Telling a Different Story: Participatory Media and Oral History in the Middle East

Dr. Julie Norman, UCL

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https://soas-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/97295344029?pwd=NjBiZlBBSlc4cWxmYWkwZ1d1WHZxdz09

Meeting ID: 972 9534 4029
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Stories of individuals and communities in protracted conflicts are often overshadowed by mainstream media coverage and cliched NGO narratives. How do we find, tell, and share deeper personal stories in difficult conflict settings? In this seminar, Dr Julie Norman (UCL) shares her experience with participatory media/arts and oral history in Palestine and Lebanon, discussing how she works collaboratively with ex-combatants, former prisoners, refugees, and other communities to tell difficult stories that challenge assumptions and push beyond the dominant discourse.

Speaker Bio:

Dr Julie Norman is a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at University College London (UCL), where she is also a founding member of the UCL Middle East Research Centre (MERC) and Deputy Director of the UCL Centre on US Politics (CUSP). She is the author of four books on activism in the Middle East, including most recently The Palestinian Prisoners Movement: Resistance and Disobedience (Routledge 2021), and she has published widely on resistance, rights, imprisonment, security, and political violence. She previously served as the co-director of Voices Beyond Walls, a participatory youth media initiative in Palestine, and she has worked extensively in the Middle East with organisations including the UNDP in Lebanon, the British Council in Iraq, and numerous NGOs and community groups. She is a frequent commentator on Middle East politics and US politics on outlets such as the BBC, CNN, and Al Jazeera.