7. The Palestinian diaspora and the presence of Arab culture in Brazil (Muna Odeh)

This class aims to discuss the Palestinian diaspora in Brazil informed by the geo-political chronology  that characterized the different waves of their arrival over the last 100 years along periods that cover the Othman Rule, the British Mandate including the 1936 Palestinian Revolt and its violent suppression, the Nakba of 1948, the Naksa of 1967 and on to the War in Syria and the resulting refugee crisis that included Palestinian arriving in Brazil.    

Not much attention is given in refugee and immigrant studies to the Palestinians in Latin America, although they represent the largest presence in numbers worldwide after the Arab countries and have played a key role more recently in influencing the voting in support of the recognition of the Statehood to Palestine.  

The class will also look at the question from a gender perspective and seek to draw parallels with the studies of Rosemary Sayegh who focused intergenerationally on the role of Palestinian refugee women.

Reading Assignment:

Journal of Palestine Studies Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 117-128. Published By: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Spring, 1982.

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