Anwar Jaber, PhD

$Anwar Jaber, PhD$

Assistant Professor

Location: ARC 2011

Biography

Dr. Anwar Jaber is an architect, urbanist, and Assistant Professor at the Waterloo School of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering. Her research examines how architecture and urbanism participate in political formation, particularly in conflict contexts where questions of territory, sovereignty, and national identity are unsettled. Her work focuses primarily on Palestine and the broader Middle East, with particular attention to the relationship between architecture, political institutions, and nation-state formation. Born and raised in East Jerusalem, Dr. Jaber holds an MPhil and PhD in Architecture from the University of Cambridge, England.

Dr. Jaber brings professional and research experience from the Middle East and Europe. Before joining academia, she worked as an urban planner with marginalized Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem. Her research on Palestinian national and political institutions has received support from the Said Foundation, Cambridge Trust at the University of Cambridge, and the AMTD Foundation.

Research Interests

Socio-politics of architecture and urbanism
Architecture, power and political agency
Cities, conflict and reconstruction
Museums, exhibitions, memory and archives
Architecture and urbanism in Palestine/Israel
Islamic architecture and Arab urbanism
Indigenous spaces and architectures of sovereignty

Scholarly Research

Current research projects:

1. Architectures of Suspended Sovereignty: The Orient House and the Museum on the Seam in Jerusalem

2. From Drawing to Dwelling: The Work and Lives of Palestinian Women Architects (co-applicant)

3. Building a Campus, Building a Nation: The Construction of Birzeit University Campus, Palestine

4. Stitched Reflections: Using Embroidery as a Trauma-informed Reflective Approach to Teaching Political Conflicts in Architecture and Urbanism: https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/catalogs/funded-lite-grant-projects/stitched-reflections-using-embroidery-trauma-informed

Education

2020, Doctorate Architecture, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
2014, Master of Philosophy Architecture and Urban Studies, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
2013, Bachelor of Engineering in Architectural Engineering with a concentration in Urban Planning, Birzeit University, Palestine

Awards

2026 SSHRC Insight Development Grant (co-applicant)
2026 UW SSHRC Explore Grant
2026 Racial Equity and Environmental Justice Grant
2025 Learning Innovation & Teaching Enhancement Grant (LITE), Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo
2021-2023 AMTD Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, University of Waterloo
2021 Palestinian American Research Center Fellowship, USA
2015-2020 Cambridge Trust Doctoral Scholarship, University of Cambridge, UK
2013-2014 Said Foundation Scholarship, University of Cambridge, UK

Service

2025-2026 Admissions Committee
2025-2026 Graduate Committee
2025-2026 Awards Committee
Frequent examiner at: University of Cambridge (UK), Laurentian University (CAN), University of Toronto (CAN), University of British Columbia (CAN), Birzeit University (PAL)

Professional Associations

Society of Architectural Historians
British Society for Middle Eastern Studies
Architectural Humanities Research Association
The Middle East Studies Association
Engineering Association, Jordan and Palestine

Teaching*

ARCH 392 - Design Studio
- Taught in 2022
ARCH 442 - Contemporary Architectural Theory
- Taught in 2022, 2023, 2025
ARCH 610 - Architectural Research and Analysis
- Taught in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025
ARCH 640 - Contemporary Theory, Culture and Criticism
- Taught in 2022, 2023, 2025
ARCH 684 - Special Topics in Architecture
- Taught in 2021, 2024
ARCH 693 - Thesis Research & Design Studio II
- Taught in 2023, 2024, 2026

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

Selected/Recent Publications

Jaber, A. (2026). Building a Campus, Building a Nation: The Construction of Birzeit University Campus, Palestine. In S. Al-Qassemi, R. Khorsheid, & S. Halloum (Eds), The Architecture of Higher Education Institutions in the Arab World. Barjeel Art Foundation.
Jaber, A. (2026). Palestinian Sovereignty. Kenchiku Journal, September (forthcoming). http://www.kj-web.or.jp/gekkan/
Jaber, A. (2026). Caring for a Nation: Palestinian Dar Al-Tifel Al-Arabi, East Jerusalem. In T. Bissett & A. Peliowski (Eds.), Toward an Architectural Genealogy of Care: A Reader. ARQ (Santiago) and DPR (Barcelona). (forthcoming)
Jaber, A. (2025). Problematizing Ramallah’s Role as a “Cultural” Capital: Arafat and Darwish National-Cultural Memorial Sites. In Ihab Saloul & Britt Baillie (Eds.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Cultural Heritage and Conflict. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61493-5_180-1
Jaber, A. (2025). Navigating Palestinian Sovereignty: Personal Reflections of a Palestinian Scholar with Lived Experience. In R. Abu Ghannam (Ed.), Timely Reflections on Spatial Justice. https://counterworlds.com/timely-reflections/
Jaber, A. (2024). Hiding Behind Colonial Roots: Investigating the Reconstruction of the Palestinian Presidential Headquarters (the Muqata’a) in Ramallah. In R. Abu Ghannam, E. Desrochers-Turgeon, P. Swaranjali, & F. Goffi (Eds.), Architectures of Hiding. (pp. 153-164). Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9781003356950-16
Jaber, A. (2018). Creating Margins at the Centre: Israeli Bypass Roads in the Palestinian Beit Hanina Neighbourhood, East Jerusalem. Accord Insight 4: Borderlands and Peacebuilding: A view from the Margins. Conciliation Resources. Issue 4, pp. (12-13).
Jaber, A. & Avdolous, E. (2017). Duplicity: Editorial Preface. SCROOPE: Cambridge Architecture Journal. University of Cambridge, Issue 25, pp. (5-8).
Jaber, A. Butmeh, W & Hamada, M. (2014). Towards a Better Ecotourism: Deir Qidees Ecolodge in Palestine. This Week in Palestine. Issue 192. pp. (45-48).