Merve Fejzula is a historian of modern Africa and its diaspora, specializing in twentieth-century West Africa's global connections. Her research interests bridge African intellectual and art history, Black internationalism, and the history of political thought. She is currently at work on a book manuscript, which examines the transformation of Black publics from the late nineteenth century until the 1970s through a history of negritude - the philosophy of Black humanism most associated with the francophone Black world. Concurrently, she is also working on a curatorial project and documentary film about Younousse Seye, a path-breaking contemporary artist from Senegal. A self-taught painter and sculptor whose work has been exhibited across Africa, who consistently advocates for African women, and whose acting credits include films with the legendary director Ousmane Sembene - Seye has had a remarkable career in both the visual arts and film.

Merve's work has been the recipient of prizes, including the Institute of Historical Research's Sarah Pollard Prize and the University of Cambridge's Sarah Norton Prize. Her research has been funded by numerous fellowships and grants, including the University of Chicago, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Harry Ransom Center, the Royal Historical Society, and the Beinecke Library, among others. She began as a Preparing Future Faculty Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Missouri and completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge.