Professor Lori Delivers Keynote on ‘Passport Power’ at Historic Claflin University Conference
Noora Lori, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies delivered the keynote address at Claflin University’s 23rd Conference on Contemporary English and Language Arts Pedagogy, speaking on “Passport Power: Time, Borders and Migrations.”
The address, delivered on October 24, 2024, anchored this year’s conference themed “Borders and Migrations” at the historic South Carolina institution.
Lori, who co-directs the Forced Migration and Human Trafficking Initiative at Boston University, shared insights from her extensive research on citizenship, migration, and racial politics in the Middle East and comparative contexts. Her award-winning book “Offshore Citizens: Permanent ‘Temporary’ Status in the Gulf” (Cambridge University Press 2019) has garnered three prestigious book awards from the American Political Science Association and the International Studies Association.
Her expertise in these areas is informed by previous appointments as an Academy Scholar at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, a fellow at the International Security Program of the Harvard Kennedy School, and a visiting scholar at the Dubai School of Government.
The keynote highlighted a meaningful historical connection between the two institutions – both Boston University and Claflin University were chartered in 1869 by former Massachusetts governor William Claflin, with founding principles prohibiting discrimination based on race, religion, or gender. Notably, Claflin University was the first college in South Carolina to open its doors to African-American students.
The two-day conference, running October 22-23, has brought together scholars from across the globe to discuss themes of borders, migration, and pedagogy in contemporary education. A recording of Professor Lori’s keynote address will be made available shortly.
Noora Lori’s research broadly focuses on the political economy of migration, the development of security institutions and international migration control, and the establishment and growth of national identity systems. She is particularly interested in the study of temporary worker programs and racial hierarchies in comparative perspective. Regionally, her work examines the shifting population movements accompanying state formation in the Persian Gulf, expanding the study of Middle East politics to include historic and new connections with East Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Lori is the Founding Director of the Pardee School Initiative on Forced Migration and Human Trafficking. Read more about Professor Lori on her faculty profile.