Village Series, Part I

Two Sessions: May 8 & 22, 2026, Friday
Time: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST
Location: Online, Zoom link will be emailed at 10am EST on event day
Instructor: Wafa Ghnaim
Registration Fee: Sliding scale within range

Description:

Until the mid-twentieth century, the dress of the Palestinian people was descriptive of identity; first by societal segment (city dweller, villager or nomad), and then by the region in which the wearer came. Within each regional style, finer distinctions in women’s dress (thobe) were expressed that shared the maker’s life and the natural world around her. Palestinian women recorded their identity in their thobe with embroidery (tatreez) through a shared illustrative language of embroidered patterns, stitching techniques and thread colors. The thobe records unwritten stories and serves as a visual register of collective and individual identities, documenting a woman’s village, tribe or town, her marital status, her familial lineage, and the material impact of colonialism, occupation, war and exile. The regional identity of the woman defines the overall governing style of her thobe, and evidence of identity is largely through her relationship to land. 

This course is a consolidated version of a portion of the Village Series, with updates, originally taught across twelve classes. Between 2020 and 2023, Wafa taught 22 cohorts of students. This consolidated version includes the villages and cities noted below, and does not have a stitching component. These are lectures only.

Session 1: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Nablus, Tubas
Session 2: Bir Saba and North Sinai, with discussion of other Bedouin styles in historic Palestine

Authored by Wafa Ghnaim

What You’ll Receive:

• Live access to both sessions, each 2-hours that include Q&A sessions

• A recording for 7 days after the live session

Important Notes:

• Tickets include access to both sessions and are nonrefundable.

• This is a live virtual event hosted via Zoom. If you are unable to attend live, you may still register to receive access to the recording.

• Registration closes at 10:00 AM EST on the morning of the first lecture.

• Waiting room closes at 12:30 PM EST.

• All participant names should match their registration name.

• A Zoom link will be sent to registered participants at 10am EST on event day.

• The instructor reserves the right to review and decline registrations at her discretion to ensure a respectful and safe learning environment for all participants.

• Camera sharing is required for all attendees.

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