A New Critical Approach to the History of Palestine discusses prospects and
methods for a comprehensive, evidence-based history of Palestine with a
critical use of recent historical, archaeological and anthropological methods.
This history is not an exclusive history but one that is ethnically and
culturally inclusive, a history of and for all peoples who have lived in Palestine.
After an introductory essay offering a strategy for creating coherence
and continuity from the earliest beginnings to the present, the volume presents
twenty articles from twenty-two contributors, fifteen of whom are of
Middle Eastern origin or relation.
Split thematically into four parts, the volume discusses ideology, national
identity and chronology in various historiographies of Palestine, and the
legacy of memory and oral history; the transient character of ethnicity in
Palestine and questions regarding the ethical responsibilities of archaeologists
and historians to protect the multi-ethnic cultural heritage of Palestine;
landscape and memory, and the values of community archaeology and
bio-archaeology; and an exploration of the "ideology of the land" and its
influence on Palestine's history and heritage.
The first in a series of books under the auspices of the Palestine History
and Heritage Project (PaHH), the volume offers a challenging new departure
for writing the history of Palestine and Israel throughout the ages. A
New Critical Approach to the History of Palestine explores the diverse history
of the region against the backdrop of twentieth-century scholarly construction
of the history of Palestine as a history of a Jewish homeland with roots
in an ancient, biblical Israel and examines the implications of this ancient
and recent history for archaeology and cultural heritage. The book offers a
fascinating new perspective for students and academics in the fields of anthropological,
political, cultural and biblical history.
