David B. Edwards

David B. Edwards is an anthropologist whose research concentrates on Afghanistan, Islam, political conflict, documentary film, and post-conflict societies. Before Taliban: Genealogies of the Afghan Jihad follows the lives of Nur Muhammad Taraki, Samiullah Safi, and Qazi Amin Waqad to examine competing visions of Afghanistan's political future. Published by the University of California Press, the book extends the biographical and ethnographic method Edwards used in Heroes of the Age. His long association with Williams College has also supported teaching and archival work on Afghanistan, connecting field research with the study of media, memory, and governance.