Saeeda Islam

Saeeda Islam is a first year doctoral student in American Studies and a 2022-2023 fellow at the Yale Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration (RITM).  Islam’s research interests include the intersection of immigration history, carceral history and medical history. She studies the incarceration of Latinx women and other minorities (such as Punjabi and Afghan refugees) at the southwest borderlands in the US. Of Mexican and Pakistani heritage, Islam was born and raised in Stockton, California. She received her B.A. and M.A. in History from California State University of Sacramento (CSUS). She has worked in civil rights advocacy, youth leadership, teaching and most recently for nearly three years served as the Faculty Affairs Coordinator at Columbia University. She is also the co-founder of a webinar and podcast series titled: In Conversation with Historians. As a community organizer and educator, Islam is dedicated to immigration reform, diversity and inclusion. She is passionate about working with incarcerated women and providing them with resources they need. Islam is invited as a speaker at university events and lectures regularly, to speak on issues relevant to women’s rights, interfaith building and socio-political topics affecting the community. In her spare time she enjoys being in nature, playing the violin, and creating art.

Islam’s research interests include the intersection of immigration history, the carceral state and medical history. She studies the incarceration of Latinx women and other minorities (such as Punjabi and Afghan refugees) at the southwest borderlands in the US. She also is working on an ongoing research project on indigeneity and Islam, currently she is studying the Indigenous Muslim Communities in Mexico.