Marcus Hibbeln

Marcus is a PhD Candidate in Middle Eastern Studies at Exeter's Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies. He works on the historical and sociological study of consumerism in the Arab world, specifically in Egypt and Lebanon. Marcus's work focuses on the introduction of consumer objects into everyday life (cars on the road, clothes on the street), how Arab states legitimated themselves through the provision of modern objects, and how these objects were diversely assimilated into people's lives and worlds.

Marcus holds an MA in Cultural Sociology from SOAS, University of London and a BA in Religious History from Reed College (US). His work is funded by the Wolfson Foundation and is supervised by Professors William Gallois and Laleh Khalili.

Marcus is one of the PhD student representatives. Working alongside his counterpart Heidi Affi, Marcus helps to organise conferences, roundtables, and Institute activities - alongside advocating for the needs of students and for greater faculty-student cohesion.