanitarian, Humanizing the Political, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 2005
- Difficult Distinctions: Refugee Law, Humanitarian Practice, and Identifications of People in Gaza, Politicizing the Humanitarian, Humanizing the Political, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 2005
- Legal Orders and Humanitarian Gestures: Making Refugees and Citizens in Gaza, Works-in-progress series, Middle East Center, University of Pennsylvania 2005
- Israel-Palestine, The Middle East: An Overview, in-service course for NYC teachers run by Middle East Institute, Columbia University 2004
- Government Tactics and Bureaucratic Habits: Exploring the Everyday Work of Rule in Gaza, Scheps Lecture Series, Anthropology Dept, Columbia University 2004
- Humanitarian Subjects: Quaker Work in Gaza, Lifelong Learners Program, Columbia U 2003
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Teaching
teaching activities
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Service
reviewer of
- Anthropologica (Journal)
- Anthropological Theory (Journal)
- Cornell Press; book series: Police/Worlds: Studies in Security, Crime and Governance (Journal)
- Faculty Promotion review, Sussex University (Journal)
- Faculty promotion review, Anthropology and Sociology Department, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) (Journal)
- Faculty tenure review, Anthropology Department, McMaster University (Journal)
- Faculty tenure review, Anthropology Department, Rutgers University (Journal)
- Faculty tenure review, Middle East and Islamic Studies, New York University (Journal)
- Faculty tenure review, University of Arizona (Journal)
- Faculty tenure review,Anthropology and Sociology Dept, University of Richmond (Journal)
- International Journal of Middle East Studies (Journal)
- Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute (JRAI) (Journal)
- Mashriq and Mahjar (Journal)
- McGill-Queen's University Press (Journal)
- Middle East Report (Journal)
- National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships (Journal)
- Northwestern University Press (Journal)
- Oxford University Press (Journal)
- Perspectives on Politics (Journal)
- PoLAR (Journal)
- Promotion review, Anthropology Department, Duke University (Journal)
- Promotion review, Anthropology Department, University of Michigan (Journal)
- Promotion review, History Department, Portland State University (Journal)
- Promotion review, History Department, University of Washington (Journal)
- Public Anthropologist (Journal)
- Public Culture (Journal)
- Racial and Ethnic Studies (Journal)
- Referee, Early Career Research Fellowships Churchill College, Cambridge University (Journal)
- Security Dialogue (Journal)
- Tenure review, Africana Studies Department, Rutgers University (Journal)
- Tenure review, Anthropology Department, Boston University (Journal)
- Tenure review, Anthropology Department, University of California, San Diego (Journal)
- Tenure review, Anthropology Department, University of Delaware (Journal)
- Tenure review, Anthropology Dept, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (Journal)
- Tenure review, Penn State History Department (Journal)
- University of California Press (Journal)
- Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (Journal)
- grant application review, Austrian Science Fund (FWF) (Journal)
- third year review, Gender and Sexuality Department, Yale University (Journal)
professional service activities
- Palestinian American Research Center Vice-President 2017 -
- Middle East Section, AAA President 2015 -
- Middle East Section Other 2013 -
- American Anthropological Association Member 2012 -
- American Ethnological Society Member 2012 -
- American Historical Association Member 2012 -
- Middle East Studies Association Member 2012 -
- Middle East Studies Association Other 2017 - 2020
- Society for Cultural Anthropology Member 2012 - 1999
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Background
education and training
- Ph.D degree in Anthropology and History, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 2002
- M.A degree in Near Eastern Studies, New York University, New York, NY 1994
- B.A degree, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 1991
awards and honors
- Global Development Studies Book Award, Honorable Mention, conferred by International Studies Association, 2020
- Fatima Mernissi Book Award, conferred by Middle East Studies Association, 2019
- Distinguished Scholar Award, conferred by Office of the Vice-President for Research, GWU, 2017
- Life Lived in Relief: Palestinian Experiences with Humanitarianism, conferred by National Humanities Center, 2015
- George Washington Institute of Public Policy, Policy Research Scholar, conferred by George Washington Institute of Public Policy, GWU, 2009
- Cultural Horizons Prize, conferred by Society for Cultural Anthropology, 2008
- Award for best article published, conferred by Cultural Anthropology, 2007
- Richard Carley Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship, conferred by Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, 2005
- Society of Fellows in the Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2004
- Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, conferred by Palestinian American Research Center, 2003
- Malcolm H. Kerr Dissertation Award (social sciences), conferred by Middle East Studies Association (MESA), 2002
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Contact
full name
- Ilana Feldman
mailing address
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Anthropology Department
2112 G St. NW, Room 101
Washington, DC 20052
USA
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