Sa'ed Atshan

Dr. Sa'ed Atshan is a Palestinian-American anthropologist whose work focuses on peace studies, humanitarianism, LGBTQ rights, and Middle Eastern politics. Atshan serves as associate professor of peace and conflict studies and anthropology, and chair of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at Swarthmore College. He has previously held academic positions at Emory University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. Atshan has taught at institutions including Birzeit, Brown, Emory, MIT, Swarthmore, Tufts, and UC Berkeley.

Atshan earned a joint Ph.D. in anthropology and Middle Eastern studies with a medical anthropology emphasis, and an M.A. in social anthropology from Harvard University, as well as a master in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.A. from Swarthmore College. At Emory University, he became the first tenured Palestinian professor at the university. His research encompasses health and humanitarianism, contemporary Palestinian society and politics, global LGBTQ social movements, and Christian minorities in the Middle East. In addition to his academic work, Atshan has worked with organizations such as Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Seeds of Peace International Camp, the Palestinian Negotiations Affairs Department, and Medical Aid for Palestinians.

Atshan is the author of "Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique" and co-author, with Katharina Galor, of "The Moral Triangle: Germans, Israelis, Palestinians." He and Galor also co-edited the volume "Reel Gender: Palestinian and Israeli Cinema." His book "In A Land of Aid: Essays on the Palestinian Condition" explores humanitarianism in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the experiences of Palestinians as humanitarian subjects.

Atshan has received awards including the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, the Young Global Leader Award from the Council for the United States and Italy, and the Kathryn Davis Fellowship for Peace. He became the first Palestinian inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College and was named one of the Arab America Foundation's 40 Under 40. Atshan has been awarded grants and fellowships from organizations such as the Carter Center, Open Society Foundations, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, National Science Foundation, Social Science Research Council, Woodrow Wilson National Foundation, Andrew Mellon Foundation, and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

Atshan serves as president of the Association of Middle East Anthropology of the Middle East Studies Association. He has deep roots in Quaker life, having been educated at Ramallah Friends School, and serves as an advisor to that school, on the Corporation of Haverford College, and on the board of the American Friends Service Committee. His work has appeared in media outlets including Foreign Affairs, The Guardian, The Nation, The New Yorker, The New York Times, NBC, NPR, London Review of Books, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post.