What’s it like growing up as a Palestinian American?
For Susan Muaddi Darraj, a Palestinian-American author of books for adults and children, including the Farah Rocks series, the answer is in a word: complicated.
Muaddi Darraj will discuss her upbringing in the latest in Hunter’s Promoting Civil Discourse & Intellectual Dialogue series: “The Intersection of Identity: Growing Up Palestinian-American,” on February 13. The discussion will take place from 3 pm to 4:30 pm at Hunter’s Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, 47-49 E. 65th St.
Muaddi Darraj explores the tensions of growing up Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, and American in her novels, including the well-received Behind You Is the Sea, which follows characters from an immigrant family in Maryland as they confront a diverse country with different mores and values.
“Our identity is central to our sense of self and influences all our decisions in life,” said Hunter Interim Provost Manoj Pardasani. “The ability to self-reflect and understand our positionality in the world around us is key to developing purpose and direction. Individual stories like the one shared by Muaddi Darraj are a model for self-discovery. I encourage all members of the Hunter community to attend this event.”
The discussion aligns with a campaign to foster civil discourse and tolerance across CUNY’s 25 campuses, which was announced by CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez this past August during a visit to Hunter College.
Previous talks have focused on civl discourse on the Middle East crisis, transgender rights in schools and sports, community healing by incorporating diversity and inclusion, and interfaith cooperation and pluralism.
Other events in the series planned for the spring semester include:
“Leaving the Hasidic Community: Reality Versus Popular Culture”
Speaker: Hunter Sociology Prof. Zalman Newfield, the acting Director of the Jewish Studies Program.
Speaker: Sociology Prof. Heba Gowayed.
Date and Location: Wednesday, March 5, 6-7 pm at Roosevelt House Auditorium
“Forum on Academic Freedom and Freedom of Speech: What do they mean for the Hunter Community?”
Speaker: Professor Risa Lieberwitz of the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Lieberwitz is academic director of the Worker Institute at Cornell and a co-director of the Cornell University law and society minor.
Speaker: Frederick (Rick) Schaffer, former CUNY general counsel and vice chancellor for legal affairs.
Speaker: Deepa Das Acevedo, an associate professor of law at Emory University and author of The Battle for Sabarimala Religion, Law, and Gender in Contemporary India (Oxford University Press).
Moderator: William Herbert, Hunter distinguished lecturer and executive director of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions at Hunter College.
Date and Location: Tuesday, March 25, 2 pm at Roosevelt House Auditorium
“The Refugee Experience in the US: Building Community Capacity and Resilience”
Speaker: Marciana Popescu, PhD
Popescu is a professor at the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service and a member of the UN-NGO Committee on Migration. Her work focuses on global and local migration policies, particular areas of interest include forced migration and gender, forced migration and mental health, and violence against women.
Date and Location: Thursday, April 17, 3 pm at Roosevelt House.
