When you book an experience with Puget Sound Alumni Tours, you get to explore less-traveled regions of the globe with expert faculty members, enabling you to gain a new perspective and deeply immerse yourself in the places you visit. See the world and expand your knowledge with our Alumni Tours program.
We will stay at one of the Tivoli Boutique Hotels, located in the middle of Souq Waqif, a pedestrian-friendly Middle Eastern bazaar in the heart of the city. The hotels features comfortable rooms, a pool, and room service. We will dine as a group each evening and enjoy a lively discussion in one of the many restaurants in Souq Waqif, with opportunities to sample Persian, Iraqi, Indian, Yemeni, Moroccan, Lebanese, and Turkish cuisine, among others.
Spend 10 days exploring the cosmopolitan city of Doha and the nation of Qatar, learning about its history and development, wandering through museums and stunning examples of modern architecture, visiting archeological sites, enjoying local cuisine, and experiencing the natural beauty of Qatar’s desert and waterways. Along the way, you’ll meet scholars, locals, and transnational migrants and gain a deep understanding of this remarkable city.
Itinerary is subject to change
Andrew Gardner is professor of anthropology in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at the University of Puget Sound. A sociocultural anthropologist and ethnographer by training, for the past two decades Professor Gardner’s fieldwork has focused on the places, peoples, and societies that interact in the petroleum-rich states of the Arabian Peninsula. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar, throughout South Asia, and elsewhere.
Between 2008 and 2010 he also served as an assistant professor of anthropology at Qatar University. In addition to numerous journal articles and book chapters, he is the author of City of Strangers: Gulf Migration and the Indian Community in Bahrain (Cornell, 2010), and the newly-released The Fragmentary City: Migration, Modernity, and Difference in the Urban Landscape of Doha, Qatar (Cornell, 2024).
His longstanding scholarly pursuits explore transnational migration, urban planning, and urban life, as well as the social formations on both ends of the migration flows that lead to the Arabian Peninsula. A well-regarded speaker, Professor Gardner has led previous study abroad tours with students to Doha and Amsterdam.
Qatar is located on the Persian Gulf on the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It’s remarkable growth and wealth is fueled by natural gas reserves, which has transformed the capital city, Doha, into a modern metropolis, peppered with a mix of traditional buildings and brand-new skyscrapers. In addition to its fascinating museums, dining, shopping, and cultural experiences, Qatar is also an ideal jumping-off point for further travel to points in Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean.