David Ratner

David Ratner has a PhD in sociology from the Ben Gurion University in Israel. His dissertation focused on Israeli adolescents of Ethiopian descent and the way they construct their identities based on musical tastes.

Lately, David has been preoccupied with the subject of historical memory among Ethiopians in the diaspora, with an emphasis on memories of the revolutionary period in Ethiopia (the 70s and the 80s). So far, he conducted interviews with former members of various political and para-military groups that operated in that period, and who now reside in Israel.

During his stay at the African Studies Centre Leiden, David plans to conduct interviews with Ethiopians who are former political activists who now reside in Europe.

David’s research interests include historical memory; the Ethiopian diaspora; contemporary history of Ethiopia; study of biographical narratives and the sociology of music and musical tastes.