belew graduated with a degree in the "comparative history of ideas" from university of washington in 2005, and both a master's degree in 2008 and doctoral degree in 2011 in "american studies" from yale university. she is currently an assistant professor [lecturer] of "u.s. history and the college" at the university of chicago. her "teaching centers on the broad themes of race, gender, violence, identity, and the meaning of war." she is currently on research leave studying "gun violence and the history of the 1990s."