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RSC Public Seminar Series, Trinity term 2023

Series convened by Dr Uttara Shahani

About the seminar

Palestinians have long held a peculiar positionality within the global refugee regime. Served by a specialised UN body, namely the Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), they are the most protracted refugee population in the world and the only group excluded from UNHCR's mandate. As a result, Palestinian refugee politics - and particularly political resistance - has often been situated at the intersection of nationalism and internationalism. This talk, based on the forthcoming book Refuge and Resistance (Columbia University Press, 2023), will trace the history and politics of UNRWA’s interactions with Palestinian communities, particularly in the refugee camps where it functioned as a surrogate state. The book shows how Palestinian refugees invoked internationalist norms to demand their political rights while resisting the UN’s categorization of their plight as an apolitical humanitarian issue. In the process, we see how refugees must be understood as agents in shaping the global refugee regime, and not simply recipients of its services.

About the speaker

Anne Irfan is Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Race, Gender and Postcolonial Studies at University College London (UCL). She is a historian whose work examines the lasting impact of colonialism on modern displacements. She is the author of Refuge and Resistance: Palestinians and the International Refugee System (available now from Columbia University Press). 

Download the flyer for Anne's book

Flyer for the book Refuge and Resistance: Palestinians and the International Refugee System, by Anne Irfan. $35.00 / £30.00 paperback · 978-0-231-20285-5$140.00 / £117.00 hardcover · 978-0-231-20284-8$34.99 / £30.00 ebook · 978-0-231-55474-9Published July 2023. 328 pagesColumbia Studies in International and Global HistoryOrder online now and save 30%cup.columbia.eduEnter Code: CUP30 for 30% discountRegular shipping and handling charges apply

Annual Elizabeth Colson Lecture

The Annual Elizabeth Colson Lecture is held in Trinity term. It is named after Professor Elizabeth Colson, a renowned anthropologist.

Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture

The Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture is named in honour of Dr Barbara Harrell-Bond, the founding Director of the Refugee Studies Centre. It is held each year in Michaelmas term.

Public Seminar Series

Each term the RSC holds a series of public seminars, held on Wednesday evenings at Queen Elizabeth House. Click here for details of forthcoming seminars.

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Forthcoming events

Localization in the Rohingya refugee response

Wednesday, 07 May 2025, 5pm to 6pm @ Seminar Room 1, Oxford Department of International Development, 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB

Governing Migration and Mobility: Military-Humanitarianism at Brazil’s Northern Frontier

Wednesday, 14 May 2025, 5pm to 6pm @ Seminar Room 1, Oxford Department of International Development, 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB

Refugees at work: Ending exploitation, advancing justice

Wednesday, 28 May 2025, 5pm to 6pm @ Seminar Room 1, Oxford Department of International Development, 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB

Race, Refuge and Repair: Rethinking Migration from the Global South

Thursday, 29 May 2025 to Friday, 30 May 2025, 9am - 5pm @ Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Ruling Emancipated Slaves and Indigenous Subjects: The Divergent Legacies of Forced Settlement and Colonial Occupation in the Global South

Wednesday, 04 June 2025, 5pm to 6pm @ Seminar Room 1, Oxford Department of International Development, 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB