The Oral History of Imperialism: Palestine under the British Mandate

Join Roger Hardy and Dina Matar as they discuss the oral history of imperialism in Palestine under the British mandate period. In the story of British rule in Palestine, from the end of the First World War to 1948, Palestinian voices have tended to be marginalised or absent. Only in recent years has this begun to change, with the publication (and translation) of memoirs, diaries and biographies in which a variety of Palestinians describe the impact of colonial rule – and its bitter aftermath.

Drawing on the Palestine chapter of his recently-published book, The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East, Roger Hardy will be discussing with Dina Matar the legacy of imperial rule in Palestine and the importance of oral history in the historical narrative.

Roger Hardy was a Middle East analyst with the BBC World Service for more than twenty years. He is the author of The Muslim Revolt: A Journey through Political Islam (Hurst, 2010) and, most recently, The Poisoned Well: Empire and its Legacy in the Middle East (Hurst, 2016). He is currently a Research Associate with the Centre for International Studies, University of Oxford.

Dina Matar works on the intersection of politics, culture and communication in the Arab World. She is interested in narrative, media, cultural politics, social movements, oral history and memory, particularly in relation to Palestine. She is author of What it Means to be Palestinian, co-author of the Hizbullah Phenomenon and co-editor of Gaza as Metaphor and Narrating Conflict in the Middle East.