Education
New School for Social Research (2007-2009)
Masters of Arts Degree in Political Science
Austin College (2003-2007)
Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations with Honors, cum laude
Research Interests
Modernity and the Middle East, International Politics
Publications & Conference Papers
“The Islamic Republic’s Inner Mossaddegh.” Tehran Bureau, 16 July 2010. Available from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/07/the-islamic-republics-inner-mosaddegh.html.
“‘Tant pis pour nous’: Reinterpreting Rationality During Mosaddeq’s Oil Crisis.” Masters Thesis, New School, May 2009.
“Dubai: A Case Study of (Anti)Modernity.” Paper presented at New York State Political Science Association 63rd Annual Conference 2009, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York City, April 24 – 25, 2009.
“Weber’s Conception of State and the Reigning Neoliberal Order.” Paper presented at the Global Studies Association Conference: The National in the Global Era, New York City, June 6 – 8, 2008.
“‘Tant pis pour nous’: Nationalism, Symbolic Martyrdom, and the Iranian Oil Crisis.” Paper presented at the First Annual Organization for the Advancement of Studies of Inner Eurasian Societies (OASIES) Graduate Student Conference, Columbia University, April 13, 2008.
“The ‘Martyr Complex’ and its Effect on Iranian Foreign Policy.” Senior Thesis, Austin College, May 2007.
Ongoing Research
“(Anti)Modernity in the Middle East”
In Western discourse, modernity is synonymous with Western civilization. In this sense, modernity is a product of the West that requires non-Western civilizations to adopt Western ideals in order to achieve modernity. As a result of this hegemonic interpretation of modernity, the Middle East as a region is popularly perceived as anti-modern. The ad nauseam characterization of Middle Eastern peoples as fanatical, anti-secular, and irrational further contributes to the construction of a subconscious interpretation of the region as inherently resistant to socio-political modernity. With society and politics abstracted from analyses of modernity, Western observers are left to equate the region’s economic progress, as in the small Persian Gulf states, with modernity. In this study, I adopt the argument that modernity is a universal phenomenon that elicits particular responses from individuated societies. A society, then, is modern when a political public exists to dialogically formulate their particular reaction to modernity through public discourse. By comparing the political publics of Dubai and Iran, and drawing on the work of Reinhardt Schulze, Tim Mitchell, and Emirati intellectuals, I hypothesize that Dubai, despite its appearance, is an illusory model of modernity that endangers real modern transformation in the region.
“Transnational Capital and the Redistribution of Sovereignty”
Capitalism relies on sovereign institutions to secure the juridical-political conditions required for capitalism. However, transnational capital has displaced national capital as the primary economic force in the global system. Accordingly, transnational capital is accompanied by transnational institutions regulating political and economic transactions. In this paper, I explore the capacity of existing regional organizations to fulfill the regulatory demands of transnational capital and, if valid, the redistribution of political and economic sovereignty between states and supranational bodies.
Field Research
Islamic Republic of Iran (Summer 2006)
United Arab Emirates (Winter 2006)
Affiliations & Awards
Iranian-American Scholarship Fund Recipient (2008 )
– Farhang and Parichehr Mehr Honorary Scholarship
– M. Ali Aghassi Annual Memorial Scholarship
– Samadi Family Scholarship
Honors in Political Science, Austin College (2007)
Phi Alpha Theta – National History Honor Society (2007)
Pi Delta Phi – National French Honor Society (2007)
Pi Sigma Alpha – National Political Science Honor Society (2006)
Languages
French – Reading Proficiency
Persian – Reading Proficiency
(Certificate in Middle Eastern Languages from NYU expected Summer 2010)
Politics-Related Work Experience
DBE Goodfaith, Inc. (2007-Present)
Political Consultant, Assistant Editor
US Department of State (Fall 2005)
Policy Brief Writer (Intern)
Arms Control Association (Summer 2005)
Research Intern
politics & metapolitics 