Bard College Berlin News
Ina Constantin ‘26 Presents at Historical Materialism Istanbul 2026
“There is a long history of Palestinian-led protests, conferences, and anti-Zionist campaigns in West Germany since the late 1950s, to protest the state’s imperial violence abroad and the repression of Palestinian life domestically,” she says. These histories, and the wider context of Third World solidarities in which they are embedded in, are not widely known, Constantin believes: “So I asked myself: How did this come to be? In other words, what were the processes through which Palestinian students in Germany were erased from the historical record?” “So I drew on historian Michel-Rolph Trouillot’s “Silencing the Past: Power and Production of History,” and insights from critical archival studies, to trace how silencing and power entwined and operated across the production of sources, the assembly of archives, and the making of narratives and of histories,” she adds.
The HM conferences are a product of an academic journal, Historical Materialism: Research in Critical Marxist Theory. The journal, based in London, is published four times a year and organizes the annual HM London Conference, now in its 22nd year. Affiliated networks also organize conferences in cities around the globe, including Athens, Istanbul, Cluj-Napoca, Sydney, and Barcelona.
Constantin visited last year’s Historical Materialism Athens 2025 conference, which she loved, “because it was a space that rejected detached academic critique and instead challenged the participants to think deeply about how their research contributed to the changes they wanted to see in the world.” The idea to submit her work was born out of a conversation with Julia Damphouse ‘19, who presented her own thesis at the conference during her senior year. “Needless to say, I was surprised when they accepted my abstract proposal,” Constantin adds.
Constantin reflects on the experience of being a panel speaker as a great opportunity for practicing presentation skills and condensing research. “I had to think deeply about the most important findings, how to communicate them cohesively, and what I wanted the audience to take away after hearing my presentation,” she says. Constantin is also appreciative of the opportunity to receive feedback and questions from the audience, which helped her to identify her blind spots and clarify her argumentation.
“I am much indebted to Prof. Dr. Agata Lisiak, Dr. Marion Detjen, and Prof. Dr. Hanan Toukan for their continuous guidance throughout the process of working on this thesis,” Constantin says. “Furthermore, the only way I was able to attend the conference was through BCB’s Conference Support Fund, which paid for the accommodation, conference fee, and travel expenses for my trip to Istanbul.”
Constantin, along with all graduating students of Spring 2026, will present her bachelor’s thesis on campus in the upcoming weeks.
By: Hana Trenčanová '28
Post Date: 04-24-2026