WHAT HAPPENS TO CHILDREN WHEN ADULTS FIND SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS THEY DO NOT HAVE

Prof. Zvi Bekerman, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Tuesday April 19, 7-9 pm, light refreshments will be served

Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development,

105 College Ave, Medford, Curriculum Lab

Hosted by Prof. Marina Bers **

Prof. Bekerman will present the results of a long-term ethnographic study of the integrated bilingual Palestinian-Jewish schools in Israel that offer a new educational option to two groups of Israelis —Palestinians and Jews—who have been in conflict for the last one hundred years. Their goal is to create egalitarian bilingual multicultural environments to facilitate the growth of youth who can acknowledge and respect “others” while maintaining loyalty to their respective cultural traditions. The presentation reveals the complex school practices implemented while negotiating identity and culture in contexts of enduring conflict. We will explore the potential and limitations of peace education given the cultural resources, ethnic-religious affiliations, political beliefs, and historical narratives of the various interactants.

Zvi Bekerman teaches anthropology of education at the School of Education, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is a faculty member at the Mandel Leadership Institute in Jerusalem. He is also an Associate Fellow at The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for The Advancement of Peace. His main interests are in the study of cultural, ethnic and national identity, including identity processes and negotiation during intercultural encounters in formal/informal learning contexts. He is interested in how concepts such as culture and identity intersect with issues of social justice, intercultural and peace education, and citizenship education. His recent work has examined the intersection between civic and religious epistemologies in educational contexts. In addition to publishing in a variety of academic journals, Bekerman is the founding editor of the refereed journal Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education: An International Journal. Among his most recent books: Psychologized language in education: Denaturalizing a regime of truth, (2017); The Promise of Integrated and Multicultural Bilingual Education: Inclusive Palestinian-Arab and Jewish Schools in Israel (2016), Teaching Contested Narratives Identity, Memory and Reconciliation in Peace Education and Beyond. (2012) Integrated Education in Conflicted Societies (2013).

**This event is supported by the American Engagement Network (AEN).