ABOUT ELISE

Dr. Elise G. Young is a Middle East historian and tenured faculty member in the History Department at Westfield State College. She has conducted research in Palestine, Israel, and Jordan, and has written extensively on women and modern nation state building in those regions. She is author of Keepers of the History, Women and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Teacher's College Press, 1992), an innovative feminist historiography of the war over Palestine. Dr. Young's doctoral dissertation in Middle East history, based on research conducted in Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan in 1994/1995, is entitled: 'Between Daya and Doctor: A history of the impact of modern nation state building on health east and west of the Jordan River.'

Dr. Young is founder and director of The Global Women's History Project (GWHP) at Westfield State College. In her capacity as Director of GWHP Dr. Young has traveled to Ireland, India, and Pakistan, conducting research on women's organizations that subsequently sent members to GWHP events at Westfield State College. Dr. Young recently helped launch a new website with available transcripts from each Global Women's History Project convenings. Click here to visit Westfield State College GWHP site.       

Dr. Young produced  a short video in 1992, with Dr. Salwa Najjab-Khatib, entitled, 'Doctors, Friends, Sisters,' about the Women's Health Project of the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees founded by Dr. Salwa Najjab-Khatib. Dr. Young was a founding member of the Middle East Peace Coalition which supported her work in Palestine during the 1987 Intifada.           

Dr. Young is recipient of numerous grants, including a USIA/ACOR Fellowship. She was a Research Associate at the Five College Women's Studies Research Center in 1995-96. She is a Peer- Reviewer for 'Meridians, feminism, race, transnationalism.' Dr. Young is a member of AMEWS, and the Middle East Studies Association.           

Dr. Young graduated from Sarah Lawrence College (B.A.) and Columbia University, where she received an M.F.A. in Poetry. She received an Ed.D. in Multicultural Education and a Ph.D. in Middle East history, both from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She has published her poetry widely. Visit the publications page and Dr. Young's CV.         

In the early 1970's Dr. Young taught at City College of the City University of New York where she worked with pioneering educator, Dr. Mina Shaughnessey, and with June Jordan, Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, and others to develop the first 'multiculural curriculum' for predominantly Latino and African American students in writing and literature classes.     

In addition to numerous television and radio interviews and academic presentations, Dr. Young speaks widely with community groups on questions related to Middle East history reflecting her long standing interest in and research on the historical relationships between Jews, Muslims, and Christians in the Arab world; on women's history; on historiography; and on current events.           

Currently Dr. Young is developing a teacher training on Palestine that reflects a unique approach to teaching. This series of workshops focuses on the relevance of historiography to teaching and focuses on how feminist analysis changes how we conceptualize history. These sessions provide interested individuals and teachers with approaches and materials that stimulate critical thinking and praxis.