I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. I do research in critical heritage studies, contemporary archaeology, and the history of archaeology and anthropology. My dissertation research focuses on concepts of heritage at the intersection of community projects, commodification, and nationalism in the historic urban centers of Acre (‘Akka/Akko) and Rhodes. My previous research explored Indigenous peoples’ representation and museums in Canada and the transnational circulation of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the United States and Palestine/Israel. I am developing a new research project on the politics of petro-heritage in western Canada.
I currently hold a Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (2016-2020) for my research on the politics of heritage in Palestine/Israel and Greece, and was awarded the Sir James Lougheed Award of Distinction from the Government of Alberta for 2018-19. I have also received funding from the University of Massachusetts Department of Anthropology, the Graduate School at UMass Amherst, and the Fondation Québec Philanthrope/ICOMOS Canada.
I received my MA in Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and my BA in Anthropology from the University of Waterloo.
Email: eptaylor@anthro.umass.edu