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13 June 2022

Liberal Arts Manifest in AQB Social Science Faculty's Research Approach

Liberal Arts Manifest in AQB Social Science Faculty's Research Approach

Al-Quds Bard College is the only liberal arts college in Palestine, an institution where faculty members teach across different divisions such as the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities and practicing arts. What makes AQB unique is its adaptation of the liberal educational approach which, through its interdisciplinary spirit, weaves the different programs together. To strengthen this cross-divisional approach, the faculty also are encouraged to search for topics that intersect with other disciplines. Dr. Sameh Hallaq, a Jerusalemite economist, who teaches within the Economics and STEP Programs, has been very active in researching topics that connect with a variety of fields.

Through his research, Dr. Hallaq has studied the special nature of Palestinian human capital, the impact of occupation, the quality of public education, and their relationships to the economy.  

In his recent paper entitled,  Effect of Witnessing House Raids and Arrests on Child behavior: Evidence from Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, (co-authored with Dr. Belal Fallah, published in Defense and Peace Economics Journal), Drs. Hallaq and Fallah argue that exposure to house raids or arrests of household members is more likely to increase children/students' engagement in violent behavior. This study has taken into consideration a large array of students’ socioeconomic status variables, in addition to school/class environment, family member political activities, and gender as independent covariates of the selected sample. 

Further, another article was published by Dr. Hallaq, First Palestinian Intifada and Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital, (Published in Studies in Economics and Econometrics Journal) in which he analyzes the impact of the first Palestinian Intifada’s restrictions on the schooling that limited parents’ educational attainment, which consequently affected their offspring’s cognitive development and school performance.  

AQB is eager to encourage faculty research as one of the main pillars of academic life on campus. This year several faculty members have been involved with research-based projects across the different fields and disciplines, made available through the Open Society University Network (OSUN). Stay tuned for further novel topics published by our faculty!