The Iran Circle
Academic Advisory Board:
Shahla Haeri
Professor Emerita of Anthropology, Boston University
A former director of the Women’s Studies Program at Boston University, Shahla Haeri is one of the pioneers of Iranian Anthropology, and has produced cutting-edge ethnographies of Iran, Pakistan and the Muslim world. Her landmark books include her classic ethnography, Law of Desire: Temporary Marriage, Mut’a, in Iran (1989/2014) translated into Arabic and reprinted frequently, highlighting the tenacious but secretive custom of temporary marriage in Iran; No Shame for the Sun: Lives of Professional Pakistani Women (2002/2004), widens the ethnographic scope to make visible lives of educated and professional Muslim women. Her most recent book, The Unforgettable Queens of Islam: Succession, Authority, Gender (Cambridge University Press) is a groundbreaking book on the extraordinary lives and legacies of a few remarkable Muslim women sovereigns from across cultures and Islamic history. For further information about Prof. Haeri please see her academic webpage.
Houchang E. Chehabi
Professor of International Relations and History, Boston University
Houchang Chehabi has taught at Harvard and has been a visiting professor at the University of St. Andrews, UCLA, and the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa. He has published two books, "Iranian Politics and Religious Modernism: The Liberation Movement of Iran under the Shah and Khomeini", (1990), and "Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years", (2006). He has also co-edited "Politics, Society, and Democracy: Comparative Studies", (1995); "Sultanistic Regimes", (1998); "Iran’s Constitutional Revolution: Popular Politics, Cultural Transformations, and Transnational Connections", (2010); and "Iran and the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century: Essays in Honoour of Mohammad-Reza Djalili", (2013).
Pamela Karimi
Professor of Art History and Media Studies, Cornell University
Pamela Karimi is an architect and an architectural historian. She earned her PhD from the History, Theory & Criticism of Art and Architecture Program at MIT in 2009. Her primary field of specialization is art, architecture, and visual culture of the modern Middle East. Her second area of research is design and sustainability in North America. Before joining the Art History faculty at UMass Dartmouth, Dr. Karimi taught at Brandeis University, NYU, Wellesley College, and Lawrenceville School.
Arzoo Osanloo
Professor of Law and Anthropology, University of Washington
Arezo Osanloo is a professor of law, societies, and justice and director of the Middle East Center at the University of Washington in Seattle. She is a legal anthropologist and, prior to her work at the university, worked as an immigration and asylum lawyer in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. Arezo is the author of The Work of Forgiveness: Mercy, Law, and Victims’ Rights in Iran (Princeton University Press, 2020). She is also the author of The Politics of Women’s Rights in Iran (Princeton University Press, 2009), which examines the politicization of women’s rights in Iran.
Mehrzad Boroujerdi
Professor of Political Science, Missouri University
Dr. Mehrzad Boroujerdi is Vice Provost and Dean of College of Arts, Sciences, and Education at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Previously he was a Professor of Government and International Affairs and Director of the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech (2019-2022) and before that Professor of Political Science at Syracuse University (1992-2019). He is the author of Tarashidam, Parastidam, Shikastam: Guftarhay-i dar Siyasat va Huvyiyat-i Irani (Tehran, 2010) and Iranian Intellectuals and the West: Tormented Triumph of Nativism (Syracuse University Press, 1996); co-author of Post-revolutionary Iran: A Political Handbook (Syracuse University Press, 2018); and editor of Mirror for the Muslim Prince: Islam and Theory of Statecraft (Syracuse University Press, 2013). His articles have appeared in Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Critique: Journal for Critical Studies of the Middle East, International Third World Studies Journal and Review, Iranian Journal of International Affairs, Iranian Studies, Foreign Service Journal, Journal of Peace Research, Middle East Economic Survey, and Syracuse Law Review.
Hazhir Rahmandad
Professor of Management Science, MIT
Hazhir Rahmandad is the Schussel Family Professor of Management Science and a Professor of System Dynamics at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Hazhir's research shows how complex organizational dynamics can lead to heterogeneity in organizational practices and outcomes. He has analyzed how organizations learn in the presence of delays between taking action and observing the results, and has shown through empirical data and simulations the resulting learning challenges. Hazhir's strategy research has explored the shape of organizational performance landscapes, capability development tradeoffs under competition, and erosion of organizational capabilities through adaptation traps. In another stream of work he has studied public health problems, including COVID-19, obesity and depression dynamics, and comparing different modeling methodologies in application to epidemics, among others. Hazhir also contributes to expanding the dynamic modeling toolbox through advancing parameter estimation and validation methods for dynamic models.
The advisory board of The Iran Circle does not oversee the entirety of the produced content and each member only provides consultation in their own respective academic domains. Therefore, the advisory board is not responsible for the produced content.
Staff
Amin Faizpour
Founder and President
After finishing his PhD at Boston University in 2017 and joining Harvard Medical School as a research fellow, Amin initiated the Iran Circle project with intellectual and operational support from local faculty and Iranian student associations. Amin received his previous degrees in engineering and science from Shiraz University and Tehran Polytechnic. In parallel with formal education and work (as research scientist), he has actively pursued his personal interest in humanities and social sciences, resulting in the formation and growth of this non-profit organization.
Other members of the executive staff will be added to this list in the future.
The Iran Circle will keep the identities of some of its members confidential at the discretion of the members themselves.
If you wish to collaborate with The Iran Circle, as an official member or as a freelance contributor, your identity can be public, or kept confidential. For some forms of volunteer collaboration with us (for example, in translating speeches or texts, designing infographics, animations, etc.), you can also collaborate with us anonymously, via email (info@theirancircle.com).
If you are interested in this form of cooperation, please contact us.