Faculty & Staff

George Giacaman

Personal Data:

P.O.Box 1346
Ramallah, West Bank
Via Israel
Phone: 972-2-2954104 (Home)
Fax: 972-2-2961340 (Home)
Phone: 972-2-2982040 (Office-Birzeit)
Fax: 972-2-2982986 (Office-Birzeit)
Email: dean-gs@birzeit.edu
Web: muwatin@muwatin.org Date of Birth: October 17, 1946
Place of Birth: Bethlehem, Palestine

Education:

High School Diploma, 1964, College de La Salle, Bethlehem
G.C.E. "O" and "A" levels, 1964-1965, Brummana High School, Brummana, Lebanon
B.A. in Philosophy, minor Social Sciences, 1969, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
Ph.D. in Philosophy, 1976, State University of New York at Buffalo

Areas of Writing and Research Interest:

Contemporary Western Philosophy, Islamic Philosophy, Current Islamist views on Democracy, Issues in Democratization, Concepts of Civil Society, Societal Organization including the role of Non-Governmental Organizations

Academic and Administrative Experience:

Dean of Graduate Studies, Birzeit University, 1996 to present
Graduate Program in Democracy and Human Rights, Co-founder and member of Program Council, Birzeit University, 1998 to present
Associate Professor of Philosophy, Birzeit University, 1983 to present; tenured
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Birzeit university, 1976 to 1983
Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Birzeit University, 1993 to 1995
Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Birzeit university, 1981 to 1985
Chair, Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies, 1977 to 1981
Visiting Lecturer, D'Youville College, Buffalo, New York, Fall,1975
Instructor, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York, September 1973 to September 1976
Data Processing Clerk, Wells Fargo Bank, San Francisco, California, 1972

Other Professional Experience:

Coordinator, Research Unit, Al-Haq, Palestinian Organization for Human Rights, 1991 to 1992
Co-Founder and Board Member, Muwatin, The Palestinian Institute for the Study of Democracy, January 1992 to present
Program Coordinator, Muwatin, The Palestinian Institute for the Study of Democracy, 1992 to 1995
Board Member, The Jerusalem Center for Human Rights, 1994 to present (Chair, 1996)
Founding Member, Palestinian NGO Network, 1995
Elected Member, Steering Committee, Palestinian NGO Network, 1995 to present
Board Member, Palestinian Hydrology Group, 1996 to present
Board Member, Teacher's Creativity Center, 1997 to present
Editor in Chief, Parliamentary Horizons, (Arabic monthly documentary newsletter covering the work of the Palestinian Legislative Council), 1997 to present

Publications:

Books

• Co-editor, Rent-Seeking and State Formation in Palestine (with M.Khan and I.Amundsen), forthcoming, 2003 (book based on results of 18 months research project on corruption and state formation in Palestine. Team composed of eight researchers).
• Co-editor, After Oslo: New Realities, Old Problems (London: Pluto Press), 1998
• Editor, On the Democratic Option (Beirut: Center for Arab Unity Studies), 1994
• General Editor, Foundations of Democracy Series, Muwatin Publications, 1995 to present (an educational series meant for use by beginning university students and the general public)

Articles: English

• "Ghazali on Miracles and Necessary Connection," (with R.Bahlul), Medieval Philosophy and Theology, (Cambridge University Press: Vol. 9, 2000).
• "Perspectives on Civil Society in Palestine," in Proceedins of Conference held by the Wellfare Association on Government-NGO relations, September, 2000.
• "Popular Movements and Democratic Transformation in Palestine," News From Within, Vol. XVI, No. 3, 2000.
• "Order and Disorder After Oslo: Some Parallels Between Algeria and Palestine," forthcoming, in a volume to be published by the University of Tampere, Finland, 2002.
• "In the Throes of Oslo: Palestinian Society, Civil Society, and the Future," in After Oslo:New Realities,Old Problems, G.Giacaman and D.J.Lonning eds. (London: Pluto Press), 1998, pp. 1-15
• "Kafka on the West Bank,” Harper’s Magazine, February, 1995, (with Fateh Azzam)
• "Human Rights in the Throes of Politics," Proceedings: International Conference on Human Rights, Jerusalem: Law and Water Institute, 1993
• "Tradition and Innovation: Two Muslim Views of Causal Relations," Philosophy and Culture, Montreal: Editions Montmorency, 1986
• “Ducasse’s Critique of Hume and the Humean Tradition," Proceedings of the Charles S. Peirce Society, Vol. XV, No. 4, 1979
• "Miller and James on Analysis and Determinism," Journal of the History of Philosophy, Vol. XVI, No. 2, 1978 (with E.H.Madden)
• "The Relation Between Ideas and Material Existence in the Philosophy of Marx," Discourse, Summer, 1970

Articles: Arabic

• "Lessons from the Intifada," Inter-Arab Dialogue on the Second Intifada, M. Kassees ed. (Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies, Birzeit University, and Center for Strategic Studies, University of Jordan, 2001).
• "Mass Movements and Democratic Transition in Palestine," The Palestinian's Women's Movement: Problematics of Democratic Transformation and Future Strategies, (Ramallah: Muwatin, The Palestinian Institute for the Study of Democracy, 2000).
• "From Revolution To State: Difficulties of Transition and Future Prospects," forthcoming in proceedings of conference on political change and transition, Graduate Institute for International Studies, Birzeit University, October, 2000.
• "Palestinian Civil Society at the Present Juncture," Al-Siyasah Al-Filistiniyyah, Vol. 6, No. 24, Autumn, 1999.
• "After the Crisis: Approaches for Rebuilding," in Structural Transformations in Palestinian Political Life and Prospects for Change, Ramallah: Muwatin Publications, 1999
• "On the Transition to Democracy: A Critique of the PLO Model," Comparative Perspectives on the Transition to Democracy, Ramallah: Muwatin Publications, 1998
• "What is Political Action?," Pluralism and Democracy: The Crisis of Palestinian Political Parties, Ramallah: Muwatin Publications, 1996
• "Civil Society and Authority," Critical Papers on Palestinian Democracy, Ramallah: Muwatin Publications, 1995
• "Democracy at the Turn of the Century: Towards an Intellectual Map," On the Democratic Option, G.Giacaman ed. (Beirut: Center for Arab Unity Studies) 1994, pp.15-53
• "What Agenda for Democracy?" Sawt Al-Watan, Cyprus, May 15, 1993
• "Palestinian Society in the West Bank and Gaza," Beirut: Majallat Al-Dirasat Al-Filistiniyyah, No. V, Winter, 1991 (review article)
• "Palestinian Intellectual Output in the West Bank and Gaza," Afaq Filistiniyyah: The Birzeit Research Journal, No. VI, Summer, 1991

Conferences and Other Contributions:

Over sixty contributions to conferences, seminars, and workshops in Europe, the United States, Canada, and in the West Bank and Gaza, over eighty newspaper articles, and over 15 book reviews in English and Arabic

Membership of Professional Associations:

American Philosophical Association
Middle East Studies Association of North America
International Society for Third-Sector Research

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