Our faculty at William & Mary are making global contributions with their research. In our recent blog series, we interview faculty with recent publications for insight into their scholarship.
Dr. Stephen Sheehi (Sultan Qaboos bin Said Chair of Middle East Studies) co-authored with Lara Sheehi (George Washington University Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology) to publish Psychoanalysis under occupation: practicing resistance in Palestine.
In 2-3 sentences, describe your scholarship to someone unfamiliar with the field.
The front cover of "Psychoanalysis under Occupation"
Psychoanalysis under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine unpacks the intersection of psychoanalysis as a psychological practice in Palestine, while also advancing a set of therapeutic theories in which to critically engage and "read" the politically complex array of conditions that define life for Palestinians living under Israeli settler colonialism.
What was the most exciting/interesting part of this project for you?
The most exciting and rewarding part of this book and project for me personally was developing five years of close relationships and engaging in challenging conversations with Palestinian clinical psychologists and psychodynamic therapists throughout Palestine. Their stories, their insights, their hopes and work provided me and my co-author Lara Sheehi with worlds to which we did not have access, world that are inspiring, powerful, and as full of hope, love and resistance as much as they are filled with the pain inflicted on them by a systematic Israeli colonial project.
Who might be interested in reading this book?
Anyone interested in the struggle for the liberation of Palestine will find this book inspiring and enlightening. Also, psychologists, social workers, therapists and counsellors will find this book of great interest especially those interested in critical use and theories of psychoanalysis as decolonial, anti-racist and liberatory practice.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
This book recently (in Nov 2022) won the Palestine Book Award's Best Academic Book on Palestine 2022
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