معرفی
Dr. Paul Mepschen is an Assistant Professor of Social Anthropology at University College Utrecht, Utrecht University, where he has taught since 2019. Holding a PhD from the University of Amsterdam (awarded cum laude in 2016), he specializes in the critical analysis of power structures through ethnographic research focused on Dutch urban contexts. His institutional affiliations include Utrecht University's Institute of Social and Cultural Research (IOS) with research clusters in Contesting Governance, Gender Diversity and Global Justice, and Migration and Societal Change.
His educational background centers on social anthropology, culminating in his doctoral dissertation Everyday autochthony. Difference, discontent and the politics of home in Amsterdam (University of Amsterdam, 2016). This foundational work established his methodological approach to studying urban citizenship through longitudinal ethnographic fieldwork in Amsterdam neighborhoods.
Mepschen's research critically examines the interconnections of racism, nationalism, and sexuality within contemporary European societies, with particular focus on Dutch contexts. His work interrogates how categories of difference operate in everyday life through:
- The culturalization of citizenship and belonging
- Sexual democracy as a tool for exclusionary nationalism
- Populist discourses framing migration and religious minorities
- Urban renewal policies affecting marginalized communities
- The intersection of queer politics with anti-immigrant narratives
- Rural-urban political divides in identity formation
Analysis of his publication record (2010-2019) demonstrates evolving engagement with super-diversity frameworks while maintaining core focus on autochthony politics. Early work examined sexual nationalism and Orientalism, later shifting to urban citizenship and displacement discourses. Methodologically, he combines ethnographic depth with critical discourse analysis, primarily investigating Amsterdam neighborhoods as microcosms of national identity struggles. Key thematic clusters include culturalist exclusion mechanisms (38% of publications), urban citizenship (29%), and sexuality-nationalism intersections (21%).
As an educator at University College Utrecht, Mepschen teaches foundational courses including Introduction to Anthropology, Decolonizing Anthropology, and Citizenship, Difference and the Politics of Belonging. He serves as an academic tutor guiding undergraduate students through their liberal arts curriculum, with office hours conducted by appointment due to temporary mobility limitations from a broken leg. His pedagogical approach emphasizes critical engagement with power structures through community-based learning and activist methodologies.
Mepschen operates within Utrecht University's Institute of Social and Cultural Research (IOS) framework, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams on projects examining governance challenges in multicultural societies. His research methodology centers on long-term ethnographic immersion in urban Dutch communities, particularly focusing on neighborhood-level dynamics of inclusion/exclusion. Current work extends his analysis to rural-urban political divides and the historical trajectories of leftist movements in shaping contemporary identity politics.
