I am excited to share that my latest peer-reviewed article, "Thresholds of Arrival: An Ethiopian Reflexive Ethnography in Mumbai," has been officially published in the May 2026 issue of Urbanities - Journal of Urban Ethnography.
In conventional social science, the logistical friction of "arrival" is often treated as a mere prelude to fieldwork. In this paper, I subvert that assumption, reframing the first night in a new metropolis as a vital methodological site. Drawing on a horizontal, South-to-South comparative lens, I juxtapose the "sovereign rhythms" of nocturnal quietude in Addis Ababa with the kinetic, relentless "infrastructure of restlessness" defining post-colonial Mumbai.
By analyzing high-friction encounters at the urban threshold through the lenses of the moral economy, dramaturgy, and human infrastructure, the article theorizes how disorientation can be weaponized as a tool for deeper urban inquiry.
The article is free to read, download, and critique. I welcome thoughts, reflections, and dialogue from fellow researchers, consultants, and urban anthropologists working across the Global South.
🔗 Read the full open-access article here:
https://lnkd.in/eJ8DFxaS