Tom Selwyn

Tom Selwyn is Professorial Research Associate at SOAS University of London within the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, and concurrently serves as Visiting Professor at Breda University (Netherlands) and Bethlehem University (Palestine). His career has been devoted to the anthropology of tourism, pilgrimage, and cultural heritage, with a particular regional focus on the Mediterranean, especially Palestine/Israel.

Education:

• PhD (SOAS University of London), 1981 – Thesis: The Brahman and the Goldsmith: Caste and kinship in an Indian village

Research Interests:

Selwyn’s scholarship weaves together several strands: the anthropology of tourism, pilgrimage and sacred travel, cultural heritage in contested landscapes, and the political economy of hospitality. His ethnographic gaze ranges from Mediterranean islands to Palestinian border towns, exploring how movement, memory, and identity are negotiated through tourism practices. He interrogates how myths, imagery, and power relations shape tourist destinations and the lived experiences of both hosts and guests.

Across four major EU-funded projects (1990–2010) he investigated sustainable tourism development, cultural heritage management, and institution building in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Palestine. His work on the MED-VOICES database and the TEMPUS projects has influenced regional policy and educational reform, while his edited series Articulating Journeys (Berghahn) advances scholarly dialogue on home, mobility, and commemoration.

Scientific Awards & Recognition:

• Leverhulme Emeritus Professorial Research Fellowship (2014)
• Lucy Mair Medal, Royal Anthropological Institute (2009)
• Honorary Librarian, RAI Library Collection, British Museum (decade-long service)

Advising & Programme Leadership:

In 2010 Selwyn founded and continues to co-convene SOAS’s innovative MA in Anthropology of Travel, Tourism and Pilgrimage (ATTP), mentoring successive cohorts of postgraduate students and directing the associated summer school. While no individual advisees are named in the provided texts, his role as founder and ongoing convenor signals significant academic mentorship.

Labs, Teams & Editorial Roles:

He is co-editor (with Nicola Frost) of the Articulating Journeys: Festivals, Memorials, and Homecomings book series (Berghahn) and has co-edited numerous influential volumes, including Thinking Through Tourism (Berg, 2010) and Contesting the Foreshore (Amsterdam University Press, 2004). These editorial activities function as collaborative intellectual hubs, fostering global research networks in tourism anthropology.