Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Born in Jenin on 9 Feb. 1943; BA Geography, Damascus University, Syria (1964); teacher of Geography at Jenin Secondary School from 1964-68; Education Supervisor in Jenin from 1968-73; PhD in Geography, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany (1980); Assistant Professor at the Middle Eastern Studies Dept., Birzeit University (1978-80); Dean, Faculty of Arts, Birzeit University (1980-82); Chairman, Middle Eastern Studies Dept. (1982-83); Dir., Research Center, Birzeit University (1983-84); Associate Professor, Geography Program, Dept. of History, Geography and Political Science, Birzeit University (1984-90 and from 1994-present); Visiting Professor, Villanova University (1990-91 and 1995-96); Associate Professor, Geography Program, Birzeit University (1991-93); Visiting Professor, Bayreuth University, Germany (1993-94); Chairman, Contemporary Arab Studies MA Program, Birzeit University (since 1996); former member of the Council of Higher Education in the West Bank and Gaza (1982-89); member of the editorial board of Afaq Filastiniyya (Birzeit University’s Research Journal); made numerous contributions to Palestinian organizations, incl. being founding member of the Palestinian Geographical Society, Board of Trustees member of the Arab Studies Society, the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA) (since 1987) and the Arab Though Forum in Jerusalem; worked together with other Arab Geographers on the Arab Homeland Atlas, published by the Union of Arab Universities and served as member of the Union’s Board of Directors (1982-1986); also member of the German Geographical Society and has participated in the Atlas Vorderer Orient, published by the University of Tübingen, Germany.
Source
Achievements and Awards
Holder of the Abdul Hamid Shuman Prize for Arab Scientists in Social Sciences (1983) and the Palestine Prize for Social Sciences (Geography), 1997; specialist on Palestinian Geography, incl. the Judaization of the Palestinian cultural landscape and the destruction of Palestinian villages, a topic which he researched extensively (e.g., Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century, co-authored with Wolf Dieter Hütteroth, Fränkische Geographische Gesellschaft, Erlangen, Germany, 1977; and Mountain, Farmer and Fellah in ‘Asir, Southwest Saudi Arabia. The Conditions of Agriculture in a Traditional Society, (Erlangen, Germany, 1981).
- Years in active
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