Intersecting Narratives. Palestine Told by E. W. Said and J. Mohr

Abstract

One of the central issues that has emerged from the encounter between migration studies and cultural studies is that of the representation of the subjects of traumatic experiences, such as those of insecure migration, diasporas, wars, and climate disasters. Particular attention is paid to the agency of this representation, i.e. who is the subject of the story: who tells these stories, to whom, in whose name? This is certainly not a new question, but one that has been raised by every critical approach to culture, from literary criticism to media studies, from political philosophy to visual culture. Starting from the encounter between literature and visual culture, this essay addresses the representation of the cultural identity of the Palestinian people through a specific genre, somewhere between literature and photography: the phototext. Specifically, After the Last Sky. Palestinian Lives by E. W. Said and J. Mohr (1986), a still significant example of critical discourse on Palestinian identity. Through photo-textual representation, Said and Mohr show how dispossession, displacement, and exile have affected the daily and cultural lives of this people. Above all, this work focuses on the need for Palestinians to become subjects of their own history and to have their voices heard.