Name: Liora Tamir
Email: lct9560@nyu.edu
Program: International Education
Research Interests: Language education in conflict-affected contexts, adult education, non-formal education, women’s education
Principal Advisor(s): Dana Burde
Research Description/Bio: Liora Tamir is a PhD candidate in the International Education program at NYU Steinhardt. Her research explores the social function of language education in conflict-affected contexts and its implications for intergroup relations. The study concentrates on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the case of Hebrew language education for adult Palestinian learners in Jerusalem, as one of the conflict's most contested sites. The study asks: how does adult Hebrew language education (HLE) for Palestinian learners in Jerusalem inform Jewish-Palestinian intergroup relations in the city? Through classroom observations, interviews with learners, teachers and managers in multiple institutions in the city, participants' diary-entries, textbook analysis and surveys, the study offers a holistic examination of how Palestinian learners and Jewish and Palestinian teachers navigate Hebrew-language learning and teaching amidst conflict. Concurrently, it explores associations between HLE and intergroup attitudes and behaviors. The study highlights the potential in reconceptualizing adult language-education as a mechanism that can either ameliorate, perpetuate, or exacerbate intergroup tension with implications for language-education policy and pedagogy.
Liora joined the International Education program after over a decade-long experience as a Hebrew-language teacher in formal and non-formal settings in Israel and the US, as an instructor in language teacher-training programs, and as a pedagogical consultant in the field of Hebrew-language education for Palestinian learners. In this capacity, she has worked with Palestinian and Jewish collaborators in grassroots organizations and labor unions in Jerusalem to build Hebrew language programs and curricula focused on the exercise of social and labor rights. Her professional experience fostered deep interest in the interrelationship between the state of protracted conflict and language education, and in the social function of language education in conflict-affected contexts. Liora holds an MA in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and a BA in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and Linguistics, both from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Presentations
“Linguistic trespassing: negotiating language, group, and urban boundaries through Hebrew language education in East Jerusalem.” Multilingualism and Migration: Mobility and Linguistic Identity. University of Genoa, Italy. September 15-17, 2025.
“Language Education in Conflict: Challenges, Strategies, and Possibilities for Peacebuilding.” Education in Emergencies (EiE) - a Lifeline for the Future. Helsinki University, Finland. May 20-21, 2025
“The Social Role of Language Education amidst Ongoing Conflict: Hebrew-language Courses for Adult Palestinian Learners in Jerusalem.” Comparative and International Education Society Annual Conference. Chicago, USA. March 22-26, 2025.
“The Social Role of Adult Language Education During Times of War: The Case of Vocational Hebrew-Language Education for Adult Palestinians in Jerusalem.” Israeli Association for the Study of Language and Society Annual Conference. Haifa, Israel. June 24, 2024.
“Vocational language education in times of war: The social role of Hebrew-language programs for adult Palestinians in Jerusalem.” Comparative and International Education Society Annual Conference. Remote. March 6, 2024.
Awards
NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship, 2025-2026
Norma Tarrow, Ph.D. ’69 Scholarship Award, New York University, spring 2025
NYU Taub Center for Israel Studies Graduate Fellow, Spring 2025
NYU Steinhardt Doctoral Research and Travel Grant, Fall 2024
Global Research Initiative, New York University, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025
ASH Professional Development and Research Support Fund, New York University, Summer 2023.
Shearwater Research Grant, New York University, 2023, 2022.