Selma Hedlund

Selma Hedlund serves as a Postdoctoral Associate at Boston University's Center for Forced Displacement (CFD), where she champions participatory research methodologies to drive social change through academic inquiry.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD in Sociology from Boston University
• MA in Sociology from Columbia University (Fulbright Scholar)
• BA in Human Rights Studies from Lund University

Her research critically examines Migration and Immigration Policy through the lens of Immigrant Incorporation, consistently intersecting with Health disparities and Forced Displacement dynamics. She pioneers comparative analyses of refugee and Indigenous experiences, revealing systemic parallels in trauma, resilience, and cultural erasure within displacement contexts.

Her 2020 publication "Medicines at Standing Rock" exemplifies her transdisciplinary approach, synthesizing anthropology, indigenous epistemologies, and public health frameworks to address medical sovereignty in colonized spaces.

Her scholarly recognition includes:

• Fulbright Scholar designation for graduate studies

Her pre-doctoral community organizing work in Swedish refugee integration during the Syrian civil war directly informs her activist-scholar praxis, bridging grassroots advocacy with academic rigor.

She operates within BU's Center for Forced Displacement, a dedicated hub for interdisciplinary research on global displacement crises and policy interventions.