Estella Carpi

I am presently looking at Southern-led humanitarian responses to displacement from Syria, with a focus on Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan. I research these themes within a European Research Council funded project in the Geography Migration Research Unit.

More about Dr Carpi

University of Sydney, Australia

PhD, Thesis in Social Anthropology | 2015

University of Milan, Italy

MPhil, Thesis in Linguistic Anthropology in Lebanon (Course in Languages and Cultures for International Communication and Institutions) | 2008

University of Milan, Italy

BA, Thesis in Cooperation for Development in Egypt (Course in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation) | 2005

I received my PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Sydney in Australia, with a research project on the social response to humanitarian assistance in postwar Beirut's southern suburbs and in the Akkar villages (Lebanon) after the 2011-2014 Syrian refugee influxes.

In the past, I worked as a researcher for several international and academic institutions in the Middle Eastern region, such as UN-Habitat (Beirut) and the American University of Beirut; Lebanon Support (Beirut); the New York University of Abu Dhabi (NYUAD); Trends Research and Advisory (Abu Dhabi); UNDP (Cairo); the International Development Centre (Cairo).

After studying Arabic in Milan and Damascus (2002-2007), I wrote my MPhil thesis in Linguistic Anthropology, focusing on the Everyday Speech in Contemporary Lebanon (2008).

Research

I am primarily interested in studying the ways in which societies respond to crises and crisis management. I have worked extensively on humanitarianism, politics of aid provision, social development, identity politics, and the catastrophisation discourse, with a specific focus on the Arab Levant (Syria and Lebanon) and Turkey.

In particular, I have conducted extensive research on humanitarian assistance, forced migration, and chronic vulnerabilities (Lebanon and Syria); social protection nets, poverty, and welfare (Egypt); family law and women's parity (Morocco); social services and political order (UAE); and education in emergencies and displacement (Jordan).

I have recently concluded the following projects:

• In 2016/2017 I have been Primary Investigator and Project Coordinator on Refugee Self-Reliance and Humanitarian Action in Urban Markets, which is a joint project between the Bartlett Development Planning Unit (UCL) and the Humanitarian Affairs Team, Save the Children UK.
• Urban Crisis Learning Project for Bangladesh and Haiti (October 2016-September 2017), in partnership with Oxfam GB, Habitat for Humanity, and the Overseas Development Institute (London, UK). Project funded by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).
• Child Protection, Vulnerability, and Play Activities. NGOs addressing the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Lebanon, with Dr Chiara Diana (IREMAM, France). One co-authored book chapter and one co-authored academic article will be published next year on these themes.

Teaching

I have lectured extensively in the Social Sciences in Australia, Italy, Lebanon, and Turkey. I presently run a series of seminars in Humanitarian Studies at the University of Turin, Italy. I have been a teaching assistant and casual lecturer in the following undergraduate and postgraduate units of study:

• Introduction to Sociology; Human Rights and Social Protest; Social Inequality; the Middle East and the International Law; Arabic and Islamic studies.

In particular, I have taught:

• Humanitarianism as an ideology, transnational governance, and NGOs
• Transitional justice and reconciliation in conflict-ridden contexts
• Gender, political, and economic inequalities
• Religion and society
• International relations in the Middle East and North Africa region (war chronologies; water and territorial disputes; the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; the Iran's nuclear issue)
• Nationalism and identity in the Arab world
• Comic strips and humour in the Arab world