Fashioning the keffiyeh as a Palestinian anti-colonial medium

Bibliographic Data

ID12918378
AuthorsBernardita M Yunis Varas (0000-0003-3187-7043, Communication & Information Design, Colorado State University , Pueblo, CO), Sarah Cathryn Majed Dweik (0000-0002-7516-3133, Department of Communication Arts & Sciences , State College, PA, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume19
Issue1
Pages23-26
Publication date2026-01-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCommunication Culture and Critique (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1753-9137 • E-ISSN: 1753-9129
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/ccc/tcaf058
OpenAlexW7146966734
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited12

The keffiyeh, an extension of Palestinian lived experiences, spread in use since the genocide in Gaza accelerated in October 2023. We expand previous understandings of it as merely a symbol, exploring the keffiyeh as an anti-colonial medium communicating a Palestinian identity, which is inherently anti-colonial. Its anti-colonial qualities are reinforced in how forces of empire silence and criminalize the keffiyeh’s use. Through studying moments of the keffiyeh’s use and responses to it, we demonstrate how the keffiyeh mediates our anti-colonial Palestinian identity and resistance to Zionism. Through this study, we encourage further investigation into this Palestinian medium to better understand Palestinian meaning-making processes and our collective anti-colonial fights for liberation. Stop the genocide, Free Palestine

Empire · Extension (predicate logic · Genocide · Identity (music · Resistance (ecology · Silence · Agricultural and Environmental Management · Belt and Road Initiative · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies

Tools

Open DOI