ABOUT AMY

I’m a cultural anthropologist and lecturer currently teaching at New York University Tel Aviv as well as Hebrew University’s MA program in international development. Prior to these appointments, I taught anthropology and Israel Studies courses for thirteen years at the University of Texas at Austin, where I was an associate professor of instruction at the Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies. In November 2022, I took on a new role as the Director of Education and Talent Hub at Masa Leadership and Impact Center in Jerusalem.

My research and publications have focused on life in Havana, Cuba, and the Negev Desert town of Mitzpe Ramon, Israel. I write on themes of citizen-state relationships, cultures of consumer desire, tourist contact zones, rebranding landscape, emotional geographies, and the Jewish lived experience.

I’m excited to announce that my new book, Teaching Israel Studies, published by Palgrave MacMillan is now available for pre-order! This instructor’s guide shows how university courses focused on the modern State of Israel–one of the world’s most polarizing and highly-politicized countries–can be taught effectively and rigorously to an expanding international audience.

After many years of moving back and forth between the US and Israel, I now live in Jerusalem with my husband and three of our four kids (one stayed in Austin, Texas, to attend UT). These days, when not working, I’m doing online yoga or HIIT workouts, drinking strong coffee, taking care of our adopted street kitten, or engrossed in the latest books on teaching and learning in higher ed.