Ongoing Return

Rana Barakat is associate professor of history at Birzeit University and director of the Birzeit University Museum.

“For historian Rana Barakat, a journey to and through Palestine is one she takes with her ancestors, both near and far. Through evocative storytelling, Barakat draws 'emotional maps' of the journey and shares them here as lessons in Palestinian survivance, historical intervention and Indigenous refusal.”—Ms. Magazine“This exceptional book demands a reorientation of historical narratives regarding Palestine. Centering Palestinian stories and their power to affect forms of return, Barakat shows how Palestinians resist the ongoing Nakba and confront threats to their peoplehood.”—Robert Warrior, editor of The World of Indigenous North America“Demanding a full and vibrant return in the face of the ongoing Nakba, this beautiful and necessary book has so much to teach us about Palestine and Indigenous guidance.”—Jennifer Lynn Kelly, author of Invited to Witness: Solidarity Tourism Across Occupied Palestine“In this bold, brilliant, invigorating book, Rana Barakat walks us from exile to Jerusalem, and on to Lifta. Weaving together the empirical and the lyrical, she unmasks preservation as a mode of destruction, charting return as a recursive Palestinian imperative and practice. With her innovative historical storytelling, Barakat teaches us not to ask to whom Palestine belongs but rather to insist on all the ways we belong to Palestine. This is a groundbreaking contribution to the dynamic tradition of Palestinian studies.”—Sherene Seikaly, author of Men of Capital: Scarcity and Economy in Mandate Palestine