Timothy Mitchell

Timothy P. Mitchell is a British born political theorist and student of the Arab world. He is a professor of Middle Eastern Studies[1] at Columbia University. He was previously Professor of Politics at New York University.[2]

Timothy Mitchell
NationalityBritish
OccupationPolitical theorist, historian, author
Spouse(s)Lila Abu-Lughod
RelativesIbrahim Abu-Lughod (father-in-law)
Janet L. Abu-Lughod (mother-in-law)
Academic background
Alma materQueens' College, Cambridge (BA, 1977; MA, 1981)
Princeton University (MA, 1979; PhD, 1984)
ThesisAs if the World Were Divided in Two: The Birth of Politics in Turn-of-the-Century Cairo (1984)
Academic work
InstitutionsNew York University
Columbia University
Main interestsColonialism • Political economy • Politics of energy • Making of expert knowledge
Notable worksColonising Egypt
Questions of Modernity
Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity
Carbon Democracy
Websitehttp://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/tm2421/

Career

Mitchell received his B.A. from Cambridge University in 1977 after which he began his doctoral studies in Politics at Princeton University, from which he received a Ph.D. in 1984.[3] Upon arrival he was "surprised to discover that the Politics Department at Princeton was teaching the same old positivism. I was interested in the politics of the Arab world, having traveled there several times, so I evaded political science by taking courses in Middle Eastern history and Arabic language and spent three of the next six years studying and researching in Cairo. Meanwhile, Discipline and Punish had just appeared in English and Orientalism came out a year later. I read these against the Marx I had studied as an undergraduate, and moved on to Derrida and Heidegger, all of which informed the book I eventually produced, Colonising Egypt."[3]

Mitchell is known for his expansive research into modern Egypt's economy and for his different contributions to postcolonial theory. Jeffrey Azarva has called Mitchell's book Colonising Egypt a staple of university syllabi. Mitchell's book rests on the theory that the roots of colonialism are as much internal as external, and that power operates through representation and culture as well as brute force. Nineteenth century reforms and modernization, Mitchell asserts, were backdoor attempts to subjugate Egypt to British influence. Urban planning and other attempts to control the basic elements of daily life enabled subjugation.

Mitchell responded to 9/11 with a critique of American support for autocracy in the Muslim world and for Israel, asserting that "Washington continues to side with the exclusionary politics and expansionist militarism of the Israeli government. Most Palestinians endure this American-funded violence and collective imprisonment with a quite extraordinary forbearance and fortitude. But the resources for collective resistance are very few, the rule of the Palestinian authority is increasingly inept and corrupt, and for some the politics of despair and a reactive violence are never far away." [4]

Political activity

Mitchell is a supporter of the academic boycott of Israel.[2][5][6]

Mitchell also signed a petition "La démocratie en Iran, pas la guerre. Trois cents intellectuels appellent l'ONU à faire pression pour les droits de l'homme sans se focaliser sur le nucléaire",[7] a letter advocating democracy in Iran and discouraging militarism,[8] a letter supporting the right of NYU graduate teaching assistants to make their own decisions on unionization,[9] and many other political open letters signed by academics.[10][11][12]

Personal life

Mitchell is married to Lila Abu-Lughod, a Columbia University anthropology and gender studies professor,[2] who herself is the daughter of Palestinian academic Ibrahim Abu-Lughod and of American urban sociologist Janet L. Abu-Lughod.

Books
  • Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil, Verso, 2011.
  • Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity University of California Press, 2002.
  • Questions of Modernity, University of Minnesota Press, 2000 (editor and contributor).
  • Colonising Egypt, University of California Press, 1991.

References
  1. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/mesaas
  2. New Columbia Hire Backed Academic Boycott of Israel, By Bari Weiss, New York Sun, September 12, 2008
  3. http://www.nd.edu/~econrep/bios/mitchell.html Archived 2005-01-03 at the Wayback Machine Untitled Document
  4. 9/11 Resources—Timothy Mitchell
  5. Boycott Israeli Academic and Research Institutions: Open Letter
  6. Boycotting Israel at NYU? - Campus Watch
  7. La démocratie en Iran, pas la guerre
  8. Akbar Ganji's open letter on Iran at The Arabist Archived 2012-07-01 at Archive.today
  9. Faculty Appeal
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-06-02. Retrieved 2014-01-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. http://www.mahmag.org/english.php/?itemid=323%5B%5D
  12. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/180
  • Timothy Mitchell's faculty profile page at Columbia University.
  • February 2010 interview with Timothy Mitchell at Sciences Po Paris.
  • Theory Talks 2013 interview with Timothy Mitchell
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