Poetic restoration, dùchas, and interconnectedness: there is no Other

The seminar will focus on the still unfolding process of writing a collaborative paper that adopts a decolonial lens to address the current conflict in Gaza. Beginning with a firm stance that is non-violent, we use poetry and the Gaelic pre-colonial concept of Dùchas to reflect on interconnectedness and the common pursuit of hope as solidarity against oppression and despair. We recognise the dangers of an unreflective decolonial stance that appears epistemically plural but ends up recentering the’ west’ (Barnawi, R’Boul, 2024). For this reason, we begin from our locus of knowledge to find (inter)cultural threads (Holliday, Amadasi, 2020) for intercultural understanding, dialogue and peacebuilding.