KIEM grant for 'Picturing Scholasticide'
Matthew Canfield (LAW/VVI), Nadia Sonneveld (Law/VVI), Benjamin Fogarty-Valenzuela (CADS) and Elisa Da Vià (HUM) have received a KIEM grant of € 10.000 for their project 'Picturing Scholasticide'. The grant will be utilised to create a multimodal exhibition of the scholasticide in Gaza. Through photography, testimonies, and the curation of additional resources, it depicts the destruction of the twelve universities in Gaza, and places it in the longer history of the onslaught on scholarly life in Palestine.
The project draws on visual anthropology and social-legal scholarship to explore the everyday life of scholasticide, as well as the theoretical and legal underpinnings of this term that is emerging out of the current moment, but has not received much scholarly attention yet.
The exhibition
The exhibition will be both physical and online. There will be a physical exhibition in Leiden University buildings and public spaces in Leiden before it travels through the country. The online exhibition will offer additional sources and provide local organizers the opportunity to create their own physical exhibitions from it.
The project will take place during the academic year 2024/2025, starting with assembling a team of committed researchers and students to collectively research the scholasticide in Gaza further and reach out to potential photographers. The exhibition should be finilized by April and in the planning is to launch the traveling exhibition in May.
Throughout the process, the project will be raising awareness and fostering ongoing conversations about the role of academics and universities.