PhD, University of Waterloo
MA, American University of Beirut
BA, Notre Dame University- Louaize
Email: lelmekka@uwaterloo.ca
ORCID: 0009-0009-3442-8690
Biography
Dr. Lara El Mekaui teaches English and Communications courses at the University of Waterloo. She is also a Research Fellow at the Global Migration Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University, where her work focuses on foresight and futures methodologies for migration research.
She holds a PhD in English Literature from the University of Waterloo, specializing in Transnational and Decolonial Theory, an MA in English Literature from the American University of Beirut, and a BA in English Language and Literature from Notre Dame University-Louaize.
Her research sits at the intersection of migration studies, arts-based and participatory research methods, and futures studies, examining belonging, temporality, and forced migration through creative and analytical frameworks. She is also Lead Non-Fiction Editor at The New Quarterly.
Doctoral Dissertation
Hesitant Belonging: Understanding Generational Traumas of Forced Migration in Black and Palestinian Diaspora Contemporary Transnational Fiction. UWSpace, 2024. http://hdl.handle.net/10012/20569
Selected Publications
"Futures Studies and the Study of Migration: Analytical Frameworks and Methodological Possibilities."Working Papers Series, TMU, 2026.
"Caribana and Carnival: Belonging as Resistance and Remembrance." Journal of Black Studies, 2025.
"Lands of Solidarity: Understanding Contemporary North American and Palestinian Indigenous Realities through Interactive Documentary." In Stories from the Margins, edited by Francesca Mussi, Palgrave Macmillan, 2024, pp. 260–275.
El Mekaui, Lara, Shanique Mothersill, and Jellisa Ricketts. "Explorations of Camille Turner's Unmapped." Canadian Theatre Review, vol. 198, 2024, pp. 55–58.
"The Hesitant Local: The Global Citizens of Open City and Americanah." In Afropolitan Literature as World Literature, edited by James Hodapp, Bloomsbury, 2020, pp. 199–213.
Current Research and Work
I am expanding my doctoral research on hesitancy and belonging by exploring new research ventures.
Research and Teaching Areas
- Palestinian Studies
- Migration and Diaspora Theory
- Black Studies
- Anti-Racist Activism
- Critical Race Theory
- Discourse Analysis
- World Literature
- Postcolonial Literature