Laila Bushra has a Bachelors in Science (with honors) from the Lahore University of Management Sciences with a major in Computer Science and a minor in Mathematics. She has a doctorate in Sociology from Johns Hopkins University and is current an Assistant Professor. Her interests are Social Theory, Historical Sociology, Urban History, and Political Economy. Her research deals with the multiple dimensions of Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan in relation to the socio-economic and political changes associated with neoliberalism and globalization. She has also been a postdoctoral fellow at the South Asia Institute at Harvard University. Her teaching covers the foundations and theoretical foundations of Sociology, religious fundamentalism, urban issues, and historical sociology.
Bushra, L. (2015). "Searching for Sociology in Pakistan". Global Dialogue Magazine of International Sociological Association.
Bushra, L. & Khan, A. (2018). "God's Vigilantes: Islamist Paramilitarism in Modern Pakistan", Under Review. Jasmin Hristov, Jeb Sprague-Silqado and Aaron Tauss (Eds.), The Political Violence of Capital: Paramilitary Formations in Global Perspective.
Bushra, L., Khan, A. & Sultan, H. (2016). "Brick Kilns Revisited", Published. Ayaz Qureshi and Ali Khan (Eds.), Bonded Labour in Pakistan, Oxford University Press.
Bushra, L. (2018). "Pakistan's Political Futures: Shaping the State". Pakistan Beyond Seventy: The Long View, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Washington D.C, United States of America.
Bushra, L. (2017). "Madrassas, Shrines, and Hybrids: The Diversity and Scope of Civic Islamism". Pakistan at 70: The Long View, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore, Pakistan.
Bushra, L. (2016). "Religion, Politics, and Violence: The Disorders of Contemporary Lahore". On Cities and Citizenship, Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), Singapore, Singapore.
Bushra, L. (2015). "Local in the Time of Global: The Political and Administrative Economy of Sectarian Violence". Global Asia Conference, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Bushra, L. (2015). "Mapping the Civic Infrastructure of Islamist Groups in Lahore". American Sociological Association, Chicago, United States of America.
Bushra, L. (2014). "Islam, Army, and Business: The Politics of Neoliberalism in Pakistan". American Sociological Association, San Francisco, United States of America.
Bushra, L. & Akhtar, A. (2005). "Balochistan: A Case Study of Neo-liberalism and State Repression". Tenth International Polanyi Conference, Istanbul, Turkey.
Bushra, L. (2005). "End of Ethnic Conflict? The Rise of Religious Extremism in South Asia". American Sociological Association (annual meeting), Philadelphia, United States of America.
Bushra, L. (2004). "Globalization and the Withering Away of the Semiperiphery". American Sociological Association (annual meeting), San Francisco, United States of America.