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Belay Alem

Graduate Student
Email: belayalem@ufl.edu


Education

  • Ph.D. Anthropology, University of Florida, In Progress
  • L.L.M. Business and Corporate Law, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia, 2014
  • L.L.B. Law, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia, 2012
  • B.A. Management, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia, 2014

Subfield

Cultural Anthropology


Chair

Dr. Brenda Chalfin


Research Interests

My project aims to understand the interface between social and legal regimes of inheritance, property, and taxation on heirs’ property collectively owned by African American communities in Alachua County, Florida. It seeks to understand more precisely the range of factors that impede property transmission, including the reasons why property owners do not have legally recognized wills, approved tax documents, or legal representation to maintain their property claims, obligations, and entitlements.

The research employs participatory community-based research method to understand processes, forces, practices, conditions, and factors that facilitate the loss of heirs’ property (intergenerational property) of African Americans.

Key terms: Heirs ‘property, kinship, obligations, entitlements, dispossession, human experience, hospitality, enmity, emotions, and memories.

CV: https://belayalem.wixsite.com/belay/cv


Selected Publications

The Legal and Practical Problems of Subrogation Right Under Ethiopian Insurance Law: Analysis of Law and Practice (Amharic), Published on ANRS Justice Professionals Training and Research Institute Journal, V.2 No. 1

· Good Governance and Tax Administration in ANRS: Legal and Practical Problems, (Amharic), Published on ANRS Justice Professionals Training and Research Institute Journal, V.2 No. 2


Grants, Fellowships, and Awards

· UF Center for African Studies, Teaching Fellowship, 2018- Present

· Elizabeth Eddy Pre-Dissertation Doctoral Award, 2019

· Tedder & Rothman Doctoral Fellowship, 2022

· Programs in the Public Humanities Grants (2022-2023)