Omer Aijazi is a transdisciplinary scholar of disaster and conflict, interested in how people imagine and claim their worlds in the wake of colonial rule and environmental ruin amid the shadows of Empire. Questioning disciplinary norms within disaster studies and the carceral logics of South Asia, he explores these ideas in the mountain borderlands of the disputed territory of Kashmir and its continuity with Northern Pakistan. Omer works alongside international development, humanitarian, and human rights organizations, linking research with policy, practice, and activism.
Experience
–present
Visiting Researcher in Anthropology, University of Victoria
2022–2023
Technical Editor, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)
2018–2021
Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Anthropology and Religion), University of Toronto
2020–2021
Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Global Challenges, Brunel University London
2018–2020
Research Consultant, United Nations ESCAP
Education
University of British Columbia, Ph.D in Critical Disaster Studies
University of British Columbia, MA in Community-Engaged Disaster Response
University of Toronto, BBA (Honours) in Strategic Management