Peter Thomas ZABIELSKIS
Adjunct Associate Professor of Anthropology
CONTACT
| OFFICE | E21-3019 |
| OFFICE HOUR | Tuesdays 1 – 2 pm or by appointment |
| TELEPHONE | (+853) 8822 8847 |
| peterz@um.edu.mo |
ACADAMIC QUALIFICATIONS
Ph.D. in Anthropology, New York University
M.Phil in Anthropology, New York University
M.A. in Anthropology, New York University
Certificate in Culture and Media, New York University
B.A. Phi Beta Kappa, Oberlin College
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Southeast Asia and Malaysia
- Overseas Chinese
- Civil society
- Anthropology of space, place, art, architecture, and urban development
- Heritage preservation
- Religion
- Postcolonialism
- Popular culture
- Ethnographic and documentary media/film
Peter Thomas ZABIELSKIS, as Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Macau, has continued to offer an international focus that has been warmly welcomed by students that can be seen in the popularity of his courses. His research interests include material culture, art, architecture, religion, heritage, and the urban built environment in Macau and Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia. He spent over two years doing field research in George Town, Penang, Malaysia and received his doctorate from New York University. Recent publications include studies of village festivals in Leizhou, China, civil society, tourism and heritage theory and urban development in Penang and Macau, including “Towards a Moral Ecology of the City: A new form of place-based identity and social action in Penang, Malaysia” in International Development Planning Review and “Faith and property: Pressures of development and change on the Kwan Tai - Tin Hau temple in Cheok Ka Chun, Taipa, Macau,” in Macao: The Formation of a Global City. He is the co-editor of Penang and Its Networks of Knowledge (2017), a volume that brings together many distinguished scholars of Southeast Asia. Other projects include a study of the culture of gambling-related crimes in Macau in Crime, Law and Social Change, studies of tourism in Macau and the material culture of magic and trance in Chinese folk religion, as well as a comparison of past, present and future transformations in the meaning and use of public urban space in Macau and São Paulo, Brazil. Peter has frequently been interviewed about his research and teaching by the media in Macau.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Forthcoming
Academic Freedom Under Siege: Higher Education in East Asia, the US, and Australia, edited by Zhidong Hao and Peter Zabielskis, New York: Springer
“Afterword,” in Academic Freedom Under Siege: Higher Education in East Asia, the US, and Australia, edited by Zhidong Hao and Peter Zabielskis
“The Material Moral Economy of Spirit Possession,” in The Material Culture of Magic, edited by Antje Bosselmann-Ruickbie and Leo Ruickbie, Numen Book Series, Studies in the History of Religions, (Leiden and Boston: Brill
“Preface,” Acclimation: The Art of Tang Kuok Hou
2018
“Challenges of Heritage Development Projects in Macau and Penang: Preservation and Anti-preservation” in Dynamics of Community Formation: Developing Identity and Notions of Home, edited by Robert W. Compton, Jr., Ho Hon Leung, and Yaser Robles, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 135-158
2017
“槟城：东方之珠与物质主义精神” [“Bin cheng: dong fang zhi zhu yu wu zhi zhu yi jing shen], [“Penang: A Pearl of a Place and The Spirit of Materialism”], in 城市的精神2: 包容与认同 [cheng shi de jing shen 2: bao rong yu ren tong] [The Spirit of Cities 2: Inclusion and Identification] edited by Daniel A. Bell, Chongqing: Chongqing Publishing Group, 373-405
Penang and Its Networks of Knowledge edited by Peter Zabielskis, Yeoh Seng Guan and Kat Fatland, Penang, Malaysia: Areca Books
“At the Crossroads of History and Development: An Urban Kampung as ‘Unseen’ Heritage and a Critique of Development in Penang,” in Penang and Its Networks of Knowledge, edited by Peter Zabielskis, Yeoh Seng Guan and Kat Fatland, Penang, Malaysia: Areca Books, 327- 366
“Introduction: Penang’s Networks of Knowledge and Practice,” in Penang and Its Networks of Knowledge, edited by Peter Zabielskis, Yeoh Seng Guan, and Kat Fatland, Penang, Malaysia: Areca Books, 11-27
2015
“Too big to be bad? Implications for theory and review of research on crimes, vices, and misdeeds in the casino culture of Macau,” Crime, Law and Social Change, 64 (2-3), 127-152
LINE – LINK – THREAD – RED – SILK – BLACK: An Elemental Syllabary of Life Art City in Recent Work by Tang Kuok Hou, exhibition catalog essay. Macau: BABEL
2014
“澳門賭場文化的犯罪、惡習和劣跡” [“Aomen duchang wenhua de fanzui, exi yu lieji”] [“Crimes, Vices and Misdeeds in Macau’s Casinos from a Cultural Perspective”], Journal of Macau Studies, 73 (2), 81-96
“Environmental Problems in China: Issues and Prospects,” in Social Issues in China: Gender, Ethnicity, Labor, and the Environment, edited by Zhidong Hao and Sheying Chen , New York: Springer, 257-280
“Faith and property: Pressures of development and change on the Kwan Tai - Tin Hau temple in Cheok Ka Chun, Taipa, Macau, in Macao: The Formation of a Global City, edited by C.X. George Wei, London and New York: Routledge, 3-31
2012
“The Significance of Leizhou as a Site for Anthropological Field Research,” in 天南重地：雷州历史文化 Tiān nán zhòng dì: Léi zhōu lì shǐ wén huà [A Search for the Historical and Cultural Heritage of Leizhou], Guangdong Museum, Guangzhou: Lignan Art Press (Lignan Meishu Chuban She), 296-307
“The Environment with Chinese Characteristics: Implications for Policy, Governance, and Political Change,” Journal of Law and Social Sciences, Vol.2, No. 1, December, 99-111.
Winner of Best Research Paper award, 2nd Annual International Conference Political Science, Sociology and International Relations (PSSIR), Global Science and Technology Forum (GSTF)
2011
“Expanding Passions: The fourth Hong Kong International Art fair reaches new levels of recognition,” Macau Closer, July
2010
“Making Friends, Making Money: Macao’s Traditional VIP Casino System,” co-author: Wuyi Wang, in Global Gambling: Cultural Perspectives on Gambling, edited by Sytze F. Kingma , London: Routledge Criminology, 113-143
2009
“Always Room for More: Macau Artists in Venice”, Macau Closer, November
“From ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China’: The second Hong Kong International Art Fair”, Macau Closer, June
2008
"Towards a moral ecology of the city: A new form of place-based identity and social action in Penang, Malaysia," Special issue on Place-making and Liveability, edited by K.C. Ho and Mike Douglass, International Development Planning Review, 30 (3) 2008, 267-291
“An International Art Fair in Hong Kong: Why did it take so long?” Macau Closer, June 2008, 64-69
MAJOR AWARDS AND HONORS
| 2012 | Best Research Paper Award, Second Annual International Conference on Political Science, Sociology & International Relations (PSSIR), Bali, Indonesia |
| 2003 - 2004 | Luce Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, The Australian National University |
| 2000 - 2001 | Dissertation Fellowship, Project on Cities and Urban Knowledges, International Center for Advanced Studies, New York University |
| 1998 | Fulbright Fellowship, Malaysia |
| 1997 | Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, Dissertation Field Research Fellowship Asian Cultural Council Research Fellowship |
| 1991 - 1994 | National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship |
COURSES TAUGHT
2016-2017
SOCB-111 Reading Sociology
SOCB-120 Introduction to Anthropology
SOCY-213 Environment and Humanity
SOCB-410 Research Project
Applied Thesis
2015-2016
SOCB-111 Reading Sociology
SOCY-213 Environment and Humanity
2014 - 2015
SOCB-111 Reading Sociology
SOCB-120 Introduction to Anthropology
SOCB262 Theory in Anthropology
SOCY-213 Environment and Humanity
SOCB-410 Research Project
SOCY-461 Integrative Seminar and Paper in the Major I
SOCY-462 Integrative Seminar and Paper in the MajorII
Honours thesis
2012-2013:
SOCY-111 Reading Sociology
SOCB-262 Theory in Anthropology
SOCB-259 Environment and Society
SOCY-411 Senior Semina in Anthropology: The Anthropology of Art and Material Culture
SOCY-461 Integrative Seminar and Paper in the Major I
SOCY-462 Integrative Seminar and Paper in the Major II
UM PUBLICATIONS
Interviewed in “Prof. Peter Zabielskis: The Anthropologist who is Fond of Human Culture,” My UM, Issue 62 (October 2016) Tell Us Your Story, pages 4-5 and video
https://e-myum.co.umac.mo/tellusyourstory_oct2016-2/
Mentioned in “Searching for Overlooked Landscapes: Macao Through the Eyes of UM Alumnus Tang Kuok Hou,” UM Magazine, Issue 16 (Spring/Summer 2017), Interview pages 42-47