Seminar

Breakfast seminar: More than the humanitarian gaze and the portrayal of refugees

Thursday 2 February from 09:30
What is the humanitarian gaze? What image is created of the refugee?

Digital Lab at the University of Bergen (UiB) is hosting a breakfast conversation to explore these questions, based on the new exhibition “More than the humanitarian gaze” a collection from UN photographer Jørgen Grinde’s work in the Middle East in the 1950s.

The conversation will be held in Bergen on Thursday 2 February from 09:30–10:15 at Babelstuen, UiB Library for Humanities, Haakon Sheteligs plass 7 on the first floor. 

In this conversation, curator of the exhibition Kjersti G. Berg (Chr. Michelsen Institute, CMI), together with Sarah Tobin (CMI) and Osama Shaheen, a Palestinian refugee and journalist at Bergens Tidende, will use the exhibition as a basis to discuss how our perceptions of refugees and Palestinians affect how we understand, tackle and relate to both Palestinian refugees, the Israel-Palestine conflict and also refugee questions more broadly.  

The panel will also explore what can we read from Grinde’s photographs of Palestinian refugees and how do portrayals of refugees affect our perceptions of refugees and the handling of refugee crises. Synnøve Vik, Head of Image Collection, will moderate the conversation.

Registration is required and there will be light refreshments during the event. Register here to attend.

Find out more information about the panel and the breakfast seminar here. The discussion will take place in English.

The exhibition “More than the humanitarian gaze” can be viewed in-person at the UiB Library for the Humanities until 15 May 2023. The exhibition is also available online here and the catalogue can be downloaded here. The catalogue includes short commentary on the historical and political background of the Palestinian refugee crisis and the UN’s humanitarian work in the Middle East.

The NCHS is pleased to support this exhibition through the NCHS Research Network Dynamic Seed Funding Initiative.