Leeya Mehta

Leeya Mehta is an Instructor in the Department of English at George Mason University and serves as Director of the Alan Cheuse International Writers Center. She received her Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University, a Human Rights fellowship from United Nations University in Tokyo, an MA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Oxford University, and a BA in Economics with Mathematics minor from St. Xavier's College, University of Mumbai.

Her research examines nationalism, intergenerational trauma, and breaking cycles of violence through literature. Using multidisciplinary approaches integrating economics, public policy, and human rights, she teaches international literature courses featuring contemporary writers, including those in exile. Her scholarly focus includes:

• Transgenerational cultural displacement in diasporic communities
• Feminist reinterpretations of historical trauma
• Interdisciplinary connections between literary and social justice frameworks

Publications predominantly explore cultural memory and identity, with recent works analyzing diaspora experiences through poetic forms and speculative fiction. Research topics consistently engage with migration, cultural hybridity, and postcolonial identity.

Significant honors include the 2024 Faculty Civic Excellence Award for classroom innovation and Baldwin100 project curation, the 2025 Faculty Member of Year award, and dual American Graphic Design Awards for exhibition design. Her Baldwin100 project commemorated James Baldwin's centennial through year-long programming.

As Center Director, she organizes international writer residencies and public humanities initiatives. Her forthcoming novel Extinction continues her exploration of cultural displacement narratives.