test Using Ghassan Kanafani’s Men in the Sun novella to explore Palestinian Youth’s perceptions of the notions of Emigration and Homeland|Education & Theatre

Using Ghassan Kanafani’s Men in the Sun novella to explore Palestinian Youth’s perceptions of the notions of Emigration and Homeland

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Published: Nov 29, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/edth.43263
Keywords:
Palestine pre-text drama Men in the Sun found poetry emigration homeland
Hala Al-Yamani
Bethlehem University
Abdelfattah Abusrour
Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society, Palestine
Fadel Alsawayfa
Bethlehem University, Palestine
Abstract

This article examines important aspects of the lives of Palestinian youth, who endurea reality of persistent challenges and existential threats. One significant challenge isthe appropriation of Palestinian culture by the occupying power, which systematicallytargets all aspects of daily life. Using Ghassan Kanafani’s Men in the Sun, researchersexplored the extent to which Palestinian youth are aware of their sense of belonging,their homeland, emigration and displacement, by developing dramatic scenes from thenovella. This involves encouraging participants to work on these scenes and presenttheir ideas and perspectives on the pre-text drama and the above topics included inthese scenes, as a teaching strategy. Five Master’s students participated in this study,which adopted a qualitative interpretative approach enriched by found poetry to ana-lyse the data and presentations. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, re-searcher observations during workshop sessions and participants’ reflective journals.The results revealed that the participants enjoyed learning through this pre-text dra-ma strategy and learned how to use this technique in teaching and learning. They ex-pressed a strong sense of belonging to their homeland and a rejection of emigration.

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Author Biographies
Hala Al-Yamani, Bethlehem University

Dr Hala Rashed Al-Yamani is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Bethlehem University in the WestBank, Palestine. She is the former Dean of the Faculty of Education and Chair of Early Childhood Education. She hasworked with national and international teams to develop the MA programme, “Creative Pedagogies and CommunityPractices”. She teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses related to creative pedagogies, such as drama ineducation, storytelling, oral interpretation and theatre in education. She leads projects and conducts research basedon arts-based methodology, using pre-text drama as the primary tool in education and early childhood education, aswell as in pre-service and in-service programmes within cultural and intercultural contexts. She has also performed inseveral Palestinian plays. Furthermore, she has led, researched and directed theatre projects incorporating elementsof community theatre, such as forum theatre and street theatre.

Abdelfattah Abusrour, Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society, Palestine

Abdelfattah Abusrour is an author, actor, theatre director and trainer, as well as a researcher. He is also an Ashokasocial entrepreneur and a Synergos social innovator. He is the founder and general director of the Alrowwad Culturaland Arts Society, which was established in 1998 in the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, Palestine. He developed theconcept of Beautiful Resistance, which uses performing and visual arts as a creative and peaceful form of expressionin situations of oppression and trauma. This approach aims to save lives, inspire hope and encourage individuals tobecome peacebuilders within their communities and beyond. He has contributed to educational research and taughtdrama and storytelling in education. He has also conducted conferences and practical workshops in different countries.

Fadel Alsawayfa, Bethlehem University, Palestine

Fadel Alsawayfa, EdD, is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Bethlehem University in Palestine andthe Chair of the Early Childhood Education Department. He teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students coursessuch as Drama in Education, Storytelling, Play and Creativity, Arts-Based Research, Creative Pedagogy and CommunityPractices and Mantle of the Expert. He uses self-reflexive methodologies such as self-study, poetic inquiry, autoethnog-raphy and narrative inquiry. He is passionate about research and teaching methods inspired by the arts and creativity.He recently published a book with Brill Sense titled The Road to Found Poetry: Understanding People’s Perceptions andLived Experiences Creatively.

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