The Center for Middle Eastern & North African Studies (CMENAS) is pleased to announce the recipient of this year’s Mahfoud Bennoune Memorial Thesis Award. The recipient is recent graduate Catreen Marji for her thesis titled “Constructing Refugee Identity: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Humanitarian Narratives on Syrian Refugees in Al-Zaatari Camp (2012–2022)”. The award is given by CMENAS to support an outstanding master's thesis in memory of Dr. Mahfoud Bennoune, a beloved Algerian professor, author, teacher, human rights advocate, and father, who studied at the University of Michigan. Marji’s thesis emphasizes the values that Dr. Bennoune fought for, including tolerance, secularism, human rights, and women’s rights.
Catreen Marji graduated in 2026 with a Master of Arts in International and Regional Studies (MIRS) with a specialization in Middle Eastern and North African Studies (MENAS). During her time at the University of Michigan, she was elected Vice President of Rackham Student Government for the 2026–2027 academic year. Her research interests include refugee studies, humanitarian governance, and identity formation. Her thesis examined the construction of Syrian refugee identity in Jordan through humanitarian discourse and refugee narratives, exploring how displacement is experienced and understood over time. Catreen will continue her studies at the University of Michigan as a Master of Social Work student.
Congratulations, Catreen, on this outstanding achievement
