Degrees

• M.A. Sociology, Columbia University, 2021
• B.A. Sociology (with honors), UCLA, 2020

Fields of Study

International Migration, Legal Sociology, Afghan Migrants, Refugees and Asylees

Publications

Peer Reviewed Articles

Fee, Molly and Durana Saydee. 2026. “Refugees and Asylum Seekers.” In The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Sociology. Ed. Lynette Spillman. New York: Oxford University Press.

Awards & Grants

• UC Reimagining Refuge Network (UCRRN) Grant, 2025
• Silton Undergraduate Research Mentorship Award, 2024
• Graduate Research Mentorship, 2023-2024
• Graduate Summer Research Mentorship, 2023
• Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellowship, 2022
• Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, 2018-2020

Conference Presentations

• “The Charade: Examining the Legal Construction and Legibility of ‘Privileged’ Asylum Seekers” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Chicago, Illinois. 2025
• “Who are the Afghan Newcomers? Understanding the Background and Socio-cultural Strengths and Needs of Afghan Evacuees to the United States” International Rescue Committee Webinar. Virtual. 2021.
• “Panahandegan: Negotiating Afghan Identities and Reforming Group Boundaries” Mellon Mays Undergraduate Symposium. Los Angeles, California. 2020.
• “Navigating Identity in the Afghan Diaspora” Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Western Regional Conference. Seattle, Washington. 2019.
• “Ethnic Networks and Identity Formation: The Relationship Between Networks, Boundary-Making, and Refugee Incorporation” Chicago Humanities Research Symposium. Chicago, Illinois. 2019.

Advisors

• Roger Waldinger
• Stefan Timmermans
• Cecilia Menjívar
• Margaret Peters