Nadia Sonneveld | Picturing Scholasticide – The Destruction of Education in Palestine

Scholasticide is the deliberate destruction of an educational system and its institutions. In Gaza, institutions of higher education were reduced to rubble, one after another, in just a few months. What happens when your university is gone? How do you continue your studies, or your work as a teacher? In a society that deeply values education as a path toward a better future, the destruction of a university reaches far beyond its walls.

In “Picturing Scholasticide”, a group of students and staff from Leiden University and various Gazan universities, in partnership with Gazan photographers and web designers, and the Royal Academic of Art in The Hague, provides a visual testament to the destruction of education in Gaza. Through a traveling exhibition and website, they document the devastation, share the testimonies of students and colleagues, commemorate what has been lost, raise awareness, and support the rebuilding of education institutions in Gaza and across Palestine. In this public lecture, we trace Picturing Scholasticide’s journey.

Nadia Sonneveld has a multidisciplinary background in Anthropology, Arabic, and Law. Her socio-legal research focuses on life events, religion, law and citizenship in the Middle East and North Africa. She works as an Associate Professor at the Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance and Society, Leiden Law School in the Netherlands.

Photos by Shadi al-Tabatiby (left) and Youssef al-Zanoun (right).

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The lecture starts at 6 pm. We work on a first-come, first-served basis as the number of seats is limited. We open our doors at 5:30 and close them at 6:15 or earlier when the lecture room reaches its full capacity.