Palestine Mapped
Join us for an evening with renowned historian and cartography expert Thomas Suárez as he explores the history, importance, and power of geographic thought regarding Palestine and its people.
This illustrated talk traces the mapping of Palestine from the ancient Greeks and Romans through to the 21st century. Suárez will challenge modern presumptions of “personhood” in relation to the nation-state and examine how geographic thought shifted through the medieval period, the rise of Christian Zionism, and into the modern political era.
The presentation will conclude with a critical look at today’s pro-Palestine movement and a plea to move beyond unwittingly adopted ethno-geographic frameworks. The one-hour talk will be followed by a Q&A session.
Featured Book: Copies of the book paralleling this talk—generously endorsed by Ilan Pappé, Ghada Karmi, Salman Abu Sitta, and Walid Khalidi—will be available for purchase at the event. For more information, visit palestinemapped.net.
Thomas Suárez (Speaker) Thomas possesses a rare combination of expertise for this talk’s cross-disciplinary demands. The author of three previous books on the history of cartography, his Early Mapping of Southeast Asia (1999) is considered the standard work on the subject and was used by the Philippine government at the UN in 2013 to challenge maritime aggression. His books on Zionist-era Palestine have been praised by icons such as Ilan Pappé and Noam Chomsky. A former violin teacher at the National Conservatory of Music in Jerusalem, Suárez was also a firsthand observer of the aftermath of the 2008–2009 attacks on Gaza.
Zena Agha (Moderator) Zena is a London-based Palestinian-Iraqi writer, poet, and multi-disciplinary artist. She is the author of Objects from April and May, (Hajar Press 2022) and writer and director of the short film The Place that is Ours (2021). Zena completed her PhD in colonial cartography in Palestine and is currently the Interim Director of the British Palestinian Committee. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times and Foreign Policy among others.
Interlink Publishing: Established in 1987, Interlink Publishing is a Palestinian-owned, Massachusetts-based independent publishing house that offers a global perspective to readers. Interlink publishes works of literature-in-translation, history, activism, politics, art, cultural guides, award-winning cookbooks, and illustrated children’s books from around the world.
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