Rezarta Bilali, PhD, UMass Amherst
Rezarta Bilali joins the Dispute Resolution faculty at UMass Boston in September 2009, having recently completed her PhD in Social Psychology with a concentration on Peace and Violence at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her dissertation is entitled "The Effect of Group Identity on Memories of Past Conflicts."
A native of Albania, Rezarta received a BA in Psychology from Bogazici University and an MA in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Sabanci University, both in Istanbul. She is fluent in three languages and conversant in an additional two.
Research Interests:
Rezarta's research interests lie at the interface of conflict resolution and social psychology, and her research has revolved around issues of identity and memory in the context of intergroup conflict and violence.
She has conducted research in Turkey, the Balkans, the U.S., and Burundi. She also is part of a media reconciliation project developed by La Benevolencija-Humanitarian Tools and Foundations in the Great Lakes Region in Africa, which produces educational radio programs on the evolution of conflict, intergroup violence, and reconciliation for Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Recent Publications:
Vollhardt, J. & Bilali, R. (2008). Social psychology’s contribution to the psychological study of peace: a review. Social Psychology, 39, 12-25.
Staub, E., Pearlman, L., & Bilali, R. (2008). Psychological recovery, reconciliation and the prevention of new violence: an approach and its uses in Rwanda. In B. Hart (Ed.). Peacebuilding in Traumatized Societies. American University Press.