Rachel Loewen

I am a first year PhD candidate with the tentative intention of pursuing fieldwork amoungst the Coptic Orthodox Christian community in Cairo, Egypt. Specifically i am interested in the Christian Zabbalin community (garbage collectors) who live in Mansheiyet Nasser surrounded by the garbage and recycling that they pick up from Cairo’s busy streets. My research will look at the relationships and everyday interactions between the Zabbalin and the majority Muslim population, the Egyptian government, the multinational corporations who hire them to collect and sort through the garbage and the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchy and community.