Abstract

This thesis investigates the notion of homeland from the point of view of PLO returnees: the clash between the vision of Palestine as 'homeland', the vision of a state, and the present reality. The study is mainly based on semi-structured interviews, and also uses life histories and narratives of the selected sample of the PLO Returnees. Theoretically, this work is backed by the work of a number of authors in anthropology, sociology, geography and political science. The centrality of the notion of 'homeland', the notion of memory construction, the role of the imagination in building a nation and/or community and the diaspora experiences are all central in the theoretical formulation. The choice of this research topic about Palestine is supported by the absence of research focused on understanding the notion of 'homeland' in Palestine in general and in particular, from the perspective of the PLO returnees, the impact of their vision on the Palestinian discourse about homeland, return, and the formation of a Palestinian state. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)