Rochelle A Davis

Rochelle A. Davis is an Associate Professor at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and holds the Sultanate of Oman Chair. Her research focuses on refugees, conflict, and cultural dimensions of military engagement, particularly in the Middle East. She leads a joint Georgetown-IOM study on Iraqi displacement and authored Palestinian Village Histories, co-winning the Albert Hourani Book Award. Davis is Principal Investigator of a Title VI grant funding Middle Eastern language programs and public outreach. Her teaching emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, using media and primary sources to explore Arab societies and conflict impacts. She actively collaborates with students on research, co-authoring publications.

Her academic work spans Palestinian diaspora studies, U.S. military cultural strategies in Iraq/Afghanistan, and refugee policy. Key grants include the National Resource Center-MENA (2018-2022). Awards include the Hourani Award for her book analyzing Palestinian village memory-keeping. Davis’ current book project examines the paradoxes of cultural sensitivity in military occupations.

Her administrative roles include directing Georgetown’s outreach initiatives to promote less-commonly-taught languages and K-12 education programs. Teaching innovations include curating exhibits from the Palestine Poster Project and Wikipedia editing assignments. She advises on policy issues related to displacement, as seen in her work on durable solutions for Iraqi IDPs.