Nicholas Kolenda
Nicholas Kolenda is a 5th year PhD candidate who specializes in Arab American diaspora studies with a special focus on politics, ethnography, and identity in Metro Detroit. With a varied career as a political organizer, park ranger, researcher, educator, and musician, Nick has had eclectic life experience. Between methodologies and career paths, this eclecticism and eccentricity is an ongoing theme, as exemplified by the fact that he chose to write his biography in 3rd person. His academic interests aside from Arab American studies include modern Arabic intellectual history, Palestinian history, and Late Ottoman history; his hobbies include hiking, biking, cooking, brewing, and swimming. He received his BA from the University of Michigan in 2018 in Near-Eastern Studies and Political Science, and his MA from the University of Michigan in Middle East North African Studies in 2021. Aside from finishing his research for his dissertation, Nick's other current noble goal is to locate the best shawarma in Metro Detroit. Shawarma suggestions and other comments and concerns can be sent to nickxk@arizona.edu.