Timothy Seidel

DEPARTMENT: Applied Social Sciences Dept

POSITION: Assistant Professor

DEPARTMENT: CJP - Center for Justice & Peacebuilding

POSITION: Assistant Professor

DEPARTMENT: Center for Interfaith Engagement

POSITION: Director

LOCATION: Main Campus, Harrisonburg | RLN 223

PHONE: (540) 432-4161

EMAIL: timothy.seidel@emu.edu

Timothy Seidel teaches courses on politics, development, and peacebuilding in the Department of Applied Social Sciences and the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. He also serves as director for the Center for Interfaith Engagement (CIE), a center that promotes collaboration among scholars and practitioners and partners with community and national organizations to build a more just and peaceful world through interreligious and intercultural understanding. Seidel has worked in various development and peacebuilding contexts in North America and the Middle East, including serving for several years with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), first as peace development worker in Palestine-Israel and then as director for Peace and Justice Ministries in the U.S. Seidel previously taught at American University and Lancaster Theological Seminary. He holds an MTS from Wesley Theological Seminary and a PhD from the School of International Service at American University in Washington, DC.

Education

BS, Messiah College (Major: Biochemistry Minor: Mathematics, Anthropology)
MTS, Wesley Theological Seminary (Theological Studies)
MA, American University (International Peace and Conflict Resolution)
PHD, American University (International Relations)

Publications
Journal Articles
Edited Books
- Palestine and Rule of Power: Local Dissent vs. International Governance, co-edited with Alaa Tartir (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019).
- The Hizmet Movement and Peacebuilding: Global Cases, co-edited with Mohammed Abu-Nimer (Lanham, Md.: Lexington, 2018).
Guest Editor
- Guest co-editor with Alina Sajed of Special Issue, “Escaping the Nation? Anti-colonial Imaginaries and Postcolonial Settlements,” Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies 21.5 (2019).
Book Chapters
- “Sovereign Bodies, Sovereign States: Settler Colonial Violence and the Visibility of Resistance in Palestine” in Palestine and Rule of Power: Local Dissent vs. International Governance, eds. A. Tartir and T. Seidel (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019).
- “The Rule of Power in Palestine: Settler Colonialism, Neoliberal Governance, and Resistance” (with Alaa Tartir) in Palestine and Rule of Power: Local Dissent vs. International Governance, eds. A. Tartir and T. Seidel (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019).
- “Introduction: The Hizmet Movement and Peacebuilding” (with Mohammed Abu-Nimer) in The Hizmet Movement and Peacebuilding: Global Cases, eds. M. Abu-Nimer and T. Seidel (Lanham, Md.: Lexington, 2018).
- “Religion, Politics, and Conflict Transformation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories” (with Mohammed Abu-Nimer) in Conflict Transformation and the Palestinians: Dynamics of Peace and Justice under Occupation, eds. A. Özerdem, C. Thiessen, and M. Qassoum (London: Routledge, 2017).
- “Culture, Religion, and Politics in International Mediation” (with Mohammed Abu-Nimer) in The Handbook of Mediation: Theory, Research and Practice, ed. A. Georgakopoulos (London: Routledge, 2017).
- “Peace and Reconciliation Processes” (with Mohammed Abu-Nimer) in The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity and Nationalism, eds. J. Stone, X. Hou, R. M. Dennis, P. S. Rizova, and A. D. Smith (Malden, Mass.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2015).
- “Development as Peacebuilding and Resistance: Alternative Narratives of Nonviolence in Palestine-Israel” in Nonviolent Resistance in the Second Intifada: Activism and Advocacy, eds. M. Carter Hallward and J. Norman (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011).
- “Conflict Resolved or Conflict Created?” in Conflict Transformation and Restorative Justice Manual: Foundations and Skills for Mediation and Facilitation, 5th ed., eds. M. E. Armster and L. Stutzman Amstutz, (Akron, Pa.: Mennonite Central Committee, 2009).
- “Independence or Nakba?: A Sketch of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict,” “Getting Grounded: The Land Belongs to God,” “Palestinian Christians: The Forgotten Faithful” in Under Vine and Fig Tree: Biblical Theologies of Land and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, ed. A. Epp Weaver (Telford, Pa.: Cascadia Publishing, 2007).
Book Reviews
- “Religion and the Postsecular Challenge in Peacebuilding and Reconciliation: A Review of Atone: Religion, Conflict, and Reconciliation, eds. B. D. Lundy, A. G. Adebayo, and S. W. Hayes.” Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology 25.3 (2019): 271-272.
- “Review of Allen, Lori, The Rise and Fall of Human Rights: Cynicism and Politics in Occupied Palestine,” H-Diplo, H-Net Reviews (January 2014).
Scholarly Presentations and Abstracts
- “‘No Act of Nonviolence Ever Goes Unpunished’: Representations of Violence, Nonviolence, and Political Subjectivity in Palestine,” International Studies Association, Honolulu, HI, March 2020.
- “Theology and Peacebuilding: Decolonial and Postsecular Explorations?” Theology and Peacebuilding (Consultation), Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), Elkhart, IN, March 2020.
- “Violence, Nonviolence, and the Work of Binaries in Peace and Conflict Studies,” Peace and Conflict 3.0: Redefining Knowledge and Practice in our Field (Consultation), George Mason University and Middlebury College, Washington, DC, October 2019.
- “Book Talk: Palestine and Rule of Power: Local Dissent vs. International Governance,” Palestine Center, Washington, DC, May 2019.
- “Borders, Barriers, and Walls that Act upon Flesh: The Violence of Borders, the Politics of Movement in the Palestine-Israel and U.S.-Mexico Borderlands,” International Studies Association, Toronto, ON, March 2019.
- “Violence, Nonviolence, and the Possibilities of Political Subjectivity,” Peace and Justice Studies Association, Philadelphia, PA, September 2018.
- “‘Emigrantes, Palestinos, Estamos Unidos’: Anti-Colonial Connectivity and Resistance along the ‘Palestine-Mexico’ Border,” International Studies Association, San Francisco, CA, April 2018.
- “Sovereign Bodies, Sovereign States: The Violence and Visibility of Resistance in Palestine,” International Studies Association, San Francisco, CA, April 2018.
- “Neoliberal Developments, National Consciousness, and Political Economies of Resistance in Palestine,” International Studies Association, Baltimore, MD, February 2017.
- “‘Improving People’s Lives Is Resistance’: Geographies of Violence and Resistance in Palestine,” International Studies Association, Baltimore, MD, February 2017.
- “The Claims of Modernity: Liberal Peace, Sacred Violence, and State Sovereignty,” International Studies Association, Atlanta, GA, March 2016.
- “‘Occupied Territory Is Occupied Territory’: James Baldwin, Palestine, and the Possibilities of Transnational Solidarity,” International Studies Association, Atlanta, GA, March 2016 & Peace and Justice Studies Association, Harrisonburg, VA, October 2015.
- “‘Where Is the Palestinian Gandhi?’: Power and Resistance in Late Modernity,” International Studies Association, New Orleans, LA, February 2015.
Church, Community and Professional Service
- Co-Director, Orie Miller Center, Eastern Mennonite University, 2018-present.
- Board of Directors, Peace and Justice Studies Association, 2014-2018.
- Teacher, Christian Education Program, Community Mennonite Church of Harrisonburg, Harrisonburg, VA, 2017-2020.
- Outreach Committee, Community Mennonite Church of Harrisonburg, Harrisonburg, VA, 2018-2019
- Steering Committee, Mennonite Palestine Israel Network, 2013-2017.
- Co-Facilitator, Palestine-Israel Intergroup Dialogue, Center for Diversity and Inclusion, American University, Washington, DC, 2014-2015.
- Teacher, Christian Education Program (Senior Youth and Adult), Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster, Lancaster, PA, 2013-2016.
- Co-Leader, Palestine-Israel Delegation, Interfaith Peace-Builders, Washington, DC, 2012.
- Chair, Justice and Spirituality Committee, Community Mennonite Church, Lancaster, PA, 2010-2012.
- Board of Directors, Lancaster Interchurch Peace Witness, Lancaster, PA, 2009-2012.
- Chair, Historic Peace Churches/ Fellowship of Reconciliation Consultative Committee, 2009-2012.
Honors, Awards and Grants
- Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Languages Grant (Project Director), U.S. Department of Education, 2018-20.
- Teaching Interfaith Understanding Seminar, Council of Independent Colleges and Interfaith Youth Core, DePaul University, Chicago, IL, June 2018.
- Dissertation Award, Peace and Justice Studies Association, 2017.
- Edward W. Said Award, Global Development Studies Section, International Studies Association, 2016.
- Alan Taylor Memorial Award for Excellence in Middle Eastern Studies and University Service, American University School of International Service, 2016.
- Randall Research Scholarship, Nonviolence International, 2014-15.
Professional Memberships
International Studies Association (ISA)
Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA)
Middle East Studies Association (MESA)
Palestinian American Research Center (PARC)
Courses Taught
"Introduction to Global Studies."
"History of the Middle East."
"Understanding Violent Conflict."
"Globalization and Justice."
"Social and Political Economy."
"Global Development."
"Foundations for Justice and Peacebuilding II" (co-instructor).

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Timothy Seidel

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