Lived Resistance Against the War on Palestinian Children - (Children, Youth, and War) by Heidi Morrison

About the Book

"Despite the increasing volume of scholarship that shows children as political actors, prior to this book, a cohesive framework was lacking that would more fully examine and express children's relationship with political power. Rather than simply hitching children's resistance to standard theories of resistance, Heidi Morrison seeks to meet children on their own terms. Through the case study of Palestinian children, contributors theorize children's resistance as an embodied experience called lived resistance. A critical aspect of the study of lived resistance is not just documenting what children do but specifically how scholars approach the topic of children's resistance. With Lived Resistance against the War on Palestinian Children, the authors account for the vessel (i.e., the body in flesh and mind) through which such resistance generates and operates. The diverse group of chapter authors examine Palestinian children's art and media, imprisonment, parenting experiences, bereavement, neoliberalism, refugee camps, and protest movements as aspects of their collective and individual political power. Through these outlets, the book shows consistencies and contends that these children's relationship to political power operates from an inclusive model of citizenship and is social justice oriented, symbolically oriented, and contingently based"--

Book Synopsis

Despite the increasing volume of scholarship that shows children as political actors, prior to this book, a cohesive framework was lacking that would more fully examine and express children's relationship with political power. Rather than simply hitching children's resistance to standard theories of resistance, Heidi Morrison seeks to meet children on their own terms.

Through the case study of Palestinian children, contributors theorize children's resistance as an embodied experience called lived resistance. A critical aspect of the study of lived resistance is not just documenting what children do but specifically how scholars approach the topic of children's resistance. With Lived Resistance against the War on Palestinian Children, the authors account for the vessel (i.e., the body in flesh and mind) through which such resistance generates and operates.

The diverse group of chapter authors examine Palestinian children's art and media, imprisonment, parenting experiences, bereavement, neoliberalism, refugee camps, and protest movements as aspects of their collective and individual political power. Through these outlets, the book shows consistencies and contends that these children's relationship to political power operates from an inclusive model of citizenship and is social justice oriented, symbolically oriented, and contingently based.

Review Quotes

A very interesting and contemporary edited volume, which brings some new voices and insights into the field of childhood studies in general, and to the study of children's agency and resistance in particular. In the last couple of years there is a growing scholarly interest in theorizing the life of Palestinian children, and the war in Gaza means that this is more important than ever. This volume is a welcome and much needed contribution to this field.--Noam Peleg "author of The Child's Right to Development"

This book makes significant original contributions to numerous intersecting fields. Though the scholarly community surrounding the study of Palestinian children, youth, and families may seem small, topics covered in this book address wider scholarly publics, including scholars in childhood and family studies, gender and women's studies, children's geographies, social movement studies, peace and conflict studies, and, of course, Palestine studies more broadly.--Sandy Marshall, a human geographer who works with migrant and refugee children and youth on issues related to conflict and humanitarian aid

About the Author

HIEDI MORRISON is associate professor of history at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She is author or editor of five books, including Inner Wounds: Oral Histories of Palestinian Children's Trauma and the Second Intifada; Childhood and Colonial Modernity in Egypt; and A Cultural History of Youth.