Sara D Pursley

Sara D. Pursley is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies at New York University’s College of Arts & Science, Department of History. Her research focuses on the cultural, social, and intellectual history of modern Iraq, particularly exploring how concepts of time, space, and selfhood were reconfigured during the 20th century. She holds a PhD in History from the Graduate Center, CUNY, and a BA in Comparative Literature from Dartmouth College.

Her research interests include economic development theories, gender and sexuality studies, postcolonialism, and the intersection of psychology and history. She has authored Familiar Futures: Time, Selfhood, and Sovereignty in Iraq (2019) and is completing Enclosing Iraq: Insurgency, Development, Law. Her work examines anticolonial movements, state formation, and U.S. imperial influence.

Her articles span themes like Iraqi revolutions, colonial legal systems, and gendered education policies, reflecting interdisciplinary approaches. Awards include the Cotsen Postdoctoral Fellowship (Princeton) and the Carolyn G. Heilbrun Dissertation Prize. She teaches courses on Middle Eastern youth movements, gender studies, and empire’s impact on Iraq.

Future projects include a study on Cold War agrarian reforms in Iraq and Jordan. She advises graduate students and maintains active engagement with Middle Eastern historiography.