I am an anthropologist trained at the University of Edinburgh, the Polish Academy of Sciences, and University College London. Prior to becoming an anthropologist, I trained as a political scientist and human rights consultant and also hold extensive experience of working in the language industry.
As part of CARMAH’s flagship Making Differences project, my postdoctoral research was concerned with ways in which belonging is constituted and made through difference, with special focus on Islam and diversity. I also examined participatory approaches in museums and heritage. While working on the project, I edited Islam and Heritage in Europe: Pasts, Presents and Future Possibilities, with Sharon Macdonald and Mirjam Shatanawi.
My other projects include a book on temporality, heritage, and loss in Beirut and a project on sound archives that examines the interplay of sound and difficult legacies of science. I have been awarded fellowships at the Free University of Berlin, the American University of Beirut, the Orient-Institut Beirut, and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. My writing has appeared in various collections and journals, such as the International Journal of Heritage Studies, Visual Anthropology Review, and the Review of Middle East Studies. Beyond publishing, I have produced diverse media, including a sound installation at the Hermitage Amsterdam – now H’ART Museum.
Research expertise and interests:
- Heritage, memory, archives
- Sound, objects, knowledge production, public makings
- Belonging, participation, political efficacy
- Mobility, migration, displacement
- Media, technology, infrastructure
- Anthropology of time
- Critical heritage studies
- Digital humanities
- Regional expertise: Middle East – Lebanon; Europe – Germany