In-Between: An Autoethnographic Inquiry into the Notion of Home amongst Palestinians living in the Diaspora

This thesis uses research-creation, autoethnography and collaborative research-for-creation to explore the notion of home amongst Palestinians living in the diaspora. It is centered on the involvement of five participants, including myself, who guided the creation of an art installation combining participants’ videos, accompanying text, postcards and oranges scattered on the floor of the gallery. This project allowed participants to use research-creation to conceptualize and represent their experiences through video and storytelling. Using the framework of diaspora studies and identity, In-Between employed creative practices, self-reflective texts, collaborative exchanges with participants, and academic writing, to explore the way Palestinians use their memories and imagination to make sense of their personal and collective identities. Throughout the process I focused on fostering a collaborative and caring researcher-participant relationship to examine the pedagogical implications art practices have on art education. The value of this research lies in grounding our lived experiences as Palestinians in creation and in theory. In relation to art education, this study shows educators how memory and imagination can be used to foster students’ collaborative processes. It is my hope that this thesis would inform Autoethnographic researchers of Palestinian communities in exile in the future and encourage art students to use their respective socio-political location as an advantageous position for their research