Reclaiming Humanity in Palestinian Hunger Strikes: Revolutionary Subjectivity and Decolonizing the Body

Rooted in feminist ethnography and decolonial feminist theory, this book explores the subjectivity of Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli prisons, as shaped by resistance. It examines how they use their bodies in anti-colonial resistance, the determinants of this mode of struggle, the meanings they ascribe to their actions, and how they constitute their subjectivity while undergoing extreme bodily pain and starvation. The book sheds light on the participants' views of the hunger strike, as they move beyond customary understandings of the political into the realm of the 'spiritualization of struggle.'

Format: Hardback
Length: 342 pages
Publication date: 15 December 2021
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG

This book, which is deeply rooted in feminist ethnography and decolonial feminist theory, delves into the subjective experiences of Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli prisons, exploring how resistance shapes their experiences. Author Ashjan Ajour examines the ways in which these prisoners utilize their bodies as tools of anti-colonial resistance, exploring the factors that drive this form of radical struggle, the meanings they ascribe to their actions, and how they construct their subjectivity amidst extreme physical pain and starvation. These hunger strikes, which embody the principles of decolonization and liberation, serve as a framework for the post-Oslo period, marked by the decline of the national struggle against settler-colonialism and the fragmentation of the Palestinian movement. Through narrative and analytical insights, the book sheds light on the perspectives of the hunger strikers, moving beyond conventional understandings of politics to embrace the realm of the "spiritualization of struggle." Ajour draws upon concepts from Foucault's notion of the technologies of the self, Fanon's writings on anti-colonial violence, and Badious' militant philosophy to problematize these concepts from the perspective of the Palestinian hunger strike.

Weight: 626g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783030881986
Edition number: 1st ed. 2021