Department of Epidemiology and Population Health
Faculty of Health Sciences
American University of Beirut
Beirut, Lebanon
Tel: +961-70384-305
Email: omar.dewachi@aub.edu.lb
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Social Anthropology, Harvard University 2008
M.A., Social Anthropology, Harvard University 2004
M.P.H., Public Health, American University of Beiru t 2000
M.B.Ch.B., Medicine, University of Baghdad 1997
ACADEMIC APPOINTMNETS
January 2011—Present Assistant Professor of Medical Anthropology and Public
Health, American University of Beirut
September 2008-August 2010 SHERC Postdoctoral Fellowship in Anthropology,
Université de Montréal
November 2004-June 2010 (intermittent) Visiting Lecturer in Public Health,
American University of Beirut
RESEACH INTERESTS
Medical anthropology, history of medicine, social medicine, global health, Iraqi society, postcoloniality, science studies, conflict and health, biopolitcs, political economy of the Middle East, professionalization, anthropology of the state
RESEARCH GRANT
Faculty Development Grant, Dean of the Faculty, Fall 2013
International Development Research Centre (Canada) for Working Group on “War and
Global Health,” 2013-2014
Issam Fares Institute, American University of Beirut, for research “The Regional
Therapeutic Economy and Access to Healthcare for Iraqis with Conflict-Related Physical
Injuries and Disabilities,” 2012-2014

Omar Dewachi, Curriculum Vitae, Page,
Seed Grant, American University of Beirut for research: “Experiences and Determinants of conflict-related physical injuries and disabilities amongst Iraqis in Lebanon,” 2011-2012
Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canada Postdoctoral Fellowship,
2008-2010
The Wenner-Gren Foundation, Dissertation Fieldwork Grant, 2005-2006
Sinclair-Kennedy Fellowship, Harvard University, Dissertation Fieldwork Grant, 2005-2006
UNIVERSITY AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Principle Co-Investigator, Human Rights Research, Advocacy and Public Policy in the Arab
World, American University of Beirut (partnered with Lund University, Sweden), 2013-
General Education Committee, AUB, 2012-
Global Masters in Public Health, Member of Advisory Committee, 2013-
Coordinator of the War and Global Health Working Group, 2011-
Health and Society Group, AUB, 2011-2013
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE SERIVE
Journal of the Anthropology of Consciousness, Board Member, 2012-
Journal of Cyber Orient, Board Member, 2007
HONORS AND FELLOWSHIPS
Visitor at the Institute for Advanced Studies, School of Social Science, Princeton, NJ, Fall
2013
Harvard University Teaching Award, for courses: “Language and Culture,” and
“Anthropology Sophomore Tutorial,” Fall 2003-2004
GSAS Dissertation Completion Fellowship, Harvard University, 2007-2008
Harvard University Teaching Award, Fall 2003-2004
Ford Foundation Scholarship to pursue a PhD in medical anthropology provided by the
Ford Foundation 2000
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Omar Dewachi, Curriculum Vitae, Page,
The Minister of Education National Prize, 2 nd
Iraq, 1991
country-wide Baccalaureate examination in
LANGUAGES
Arabic (Mother tongue)
English (Fluent)
French (Intermediate)
Persian (Beginner)
PUBLICATIONS
Book
Ungovernable Life: War and Mandatory Medicine in Iraq (Advanced Contract with
Stanford University Press)
Peer-reviewed journal articles:
Omar Dewachi, Mac Skelton Vinh Kim Nguyen, Fouad Fouad, Ghassan Abu Sitta,
Zeina Maasri, and Rita Giacaman “ The Changing Therapeutic Geographies of the
Iraqi and Syrian War s , ” Lancet [ Forthcoming , January 2014 ]
[Guest editor of the special issue on Iraqi sociologist Ali-Alwardi]
“Alwardi wa Jenialoujia al Khitab al Thaqafi [Al-Wardi and The Genealogy of
Cultural Discourse],” 2012 Idhafat. Issue 17 and 18 Fall/Spring
“Teaching at the Margins: Experiences of Anthropology and Medicine in Middle
Eastern Setting,” 2009 Altérités , 6(2): 129-135
Cynthia Myntti, Abir Ballan, Omar Dewachi, Faysal Kak and Mary Deeb
“Challenging the Stereotype: Men Withdrawal and Reproductive Health in
Lebanon,” 2002 Contraception 65: 165-170
Chapters in edited volumes:
Omar Dewachi, Samer Jabbour, Nasser Yassin, Iman Nuwayhid, and Rita Giacaman
(2012). “Towards a Regional Perspective on Health and Human Security,” In
Jabbour, S. et. al. “Public Health in the Arab World” Cambridge University Press
Elizabeth Longuenesse, Sylvia Chiffoleau, Nabil M. Kronfol, and Omar Dewachi
“Public Health, the Medical Profession, and State Building: A Historical
Perspective,” In Jabbour, S. et. al. “Public Health in the Arab World” Cambridge
University Press, 2012
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Omar Dewachi, Curriculum Vitae, Page,
IN PREPARATION
“Portable Citizenship: The professionalization of the Iraqi doctor in Britain” to be submitted to Cultural Anthropology.
“Treat the Wound Not the Weapon: War Surgery and the De-politicization of Iraqi Bodies” to be submitted to American Ethnologist
“Empire and the Toxicity of Everyday Survival in Iraq” to be submitted to Social Text
CURATED EXHIBITS
Curator of photography exhibit on Anthropologist Henry Field and the Marsh Arabs of
Iraq: “'Field' Photography: The Marsh Arabs of Iraq, 1934,” at the Harvard’s Peabody
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, October 2004-February 2005
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
The Toxicity of Everyday Survival in Iraq. Jaddaliyya . August 13, 2013
The Costs of Medical Travel for Iraqis in Lebanon. The Costs of War Project.
Costsofwar.org
, 2013
Insecurity, Displacement and Health Impacts of the American Invasion of Iraq. The Costs of War Project. Costsofwar.org
, 2011
“'Between Iraq and a Hard Place': Urban Governance and Transnational Laboratories of
Intervention of Displaced Iraqis in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon” A selected essay by the
Irmgard Coninx Foundation, Berlin for the 10 th
Berlin, March 18-23, 2009
Berlin Roundtable on Urban Governance.
“Field Photography: The Marsh Arabs of Iraq, 1934” Symbols, Spring 2005
Contesting the Iraqi Flag. CyberOrient, February 2008
The Contribution of Overseas Doctors to Britain’s NHS. Tabsir.net, July 21, 2007
Op-Ed:
“Foreshadowing Iraq: The War on 'Life Itself'.” Al-Akhbar Newspaper /English. September
19, 2011
“Alharb dhid al mujtama [War against society].” Al-Akhbar Newspaper /Arabic. September
16, 2011
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Omar Dewachi, Curriculum Vitae, Page,
“Bain al Amn wal Aman wa Tachnalogya al Sulta [Between Safety and Security and the
Technologies of Government].” Beirut: Mapping Security Al-Akhbar Newspaper
Supplementary. March 24, 2011
TECHNICAL REPORTS
“'Safe' Reformatories: Desk-review on psychosocial, rehabilitation and health services in
Iraqi Reformatories.” UNFPA, 2011
“Men Who Have Sex with Other Men and HIV AIDS: A Situation Analysis in Beirut,
Lebanon” UNAIDS and National AIDS program in Lebanon, 2001
TEACHING
AUB
• Social Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine (Core requirement, with over 95
Student Lecture Course)—Over 9 years.
• Global Health and Biopolitics- Faculty of Health Sciences, Fall 2011, Spring 2012
• Seminar in Medical Anthropology, Faculty of Health Sciences and Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Spring, 2012, Spring, 2013
• Coordinator of Med1, Social Preventive Medicine II, Students’ Quantitative Projects,
Faculty of Medicine, Spring 2012.
• Supervising Med4 Groups, Qualitative Research Project—3 years.
• Epidemiology Graduate Seminar, Fall 2012
• Culminating Experience for final year MPH students, 2011-2013
• Introduction to Public Health, Fall 2000
Teaching Fellow, Harvard University
• Language and Culture (Anth104)—instructor: Steven Caton, Fall, 2003
• Anthropology Sophomore Tutorial (Anth97z)—Instructor: Ben Penglase, Spring,
2004
INVITED TALKS
“Ungovernable Life: Healthcare Crisis in the Aftermath of War in Iraq,” Brown University,
Anthropology Friday Colloquium Series Lecture, September 20, 2013
“War Injuries, Triage and Iraq’s Emerging Therapeutic Geographies,” Talk presented at
AUB, sponsored by Issam Fares Institute For Public Policy and FHS Faculty Seminar,
Beirut, Lebanon. November 28, 2012
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Omar Dewachi, Curriculum Vitae, Page,
“Iraq's Emerging Therapeutic Geography: Warfare and the 'Crisis' of (Health) Care” Faris
Saeed Lecture Series in Arab Studies, sponsored by Middle East/South Asia Studies and the
Science and Technology Studies at UC Davis. November 13, 2012
“Where did Iraq’s Doctors Go? A Genealogy of Absence” Chapter draft presented at the
Science and Technology Studies Seminar, UC Davis, USA. November 13, 2012
“Dedicated to Listening: A Historical and Aural journey through labyrinth of Iraqi Maqam
Music” AUB, Beirut, Lebanon. October 29, 2012
“MSF, Humanitarianisms and Global Politics,” MSF Coordination Meeting in Amsterdam.
Module: “MSF Identity and Operational Paradigm: Time for a change ?” Amsterdam,
Netherlands. June 1, 2012
“Beyond the Politics of Life?” A talk presented at a panel “What is the Role of Humanitarian
Organizations in Shaping Global Politics? Exploring the Perception and Impact of MSF in
Countries of Interventions” The Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International
Affairs at the American University of Beirut. December 14, 2011
“Of Hakims and Hakems: Medicine and the Biopolitical Imaginaries of Mandatory Iraq”
Brown University. Health and Human Security talk series. Sponsored by the Middle East
Studies Program with the Population Studies and Training Center and the Science and
Technology Studies Program, 2010
“'Ungovernable Iraq': The (Bio)political Imaginaries of Governability” Sociology Café.
American University of Beirut, 12 April, 2010
“Terra Incognita: Epidemics, Technology and the Medical Imaginative Geography during
British mandate in Iraq” Queen’s University, Kingston. Studies in National and International
Development (SNID) series, 2009
CONFERENCE PAPERS AND WORKSHOPS
“Treat the Wound Not the Weapon: War Surgery and the De-politicization of Iraqi Bodies”
Paper presented at the AAA conference, San Francisco, USA, November 15, 2012
“Emerging Therapeutic Economies in the Arab World and the Crisis of the State” Concept paper accepted for the conference entitled “Realigning Power Geometrics in the Arab
World” of the Volkswagen Foundation and Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany, February
23-25, 2012
“ Terra Incognita : Steamboats, Oriental Sores, and the Medical Imaginative Geography of
Mesopotamia during the First World War” Mediterranean Programme 12 th Mediterranean
Research Meeting Florence 6-9 April 2011. Work Shop 13: What is New about "Neo-
Liberal" Urbanism? Middle Eastern Cities in Comparative Perspective, 2011
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Omar Dewachi, Curriculum Vitae, Page,
“Insecure Subjects: Vulnerability, Triage and the Management of Iraqi Refugees out of Iraq”
Paper presented at the first independent Society for Medical Anthropology meeting at Yale
University, New Haven, CT, Sept. 24-27, 2009
“Violence, Humanitarianism and Triage of Displaced Iraqis in Syria and Lebanon” A talk part of the Seminar on Globalization, Education and Change, McGill University, Montreal,
QC, May 22, 2009
“ Terra incognita : Epidemics, Technology and the Medical Imaginative Geography during the
British Mandate in Iraq,” a paper presented at “Counterpoints: Edward Said’s Legacy” conference, University of Ottawa, University of Carleton. Ottawa, ON, October 31-
November 2, 2008
“Displacing the Nation: Diaspora, (Im)mobility and Empire in the Modern Middle East”
Organizer and Chair of panel, Middle East Studies Association (MESA), Montreal, QC
November, 2007
“From Professional Hajj to Professional Refugee: Journeys of the Iraqi Doctor to Britain”
Paper in a panel titled: “Displacing the Nation: Diaspora, (Im)mobility and Empire in the
Modern Middle East,” Middle East Studies Association (MESA), November, 2007
“'Walls of Martyrdom': Tehran's Propaganda Murals" Discussant on a Panel, Harvard
University, Cambridge, MA, May 2007
“From Pilgrim to Refugee: Landscapes of professionalization of the Iraqi Doctor” Paper presented at the “Current Health Crisis in Iraq” Teach-in at the Center for Middle East
Studies, Harvard University, May 7, 2007
“Overseas in Britain: The Professionalization of Iraqi doctors in the U.K.” a Paper presented at the “Science, Technology, and Medicine in the Modern Middle East Workshop” Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, 5-7 May 2006
“Doctors without/in Empires: Empire, State, and the Iraqi Medical Doctor” Paper presented at Society for Cultural Anthropology Biannual meeting, Portland, Oregon, April
30, 2004
“HIV/AIDS, Male Sexuality in Lebanon: Reflections on the intersection of Public Health and Anthropology” Paper presented in workshop titled: “Challenges in Sexuality Studies in and of the Middle East” Harvard University, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, May 7,
2004, Cambridge, Massachusetts
“The ‘Ticklish’ Hand of Democracy” Paper presented at the American Anthropological
Association annual meeting, November 2003, Chicago, Illinois
“Dangerous Borders: Latin America Implications of 9-11” Discussant on a panel, Annual
Conference on 20 th Century Latin America. Columbia University, New York, 2003
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Omar Dewachi, Curriculum Vitae, Page,
DISCOGRAPHY AND FILM
“Towers Open Fire,” City of Salt, Majmua Group, 2013
“Monogamy,” Land of Kush-Egyptian Light Orchestra, Constellation 2010
Music Consultant on documentary film “Broken Record” by Director Parine Jaddo, 2013
Consultant and translator on the production of the Oscar nominated documentary “My
Country, My Country,” Director Laura Poitras, 2007
JOURNAL REVIEWS
Social Science and Medicine, the Middle East Journal, International Migration, Refugee
REFERENCES
On Request
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