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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Una McGahernORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
This paper explores the place of the university in the struggle for spatial and mobility justice in Palestine, focusing on Al Quds University (AQU) in occupied East Jerusalem. Recognising the function of the university as one that requires the movement and circulation of bodies, ideas and knowledge, as well as co-presence in physical space (Rink 2017), we examine how the university has moved over time to deliver its function, maintain its presence, and defend the Palestinian right to the city. Undertaking a spatial history of the university supported by semi-structured interviews with students and staff as well as maps and photos of the university, we argue that, in spite of ongoing attempts to fracture, isolate, and remove it from the city, the university continues to function as a mobile constellation of heterotopic spaces that remain rhizomatically connected to one another and to the city through the moves of students and staff, as well as of the university itself. Reconsidering the function of the university through the lens of mobility and presence, our analysis reveals the more dynamic and mobile place(ment) of the university in the city and in the struggle for spatial and mobility justice in Palestine.
Author(s): McGahern U, Asali Nuseibeh R
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Mobilities
Year: 2026
Pages: Epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 07/08/2026
Acceptance date: 28/07/2026
Date deposited: 03/08/2026
ISSN (print): 1745-0101
ISSN (electronic): 1745-011X
Publisher: Routledge
URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2026.2714270
DOI: 10.1080/17450101.2026.2714270
ePrints DOI: 10.57711/jqaf-rk03
Data Access Statement: The participants of this study did not give written consent for their data to be shared publicly, so due to the sensitive nature of the research supporting data is not available.
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