Cette thèse revient sur l’histoire du camp de réfugiés palestiniens de Chatila, situé dans la banlieue sud de Beyrouth, depuis sa fondation en 1949 jusqu’à nos jours, en mettant l’accent plus particulièrement sur la période du conflit libanais (1975-1990) et ses lendemains. À partir d’une variation des échelles d’analyse, il s’agit de mieux comprendre comment des événements marquants de l’histoire palestinienne et libanaise se sont déclinés et articulés à la vie du camp et y ont résonné. La recherche interroge les recompositions sociopolitiques et urbaines dans le camp, les parcours individuels et familiaux, ainsi que les traces et les usages du passé de guerre à la lumière de l’histoire de Chatila. Elle s’appuie sur plusieurs enquêtes ethnographiques menées entre 2003 et 2011 et sur les archives de l’UNWRA. Cette réflexion s’est développée au sein du champ de recherches de l’anthropologie politique et urbaine et de la socio-anthropologie de la mémoire. / This thesis revisits the history of Shatila Palestinian refugee camp that is located in the southern suburb of Beirut, from its foundation in 1949 to nowadays. I focus more specifically on the period of the Lebanese conflict (1975-1990) and its aftermath. Using different analytical scales, it aims to better understand how striking events of the Palestinian and Lebanese history impacted and were echoed in the camp life. My research examines the social, political and urban transformation, individual and familial courses and the traces, as well as uses of the past of the war in light of the history of Shatila. The research is based on ethnographical fieldwork in Shatila conducted between 2003 and 2011 and on the archives of UNRWA. The analysis is part of the field of political and urban anthropology, and of memory in anthropology and sociology.

In the Spring and Summer of 1942, the population of West Coast Japanese were rounded up and forcibly moved from their homes to temporary camps and soon after to ten permanent relocation camps in the interior Western United States. This thesis traces the history of one such camp, the Tule Lake Relocation Center. In this thesis I argue that from its inception the Tule Lake Center was unique among the ten camps. The decision to build a permanent center at Tule Lake was based upon the unique potential the area provided for agriculture on a huge scale. The other permanent centers were located in remote inhospitable areas where large scale agricultural operations were impossible. The introduction outlines my key research questions and the methodology used. This section identifies my central theme, agriculture at the Tule Lake Relocation Center, and situates my own research within the existing scholarship on the Japanese-American Relocation. Chapter one is a review of the factors, including racial animosity, and wartime hysteria leading up to the decision to relocate every Japanese individual living on the West Coast. Chapter two discusses the little known history of how and why Tule Lake was chosen for a permanent relocation center. Chapter three documents the commitment of the War Relocation Authority to a massive agricultural project at the Tule Lake Center. Chapter four recounts the tumultuous registration period at Tule Lake. In the winter of 1943, the War Relocation Authority and the War Department combined to administer a loyalty questionnaire to every internee over the age of 17, revealing shocking disloyalty at Tule Lake. Chapter five discusses the decision of the War Relocation Authority to segregate Japanese Americans declared disloyal, and the choice of Tule Lake as the segregation center. Chapter six discusses the events, in particular the tragic accidental death of a farm worker, which led to the end of large scale agriculture at Tule Lake. In conclusion, I assert that War Relocation Authority blunders, including a lack of cultural sensitivity, led directly to the cessation of the agricultural project at Tule Lake Segregation Center.