Meriam N. Belli

Meriam N. Belli is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Iowa, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Her research and teaching focus on the social and cultural history of the Middle East, particularly issues of memory, identity, nationalism, and transnational movement across the Mediterranean.

• PhD in Middle East History, Georgetown University (2005)
• MA and DEA in History, INALCO, Paris, France

Her research interests include oral history, memory, colonialism, boundaries and mobility, and the transnational history of death and dying. She specializes in the modern Middle East, with a focus on Egypt, North Africa, and Southwest Asia. Her work explores how national, religious, and gender identities are constructed and remembered.

Her teaching includes courses on national, religious, and gender identities in Southwest Asia and North Africa; the history of the modern Middle East; and urban space and colonial architecture.

Dr. Belli has received numerous awards and fellowships, including a Fulbright Scholar Award, an AHI Fellowship, and support from the National History Center and American Historical Association.

• Fulbright Scholar Award (2011-2012)
• Career Development Awards (2019, 2015)
• IMéRA Labex-Med Fellowship (2016-17)
• National History Center/AHA Fellowship (2007)
• Fulbright-Hays Dissertation Award (2000-2002)

She has held teaching positions at Georgetown University, MIT, and Pepperdine University before joining the University of Iowa in 2008. She is actively engaged in research and professional development, including digital humanities initiatives. Her current project examines the political and cultural significance of human remains transit across Europe, North Africa, and Southwest Asia.

She is affiliated with research centers and collaborative projects focused on public history, digital inquiry, and transnational scholarship.