Dr Alexander Koensler

Phone: +44 (0) 28 9097 3992
Email: a.koensler@qub.ac.uk
Office: 19.02.006, 19 University Square

Alexander received a PhD in “Methodologies of Socio-Anthropological Research” (University of Siena 2009). Before joining ISCTSJ, he held postdoctoral and teaching positions at the University of Perugia (Italy), the University of Muenster (Germany) and the Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel). He also coordinates with Elena Apostoli Cappello the network “Anthropology and Social Movements” of the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA).

‌Research Interests

He has carried out long-term ethnographic fieldwork on the Bedouin-state conflict in the Israeli Negev desert. His work focuses on political mobilization, non-sectarian, cross-cutting networks in Israeli-Palestinian interstitial spaces, and the role of international actors such political tourism and NGOs in conflicts. His work links recent developments in ethnography with social movement studies, research on ethnic relations and visual anthropology, exploring the ramifications of activism within its broader field of forces. A particular emphasis is placed on the understanding of Israeli-Palestinian claim-politics, exploring how the circulation of knowledge, imaginations, resources and people redefines the categories of the conflict. He is currently working on a book project, “Beyond Coexistence. Shifting Paradigms of Israeli-Palestinian Mobilizations”.

Publications

Monographs:

  • 2008: Amicizie vulnerabili. Coesistenza e conflitto in Israele. Morlacchi Editore, Perugia [Vulnerable Friendships. Coexistence and Conflict in Israel]. The volume includes a DVD.

Scientific Articles:

  • 2012: Frictions as opportunity: mobilizing for Arab-Bedouin ethnic rights in Israel, in: Ethnic and Racial Studies, DOI:10.1080/01419870.2012.681677.
  • 2012: Insurgent Building. Spatial Practices of Resistance in the Bedouin-State Conflict in Southern Israel, in: International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 37(1), pp. 46–60 DOI:10.1111/j.1468-2427.2012.01173.x.
  • 2012: Studiare frizioni: attivisti, giornalisti e beduini intorno ad un “villaggio fantasma” in Israele, ANUAC Rivista, 1(2), pp. 1-24.
  • 2011: Spielräume der Mobilisierung. Transnationale Fiedensnetzwerke in Israel seit dem Gaza-Krieg, in: Zeitschrift für Ethnologie/Journal of Ethnology 136(1), pp. 123-137.
  • 2011 (with Cristina Papa): Political tourism in the Israeli-Palestinian space, in: Anthropology Today 27 (2), pp. 9-14.
  • 2010: Practices of Reality. Demolitions and Reconstructions of a Ghost Village in Israel, in: Cultural Politics 6(3), pp. 357-382.
  • 2005: Protesta e potere intorno alla costruzione di un nuovo insediamento nel deserto del Negev, in: Achab 11, 2/2005, pp. 32-38.

Chapters in Edited Volumes:

  • 2012 (with Amalia Rossi): Introduzione: comprendere il dissenso, in: “Comprendere il dissenso. Introduzione all'antropologia dei movimenti sociali” (ed: Alexander Koensler and Amalia Rossi), Morlacchi Editore, Perugia, pp. 13-34.
  • 2012: Per un'antropologia dei movimenti: etnografia e paradigmi dell'analisi dei movimenti, in: "Comprendere il dissenso. Introduzione all'antropologia dei movimenti sociali" (Eds. Alexander Koensler and Amalia Rossi), Morlacchi Editore, Perugia, pp. 47-57 [The anthropology of social movements: Ethnography and shifting paradigms in the study of social movements].
  • 2010 Cambiare il mondo e aprire il cuore? Negoziare modelli di convivenza nel Negev (Israele), in: “Saperi antropologici, media e società civile nell'Italia Contemporanea” (a cura di Luisa Faldini e Eliana Pili), CISU, Roma, pp.67-79.
  • 2010:  Coesistenza e conflitto nel deserto del Negev, in: "Miti di guerra, riti di pace" (Ed. C. Masseria e D. Loscalzo), EdiPuglia, Bari. [Coexistence and Conflict in the Negev-desert], pp.23-32.
  • 2009: Turismo sostenibile e sostenibilità militare. Connessioni parziali intorno a un progetto di sviluppo dal basso nel deserto del Sinai, in: "Il turismo come strumento di sviluppo locale sostenibile" (Eds. Luisa Faldini et al.), Cisu, Roma, [Sustainable Tourism and the Sustainability of Frontiers. Partial Connections of a Grassroot Development Project in the Sinai-Desert], pp. 251-265.
  • 2009: Il beduino e la tenda: un'associazione fatale. Dinamiche di protesta e potere intorno alla costruzione di un nuovo insediamento in Israele, in: “Annali della Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia dell'Università degli Studi di Perugia“ 2007/08, XLV, XXXI, pp. 95-131.
  • 2008: I muri permeabili. Un'etnografia del "sapere di frontiera" in Israele e Palestina, in: “Campo, Spazio, Territorio. Approcci antropologici” (Ed. Pier Giorgio Solinas), Ed.it, Catania [Permeable Walls. An Ethnography of "Frontier Knowledge" in Israel and Palestine], pp. 65-79.

Edited Volumes and Journals:

  • (under review) (with Cristina Papa) After anthropocentrism? Environmental conflicts, socialmovements, and power, Journal of Political Ecology, special issue.
  • 2012 (with Amalia Rossi): Comprendere il dissenso. Etnografia e l'antropologia dei movimenti sociali, Morlacchi Editore, Perugia [Understanding dissent. Ethnography and the anthropology of social movements].

Documentary:

  •  La verità liquida. La storia dell'attivismo per la terra dei beduini in Israele (Documentary 2008, 43,00 min.), Morlacchi Editori, Perugia [Liquid Truth. A Story of Activism for Bedouin Land-Rights in Israel].

Miscellanea:

  • 2012: Identita’ e pluralita’ nel dialogo interreligioso. Manuale delle buone pratiche in cinque passi. CIDIS, Perugia [Identity and Pluralism in Interreligious Dialogues. A Manual of Good Practices in Five Steps].
  • 2010: Internationaler Workshop 'Engaged Voices? Ethnographic Approachs Towards Social Movements' - Ein Blick hinter die Kulissen, in: Jahresbersicht des Seminars fuer Europaeische Ethnologie, Universitaet Muenster, Germany.
  • 2003: Per Anhalter in die Sahara. Und hinter dem Horizont immer noch derselbe Asphalt, in: Deutsche Rundschau, April 2003.
  • 1999: Das Nichts aushalten. Zwischen den Muellmenschen von Kairo, in: Deutsche Rundschau, July 1999.
  • 1997: Anti-Paedagogik: das Ende der Erziehungsideologie?, in: “Hoer auf zu lernen, beginn zu denken – SchuelerInnenreader”, Ludwig-Quidde-Forum, Wuppertal, pp. 17-20.