Dima Smaira joins FIME as a resident scholar

We are very excited to introduce Dr Dima Smaira, who has begun her three-month residency as FIMEs Resident Scholar for the spring of 2022. The residency provides for Lebanon-based academics an opportunity to focus on their own research as part of FIMEs small collegial work community in Beirut. In addition, the resident scholar will organise a small activity aimed at the local and international academic community related to their own research.

The Resident Scholar -programme has generated a lot of interest, and we were pleased to receive several very strong applications from a wide range of academic fields. We would like to thank all applicants for taking the time to present their research projects to us.

Congratulations Dima and welcome to FIME!

Dima Smaira is a lecturer on a part-time basis at the Political Studies and Public Administration Department at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and an independent researcher. She was a post-Doctoral Research Associate at Durham University’s Geography Department and a Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London. Dima is interested in the spatial and everyday turns in International Relations and Peace & Conflict Studies. She uses both traditional qualitative and participatory ethnographic methods, including digital storytelling and mapping. Her research is looking into youth and citizenship in deeply divided societies and on everyday peace and security in Lebanon, particularly across Beirut’s Southern Suburbs (known as Dahiyeh). Dima is also a member of Khaddit Beirut (Beirut Shake-up), an initiative for reform and recovery launched following the Beirut 2020 port explosion (https://khadditbeirut.com/).