PARC - Palestinian American Research Center

The Palestinian American Research Center (PARC) announces its 13th annual Faculty Development Seminar (FDS) on Palestine competition for U.S. faculty members with a demonstrated interest in, but little travel experience to, Palestine. Applicants may come from any field of study. The program will host 10 to 12 U.S. faculty members to participate in roundtable discussions; visits to Palestinian universities, research institutes, and cultural institutions; tours of historic cities; as well as meetings with Palestinian colleagues. Through these activities, participants will learn about the region, deepen their knowledge about their fields of interest in Palestine, and build relationships with Palestinian colleagues and institutions.

Applicants must:

Be U.S. citizens.
Be full-time faculty members at recognized U.S. colleges or universities. Applicants may come from any academic discipline, including the arts, humanities, social sciences, economics, law, health, and sciences.
Have a demonstrated interest in Palestine.
Have little previous travel experience to Palestine.
Be willing to integrate their experiences from the seminar into their own teaching and/or other projects to benefit Palestinian colleagues and institutions.
Be a member of PARC. Visit the PARC membership page for more information.

PARC will make all arrangements for the program, including hotel, site visits, tours, and meetings with Palestinian colleagues. PARC will cover all expenses for in-country, group ground travel, accommodations, and group meals. International travel and personal and free day expenses will be the responsibility of each faculty member and/or her/his/their university. In cases of demonstrated need, there is limited funding available to cover partial costs for international travel.

Professors from Minority Serving Institutions and Community Colleges are especially encouraged to apply.

PARC will provide three travel stipends up to $1,000 each for airfare for professors from Minority Serving Institutions and/or Community Colleges.

Funding for these three participants is provided by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs through an agreement with CAORC.

Click on the box above to be directed to our online application system.

2019 Faculty Development Seminars

This year witnessed PARC's new commitment to offer two Faculty Seminars every summer: in even years we will have an FDS and a Media Seminar, and in odd years we will offer two FDS programs. 2019 saw 23 U.S. professors come with PARC to Palestine, one group in April and one in June. The April group had quite a special program since our dates coincided with Easter! The group witnessed a variety of celebrations and festivities, including the Holy Fire Parade (Sabt al-Nour) in Ramallah, and visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher with throngs of pilgrims from around the world. It was a very different experience from most of our FDS groups. The June group made special stops near the Dead Sea to a Bedouin village and a Palestinian salt factory, and took a bus tour around the close environs of Jerusalem, a new addition to our program.

2019 Faculty Development Seminar Participants – April

Jenna Altomonte Assistant Professor of Art History Mississippi State University	Richard Stahler-Sholk Professor of Political Science Eastern Michigan University
David Embrick Associate Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies University of Connecticut	Bhoomi Thakore Assistant Professor of Sociology University of Central Florida
Brooke Lober Adjunct Professor of Women's and Gender Studies Sonoma State University	Sandra Weissinger Associate Professor of Sociology Southern Illinois University
Mary Mullen Assistant Professor of English and Irish Studies Villanova University	Janet Winston Associate Professor of English Humboldt State University
Emily O'Dell Resident Fellow of Law and Islamic Law and Civilization Yale University	Stephen Wooten Director of Food Studies University of Oregon
Kent Schull Associate Professor of History Birmingham University, State University of New York	Nunotte Zama Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Roxbury Community College

2019 Faculty Development Seminar Participants – June

Shanya Cordis Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Spelman College	Mahruq Khan Associate Professor of Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies University of Wisconsin, La Crosse
Molly Doane Associate Professor of Anthropology University of Illinois at Chicago	Carina Ray Associate Professor of African and African-American Studies Brandeis University
Connie Etter Assistant Professor of Honors and Justice Studies Westminster College	Malini Schueller Professor of English University of Florida
Rodney Ferrao Assistant Professor of English & Asian and Pacific Islander American Studies College of William and Mary	Beverly Tsacoyianis Assistant Professor of History University of Memphis
Ellen Fitzpatrick Associate Professor of Economics, Interdisciplinary Institute Merrimack College	Christopher Wise Professor of English and Comparative Literature Western Washington University
Priya Kandaswamy Department Head of Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Mills College

2018 Faculty Development Seminar

Our FDS group this year had 12 U.S. professors with strong representation from anthropology and English Literature. Fields of study also included sociology; political science; clinical psychology; and African American, Indigenous, Environmental, Asian, and Chicana/o Studies. These professors represented eight states and the District of Columbia. Our Palestinian colleagues especially appreciated the opportunity to interact with such a diverse group of U.S. scholars. In particular, U.S. and Palestinian scholars shared ideas on the themes of walls, prisons, and trauma, which spurred us all to think more deeply about how these topics intersect in the United States and Palestine.

2018 Faculty Development Seminar Participants

Orisanmi Burton Assistant Professor of Social Anthropology, Prisons, Race, Social Movements American University	Mark Minch-de Leon Assistant Professor of English and Indigenous and Native American Studies University of California, Riverside
Maura Finkelstein Assistant Professor of Anthropology Muhlenberg College	Daniel Segal Professor of Anthropology and History Pitzer College
Melanie Hernandez Assistant Professor of English, Comparative Chicana/o and African American Studies California State University, Fresno	Robert Soza Faculty of English and Ethnic Studies Mesa Community College
Matt Hooley Assistant Professor of English Literature, Indigenous Studies, Environmental Studies, American Studies Clemson University	Karen Suyemoto Professor of Clinical Psychology, Ethnic Studies/Asian American Studies, Transnational Cultural and Community Studies University of Massachusetts, Boston
Patrisia Macias-Rojas Assistant Professor of Sociology, Latin American, and Latino Studies University of Illinois, Chicago	Johnny E. Williams Professor of Sociology Trinity College
Tinaz Pavri Division Chair for Social Sciences and Education, Chair of Asian Studies Program Spelman College	Cynthia A. Young Department Head of African American Studies Pennsylvania State University

2017 Faculty Development Seminar

Eleven U.S. professors who represented a variety of disciplines including History; Geography; Anthropology; African American and African Diaspora Studies; Political Science; Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies; and Earth and the Environment joined PARC's eighth annual Faculty Development Seminar (FDS). Our Palestinian colleagues were delighted to receive such a diverse group of U.S. scholars. This year we conducted our first outreach to U.S. community colleges, which we will be continuing for next year. Our FDS provides a unique opportunity to make connections with Palestine colleagues, an important feature of this program that we will continue to emphasize with future groups.

2017 Faculty Development Seminar Participants

Charity Butcher Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Kennesaw State University	Dereka Rushbrook Associate Professor of Geography and Development University of Arizona
Anneeth Kaur Hundle Assistant Professor of Socio-cultural Anthropology, Humanities and World Cultures University of California, Merced	James Strick Chair of Science, Technology, and Society Program and Associate Professor of Earth and the Environment Franklin and Marshall College
Mary Jo Klinker Assistant Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Winona State University	Melissa Weiner Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology College of the Holy Cross
Courtney Desiree Morris Assistant Professor of African American and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Pennsylvania State University	Aubrey Westfall Assistant Professor of Political Science Wheaton College
Jasbir Puar Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies, American Studies, Disability Studies Rutgers University	Jakobi Williams Associate Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies, History Indiana University, Bloomington
Gregory Rabb Professor of Political Science and Global Education Jamestown Community College

2016 Faculty Development Seminar

Eleven U.S. professors who represented a variety of disciplines including Law, Religious Studies, Theatre, History, Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science, English and American Studies, joined PARC's seventh annual Faculty Development Seminar (FDS). This year, we added to our established program in Jerusalem and the West Bank, an enriching trip to Haifa. Indeed, the day was so successful that going forward we plan to include Haifa as a regular part of our FDS program. With the many both varied and interesting outcomes from this program, enthusiasm remains strong for hosting a new group in 2017.

2016 Faculty Development Seminar Participants

Kevin Brown Richard S. Melvin Professor of Law Indiana University	Rachael Stryker Associate Professor of Human Development and Women's Studies California State University, East Bay
Jennifer Carrera Assistant Professor of Sociology Michigan State University	Russell Vandenbroucke Professor of Theatre Arts and Peace, Conflict, and Social Justice Studies University of Louisville
King Downing Adjunct Professor of Business and Human Rights Attorney Essex Community College	Jennifer Veninga Assistant Professor of Religious and Theological Studies St. Edwards University
Stephen Hall Assistant Professor of History Alcorn State University	Beverly Voloshin Professor of English and American Literature San Francisco State University
Gina Hens-Piazza Professor of Religious Studies and Theology Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University	Dorothy Wang Associate Professor of American Studies Williams College
Joshua Stacher Associate Professor of Political Science Kent State University

2015 Faculty Development Seminar

PARC's sixth annual Faculty Development Seminar was composed of eleven U.S. professors who represented a variety of disciplines with strong representation in American Studies, and our first group members in Economics, Law, Theatre and Religious Studies. Once again we had strong minority participation, as well as our first professor of Native American origins. Three minority serving institutions (MSIs) were also represented. With our sixth year of this program, our U.S. professors and their Palestinian colleagues were poised to forge strong connections in their work. Our program included meetings with faculty members and administrative personnel at five Palestinian university campuses, guided tours of four Old Cities in the West Bank, and visits to Palestinian research and cultural organizations. With enthusiasm strong for continuing this program, PARC looks forward to hosting a new group in 2016.

2015 Faculty Development Seminar Participants

Radhika Balakrishnan Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Women's and Gender Studies Rutgers University	Doug Kiel Assistant Professor of History Northwestern University
Karma Chavez Associate Professor of Mexican American & Latina/o Studies University of Texas	Barbara Lewis Associate Professor of English and Director of William Monroe Trotter Institute for the Study of Black History and Culture University of Massachusetts, Boston
Ira Dworkin Associate Professor of English Texas A&M University	Karla McKanders Clinical Professor of Law Vanderbilt University
James Heintz Professor of Economics and Research Professor at the Political Economy Research Institute University of Massachusetts, Amherst	Soraya Mekerta Associate Professor of World Languages and Literature and Director of African Diaspora and the World Program Spelman College
Erica Caple James Associate Professor of Anthropology Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Elizabeth Ursic Professor of Religious Studies Mesa Community College
J. Kehaulani Kauanui Associate Professor of American Studies and Anthropology Wesleyan University

2014 Faculty Development Seminar

PARC's fifth annual Faculty Development Seminar was composed of ten U.S. professors who represented a variety of disciplines from Anthropology, Art History, and Literature to Geography and Cultural Studies. This year's group witnessed strong minority participation, as well as the first professor from an Hispanic-serving institution, and our second professor from an Asian American/Native American/Pacific Islander-serving institution. We look forward to our Palestinian colleagues forging working relationships with a diverse array of U.S. colleges and universities. The U.S. professors attended meetings with faculty members and administrative personnel at five Palestinian university campuses and toured historic sites in four West Bank cities. This year's activities embraced a wide range of topics from culture to education and included a round table discussion and visits to several Palestinian NGOs and research institutions. Recognizing the enthusiasm for this program among all past participants, PARC looks forward to continuing the program in 2015.

2014 Faculty Development Seminar Participants

Kerry Chance Assistant Professor of Geography & Anthropology Louisiana State University	Sarah Roberts Assistant Professor of Information & Media Studies Western University, Canada
Erika Derkas Associate Professor of Sociology & Women's Studies New Mexico Highlands University	Amy Ross Associate Professor of Geography & Human Rights University of Georgia
Nilda Flores-Gonzales Associate Director and Professor of Sociology Arizona State University	Greg Thomas Associate Professor of English & African Studies Tufts University
Elisabeth Friedman Assistant Professor of Art History & Visual Culture Illinois State University	Neha Vora Assistant Professor of Anthropology Lafayette College
Maimuna Islam Associate Professor of English in World Literatures, Postcolonial & Contemporary Fiction The College of Idaho	Craig Willse Assistant Professor of Cultural/Urban Studies George Mason University

2013 Faculty Development Seminar

PARC's fourth annual Faculty Development Seminar was composed of ten US professors including a variety of disciplines from Anthropology to Public Health. This year's program witnessed strong representation from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, something PARC is committed to continuing in the coming years. The group attended meetings with faculty members and administrative personnel at five university campuses and toured historic sites in a number of cities. This year's activities embraced a wide range of topics from culture to economics and included round table discussions and attendance at musical performances and a book launch. Recognizing the enthusiasm for this program among all past participants, PARC hopes to expand the program in 2014.

2013 Faculty Development Seminar Participants

Christopher Daniels Assistant Professor of Political Science Florida A&M University	Starr Sage Assistant Professor of Public Health University of Minnesota, Rochester
Tiffany Davis Assistant Professor of Sociology Chicago State University	Susan Shepler Assistant Professor of International Peace & Conflict Resolution American University
Cynthia Franklin Professor of English University of Hawai'i	Diana Stover Tillinghast Professor of Journalism & Mass Communications San Jose State University
Byron D'Andra Orey Department Chair and Professor of Political Science Jackson State University	Kamala Visweswaran Professor of Ethnic Studies University of California, San Diego
Robert Ross Assistant Professor of Global Cultural Studies Point Park University	Erica Lorraine Williams Assistant Professor of Sociology & Anthropology Spelman College

Images from the 2012 Faculty Development Seminar

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2012 Faculty Development Seminar

For its third annual Faculty Development Seminar (FDS), PARC was delighted to bring to the West Bank nine U.S. faculty members, including, for the first time, three faculty members from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Participants met with Palestinian colleagues at five academic institutions including Birzeit University, Bethlehem University, Hebron University, an-Najah University, and Al-Quds University. In addition the group visited several Palestinian NGOs, had an in depth tour of the Haram al-Sharif, and saw Palestine's first Science Discovery Center at Al-Quds University. This faculty group looks particularly promising in terms of developing cooperative projects with Palestinian colleagues in various fields of study. As in previous years, these U.S. professors will bring their experiences back to their U.S. campuses, using what they have seen and learned to infuse existing courses with new material as well as develop new courses. Given the success of this and previous years, PARC looks forward to hosting another FDS program in 2013.

2012 Faculty Development Seminar Participants

Lisa Adeli Outreach Coordinator for the Center for Middle Eastern Studies University of Arizona	Lanisa Kitchiner Program Manager in International Affairs Center Howard University
Nita Sue Currey Professor of Communications St. Edward's University	Jack McTague Professor of History Saint Leo University
Adenike Davidson Department Chair and Professor of English Delaware State University	Kim Shively Professor of Anthropology & Sociology Kutztown University
Susan Hume Professor of Geography Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville	Pamela Waldron-Moore Professor of Political Science & International Relations Xavier University
Katie Kane Associate Professor of English University of Montana

Images from the 2011 Faculty Development Seminar

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2011 Faculty Development Seminar

In May 2011, PARC had the privilege of leading 10 U.S. faculty members, representing diverse fields of academia and an interesting cross-section of U.S. colleges and universities, on our second Faculty Development Seminar (FDS). This academic exploration of Jerusalem and the West Bank included in-depth site visits to five Palestinian universities and guided tours of the historic old cities of Jerusalem, Nablus, and Hebron. The group also participated in a roundtable discussion with Palestinian scholars and visited several Palestinian NGOs, ranging from a research center to a music school. The participants sustained their enthusiasm and motivation throughout the Seminar and particularly benefited from individual meetings with Palestinian colleagues in their respective fields. Outgrowths of the FDS include: published articles and blog posts about the FDS experiences (see below), new courses developed integrating the lessons learned on the FDS, lectures and talks to local U.S. communities, joint research projects, and visits by Palestinian colleagues to U.S. campuses. With these indicators of success, PARC plans to continue hosting the FDS program annually.

2011 Faculty Development Seminar Participants

Afshan Bokhari Assistant Professor of Art History Suffolk University	Persis Karim Associate Professor of English & Comparative Literature San Jose State University
Craig Campbell Associate Professor of Public Safety Management St. Edward's University	Elizabeth Kolsky Associate Professor of History Villanova University
Chris Corley Honors Program Director and Associate Professor of History Minnesota State University, Mankato	Christopher Lee Associate Professor of History Lafayette College
Denise DeGarmo Department Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville	Jess White Assistant Professor of Anthropology Western Illinois University
John Ferré Associate Dean of Arts & Sciences and Professor of Communication University of Louisville	Charles Zerner Professor of Environmental Studies Sarah Lawrence College

Images from the 2010 Faculty Development Seminar

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Inaugural Faculty Development Seminar

PARC's inaugural Faculty Development Seminar took place from May 22-May 31, 2010 in Jerusalem and the West Bank. This dynamic new program is designed to expose 10 U.S. professors from a variety of disciplines to Palestine and Palestinian studies. The group was composed of 10 U.S. scholars from a variety of disciplines, and was led by Executive Director Penelope Mitchell and PARC's Palestine Director Hadeel Qazzaz. During the Seminar, the group toured and met with professors and administrators at five West Bank universities and had presentations and discussions at several Palestinian NGOs. They also visited some of the most significant points of interest in the area, thereby witnessing everyday life in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Through their experiences during the Seminar, these professors are excited about the possibility of working cooperatively with their Palestinian colleagues and incorporating lessons learned into their scholarship and teaching. Indeed, some of the professors plan to publish articles about their experiences, others plan to invite Palestinian colleagues to their campuses to speak, and significant joint research with Palestinian academics is already beginning. The reception to the Seminar was even better than we anticipated, and we are confident that we chose worthy scholars whose future teaching and scholarship will demonstrate the impact of this experience. In that vein, all of the participants highly encouraged PARC to repeat this project in coming years.

2010 Faculty Development Seminar Participants

Michael Daher Director of Arab Cultural Studies Program and Professor of English Henry Ford Community College	Gail Sahar Associate Provost and Professor of Psychology Wheaton College (MA)
Allen Fromherz Assistant Professor of History Georgia State University	Yasmin Saikia Hardt-Nickachos Chair in Peace Studies at the Center for the Study of Religion & Conflict and Professor of History Arizona State University
Jacqueline Guzda Visiting Professor of Communication Western Connecticut State University	Mahasin Saleh Associate Professor of Social Work University of North Texas
Amy Kaplan Edward W. Kane Professor of English University of Pennsylvania	Christopher Stone Head of Arabic Program and Associate Professor of Classical & Oriental Studies Hunter College, City University of New York
Heidi Morrison Assistant Professor of History University of Wisconsin, La Crosse	Lucian Stone Assistant Professor of Philosophy & Religion University of North Dakota