William Taggart

_{Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures

318 Major Williams Hall

220 Stanger Street

Blacksburg, VA 24061

540-231-5361 | wtaggart@vt.edu}

William Taggart is an anthropologist, artist, and translator whose work focuses on social change, violence, and new media in the contemporary Middle East. He recently published (with Nadine Sinno) a translation of Huda Hamed's novel, I Saw Her in My Dreams (2023, University of Texas Press). Since 2014, he has carried out fieldwork in Beirut, documenting street art and graffiti in the city. He teaches courses in Arab Culture and Civilization, Arab Cinema, War and Arab Culture, and Research in Arab Culture at Virginia Tech.

Principal Areas of Expertise

Culture(s) of the Contemporary Arab World
New Media in the Arab World
War, Conflict, and Terrorism in the Middle East
Visual Anthropology of the Middle East
Literary Translation

Education

2006. S.M. Science, Technology and Society. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2002. M.A. Anthropology. University of Arkansas.
2000-2002. Graduate Fellowship, King Fahd Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies, University of Arkansas.
2000. School of Arabic, Middlebury College.
2000. B.A. (cum laude), Anthropology. University of Arkansas.

Professional Roles

2023. Cultural Assessment Coordinator, Project GO at Virginia Tech
2022. Member, Visiting Assistant Professor Search Committee, Virginia Tech.
2020-2021. Faculty Senator, Radford University.
2016-2018. Member, Academic Outreach Committee, VT Salaam Project, Virginia Tech.

Awards and Honors

2023. Certificate of Teaching Excellence. College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Virginia Tech.

Publications

Published Books

2023. I Saw Her in My Dreams. Translation of a novel by Huda Hamed, with Nadine Sinno. University of Texas Press.

Journal Articles

2017. [Photo credits]: Sinno, N. "A War of Colors: Beirut Street Art and Reclamation of Public Space." ASAP/Journal, Vol. 2 No. 1, 2017, pp. 71-104. Project MUSE
2006. S. Turkle, W. Taggart, C. Kidd. Relational Artifacts with Children and Elders: the Complexities of Cybercompanionship. Connection Science. New York: Taylor and Francis.
2001. A Digital Revolt: Resistance and Agency on the Net. Working Papers: New Media and Information Technologies in the Middle East. Georgetown University.

Book Chapters

2006. (c0de): Virtual Occupations, Encrypted Identities, and the Al-Aqsa Intifada. In Native on the Net: Indigenous and Diasporic Peoples in the Virtual Age. Ed. Kyra Landzelius. New York: Routledge.

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