Hello!

My name is Paroma Mehta and
I am a senior in American University’s School of International Service, with a minor in finance . I am from Mumbai, India and moved to Washington DC for my undergraduate degree. During my time at AU, I have been a part of the Washington Mentorship Program, a program that allows high-achieving incoming first years to undertake a full course load and an internship in their first semester at AU, and a part of the 2019-2020 cohort of the Olson Scholar program, wherein selected incoming second year students are given the opportunity to conduct high-level research in the international studies field under the mentorship of an SIS faculty member who is a researcher in their field of interest. Additionally, I have served as Editor-in-Chief for Clocks & Clouds, AU’s undergraduate research journal for the social studies.

Additionally, my academic interests are mainly focused on the international political economy, foreign policy and human rights, across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. I also have worked with human trafficking research and children’s protection laws, currently completing my senior thesis on human trafficking in India with the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons as a part of the US Department of State’s Diplomacy Lab program with a group of my peers. My other research interests include feminist and labour movements, social media as a part of revolutionary toolkits, authoritarian regimes, and international development. My interests in the area of business finance centre around foreign exchange, trade, and international markets and institutions. Much of my research is also informed by my other intellectual endeavours – namely history, philosophy, media studies, and anthropology.

Some of my past research includes:

  • The Experience of the Students Under the Chinese Educational Mission in the United States of
    America in the Late 19th Century
  • A Comparative Analysis of the Religious, Imperialistic, and Religious-Political Causes for the 1948 Palestinian Refugee Exodus
  • Tweeting to Tehran: A Look at Iranian American Political Activism
  • Not Too Big to Fail: A Comparative Analysis of World Bank Poverty Outreach Efforts in India
  • The Wretched of Egypt: A Look at Post-Colonial Egypt through a Fanonian Lens
  • Egypt, the Mother of the World: The Role of Gender in Party Dynamics of the Egyptian Wafd Party, 1923 to 1952
  • Khwati aur Riyasat: Political Empowerment of Pakistani Women

In my spare time, I am a prolific reader, a lover of languages and passionate about music. Some of my favourite books include Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhan, A Spy in the House of Love by Anaïs Nin, The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy by Christopher Lasch, the Shape of the Beast by Arundhati Roy, and Ornament and Silence by Kennedy Fraser.

Welcome to my site!

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