DR MELISSA GATTER

I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Anthropology and International Development at the University of Sussex, and my research centers on the anthropology of forced migration, development, and time in the Middle East and beyond. I also consult on development programs across the region, including Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan. I have formerly worked as a development practitioner for leading aid agencies in Jordan, including Save the Children.

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Previously, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Sheffield carrying out participatory action research in Jordan funded by the GCRF. I completed my PhD in Middle East Studies at the University of Cambridge, during which time I spent 14 months in Jordan conducting ethnographic fieldwork in Azraq refugee camp. My research has been supported by several institutions and grants, such as the UKRI, Cambridge Trust, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies, and the Council for British Research in the Levant.

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I have published research in academic journals, including the Journal of Refugee Studies, Forced Migration Review, and Territory, Politics, Governance, as well as non-academic outlets like The Conversation, Allegra Lab, and South Side Weekly. My book, Time and Power in Azraq Refugee Camp: A Nine-to-Five Emergency (AUC Press, 2023), examines the temporal politics of everyday aid interactions in Azraq from the perspectives of residents and aid workers. The book was awarded the 2023 Alixa Naff Prize in Migration Studies.