al-Masalek wa al-Mamalek: A Treatise/Letter in Political Geography

This six-session workshop delves into the intersections of geography and political science, emphasizing how spatial and temporal dynamics influence power relations. Through the lenses of geography (locations, territories, and spatial forms) and political science (structures among groups and individuals), participants will examine how sovereignty materializes spatially, creating "states of exception" and reinforcing hierarchies via urban planning, borders, segregation, and infrastructure.

The workshop encourages critical reflection on spatial experiences, imaginaries, and narratives that shape, critique, and dismantle power dynamics by territorialization, re-territorialization and deterritorialization. By investigating specific spatial paradigms, such as mobility, smuggling, erasure, borders, storytelling and speed, participants will develop "disobedient spatial epistemologies" using decolonial and counter-hegemonic methods. This workshop equips participants to critically assess and reimagine spatial paradigms to challenge dominant spatial power relations.

Instructor

Abdalla Bayyari is a researcher at the Institute for Palestine Studies, writer, academic, and art practitioner. He is a member of the editorial board of Palestine Studies Journal. His research interests include decolonizing geography, mobility studies, and spatial resistance. His current research projects explore the interplay between geography, urbanity, and body in the Israeli colonial apparatus through counter-cartographic practices. Bayyari is a member of the Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA), Urban Affairs Association, and Geographic Association. He is a visiting lecturer in many universities and institutes. Several of his writings have been published via various platforms. His upcoming works include 'Ruins and Emptiness in the Israeli Colonial Apparatus' (in English, 2024), 'Barefoot Resistance: On Producing Space Through Mobility' (in English, 2025), and 'On Urbicide: Production and Destruction of Space in Colonial Apparatus' (in English, 2025). Bayyari has also recently published a paper in Arabic titled 'Where Does Urbicide Begin?' (Idafat Journal, Issue 65, Summer 2024).