Colonial Jerusalem

Thomas Philip Abowd is a lecturer in the Department of German, Russian, and Asian Languages and Literatures at Tufts University.

“Abowd’s anthropological approach brings both color and great attention to the symbolic and human dimensions of the tensions in daily life. His apt analysis of signage in public spaces and the salience and physical condition of sites and objects he studies are matched by astute observations regarding the tone of voice, body language, and silences of his interviewees. The city comes alive with his sympathetic and critical dissection of both the particular and the general.” —Journal of Palestine Studies“A welcome contribution to a growing trend of writings about urbanism and the life in cities of the Middle East. Although more than half of the population in the Middle East is currently living in urban areas, anthropological writings continue to focus on small-scale societies and tribal communities. Colonial Jerusalem helps to align anthropology scholarship with actual demographic conditions.” —Aseel Sawalha, Department of Anthropology, Fordham University“Elegantly and captivatingly written, this ethnographic study of Jerusalem as a site of colonial rule offers a substantial contribution to studies of colonialism, particularly in its modern, urban manifestation and over a long period of time.” —Julie Peteet, Department of Anthropology, University of Louisville.