School of Theology, Philosophy, and History
- Centres in the School
Holy Land Studies
PhD in Holy Land and Palestine Studies
School of Theology, Philosophy and History, St Mary's University College, Twickenham London
The Holy Land Research Project, Centre for Religion and History, of the School of Theology, Philosophy and History, St Mary's University College, is recruiting PhD students in Holy Land and Palestine Studies. This is one of the few PhD projects devoted exclusively to Holy Land and Palestine Studies in the United Kingdom.
The Holy Land Research Project is multidisciplinary, drawing on the St Mary's expertise in all relevant disciplines (Theology and Religious Studies, Modern History and Historiography, Politics, Biblical Studies, Islamic Studies, Theologies of Liberation and the comparative study of religion and politics).
The Project is promoting new scholarship about Holy Land affairs, expanding knowledge and developing a pool of experts on the Holy Land (ancient, mediaeval and modern), and strengthen co-operation between British and research and higher education institutions in Palestine.
PhD students will research aspects of the following areas:
- Religion and Politics in the Holy Land
- Theologies of liberation in Palestine and Israel
- Islamic Heritage of the Holy Land
- Interpretation(s) of the Bible and the Holy Land
- Interpretation(s) of the Qur'an and Jerusalem
- Christianity in the Holy Land and Palestinian Christians
- Travel and Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
- ‘Modernity’ and its impact on the Holy Land
- The Politics of archaeology in Israel and Palestine
- New approaches to modern history and historiography of Palestine and Israel
- The Palestinian Nakba, oral history and collective memory
- The historical origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict
- Mandatory Palestine
- Zionism (secular and religious)and Jewish nationalism
- Palestinian nationalism (secular and religious)
- State-building in Palestine and Israel
- Binational Ideas
- Gender and nationalism in Palestine and Israel
- The birth of Israel: myths and realities
- The post-Zionist discourse in Israel
- Palestine and international relations
- Christian Zionism in the US and Europe and the State of Israel
- Islamic revivalism and the question of Palestine
- Religion and the state in the Middle East
- Church and state in Israel and Palestine
- The media and the Arab-Israeli conflict
- Ethnicity and ethnic politics in Israel and Palestine
- The Palestinian refugee problem
- The Middle East Peace Process
- The Politics of the sacred space in Jerusalem
- Democracy and civil society in the Holy Land
- Multiculturalism and cultural diversity in the Holy Land
- Interfaith relations in Palestine and Israel
The Holy Land Research Project
- Encourages both interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches to Holy Land and Palestine studies.
- Encourages students to adopt critical and innovative approaches to a multidisciplinary discourse on the Holy Land.
- Promotes new research and encourage comparative approaches to the field.
- Promotes inclusive approaches to cultural, religious and political discourses on the Holy Land.
- Pays particular attention to issues which have a contemporary relevance and wider public interest.
- Encourages the undertaking of field research in the Holy Land, including the use of primary sources (especially in Arabic and Hebrew) as well as the utilisation of archival material located in Israel and Palestine.
- Encourages interaction with academic institutions and research projects in the Holy Land.
Project Director: Professor Nur Masalha
