Newswise — Dr. Riad Nasser, a sociology professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ, earned his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland and his master's degree at Clark University in Massachusetts. His new book, "Palestinian Identity in Jordan and Israel: the Necessary 'Other' in the Making of a Nation," was published in 2005 by Routledge.
As a Palestinian citizen of Israel, he has worked to promote understanding between Israelis and Palestinians on both sides of the "Green Line." In his studies, Dr. Nasser looks at history curricula and analyzes how the state educational system attempts to construct the collective memory of its respective citizens while silencing the history and presence of the Other.
In 2005, he will see the publication of his study on school textbooks in Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. In 2006, Lexington books will publish his "Segregation and Domination: the Collective Identity of Palestinian in Israel." His on-going research is currently focused on regional Arab media and the regional political forces competing on shaping the new emerging Arab Middle Eastern collective identity.
At FDU, Dr. Nasser teaches courses in nationalism and ethnicity; conflicts in sociological and cultural perspective; comparative perspectives on religion; and globalization, culture and identity.
Dr. Nasser said, "Both Zionist and pan-Arab dreams and ideologies have failed. Peace can only be achieved when the Israelis acknowledge their responsibility in the making of the Palestinian tragedy and when the Palestinians start to realize that the Israelis are part of the Arab region's landscape.
"A peaceful solution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will remove cultural, political and psychological barriers between West and East and it will open up opportunities for global stability."
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