Timothy Mitchell | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Political theorist, historian, author |
| Spouse | Lila Abu-Lughod |
| Relatives | Ibrahim Abu-Lughod(father-in-law) Janet L. Abu-Lughod(mother-in-law) |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Queens' College, Cambridge(BA, 1977; MA, 1981) Princeton University(MA, 1979; PhD, 1984) |
| Thesis | As if the World Were Divided in Two: The Birth of Politics in Turn-of-the-Century Cairo (1984) |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | New York University Columbia University |
| Main interests | Colonialism • Political economy • Politics of energy • Making of expert knowledge |
| Notable works | Colonising Egypt Questions of Modernity Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity Carbon Democracy |
| Website | http://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/tm2421/ |
Timothy P. Mitchell is a British-born political theorist and student of the Arab world. He is a professor of Middle Eastern Studies[1] atColumbia University. He was previously Professor of Politics atNew York University.[2]
Mitchell attendedThe John Fisher School inCroydon, and read history atQueens' College, Cambridge.[3] He received his B.A. in the subject from Cambridge in 1977, after which he began his doctoral studies in Politics atPrinceton University, whence he received a Ph.D. in 1984.[4] 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 andOrientalism 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."[4]
Mitchell is known for his expansive research into modern Egypt's economy and for his different contributions topostcolonial theory.Jeffrey Azarva has called Mitchell's bookColonising Egypt a staple of university syllabi.[5] 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 to9/11 with a critique of American support for autocracy in the Muslim world and forIsrael, 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."[6]
Mitchell is a supporter of theacademic boycott of Israel.[2][7][8]
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",[9] a letter advocating democracy in Iran and discouraging militarism,[10] a letter supporting the right of NYUgraduate teaching assistants to make their own decisions onunionization,[11] and many other political open letters signed by academics.[12][13][14]
Mitchell is married toLila Abu-Lughod, aColumbia University anthropology and gender studies professor,[2] who herself is the daughter of Palestinian academicIbrahim Abu-Lughod and of American urban sociologistJanet L. Abu-Lughod.
