Houman Oliaei

Houman Oliaei is an assistant professor of anthropology at Babson College. He holds a PhD and an MA in anthropology from Brandeis University, as well as an MA in anthropology from the University of Tehran. His research intersects various fields, including the anthropology of humanitarianism, the anthropology of citizenship and state, political theory, forced migration and refugee studies, and Middle East studies.

His book, Yazidis on the Margins of Humanity: Internally Displaced in Iraqi Kurdistan, published by Indiana University Press, examines the lived experiences of displaced Yazidis in northern Iraq after the 2014 ISIS genocide. Drawing on ethnographic research in an internally displaced persons camp in Iraqi Kurdistan, the book explores the relationship between humanitarian intervention, internal displacement, citizenship, belonging, and the politics of recognition. His current research examines the transcontinental journeys of Middle Eastern asylum seekers to the U.S.-Mexico border, with particular attention to how migrants navigate shifting legal regimes, humanitarian infrastructures, and uncertain forms of protection.