Notifications by Mahbubeh Moqadam
Taylor&Francis, 2024
Proposing a socio-historical and decolonial analytical lens, I challenge the current dominant dis... more Proposing a socio-historical and decolonial analytical lens, I challenge the current dominant discourses surrounding Iranian women’s agency in emerging public spaces in the late 19th century. I scrutinise the urban landscape in late 19th-century Iran, drawing from a variety of archival data, such as first-hand memoirs, travelogues, and official reports, to situate Iranian women in a broader sociohistorical context and present a nuanced understanding of their presence in emerging public spaces. To do so, I compare texts written by the non-locals with those written by local observers with a specific focus on their characterisation of women and their presence and agency in the newly emerging public spaces during this time. Having used grounded theory methods to carry out the initial examining and coding of the data, I investigate the degree to which the images portrayed by the local and non-local texts take into account the material circumstances of women. I deconstruct the dominant knowledge about Iranian women’s portrayal and reconstruct a layered sociohistorical interpretation of the findings, thereby proposing an alternative decolonial narrative of women’s agency in public spaces in 19th-century Iran. I contend that the prevalent historical portrayal of women’s agency, particularly in public spaces, is markedly shaped by one of the narratives of the late 19th century, i.e. that of the non-local Western observers. Building on a comparative analysis, I argue that to produce alternative decolonial place-based feminist knowledge, it is imperative to re-engage with domestic texts. By revisiting these sources, feminist scholars can question and deconstruct the dominant knowledge on women’s presence in urban landscapes and reconstruct a more accurate and diversified feminist narrative that acknowledges women’s dynamic interplay with the local and global forces which in itself is a decolonial feminist practice.
Sage, 2023
The literature on Ali Shariati, “the ideologue’’ of ‘‘the Iranian revolution,” and his arguments ... more The literature on Ali Shariati, “the ideologue’’ of ‘‘the Iranian revolution,” and his arguments about women presents varied views, including rejection, criticism, and confirmation. While this literature is instructive, it primarily interprets Shariati’s texts from today’s socio-political perspective, and it thus lacks an analytical dimension that examines how and why Shariati’s ideas profoundly influenced numerous Iranian women in the 1970s. By revisiting the global and local socio-historical context of the 1970s and analyzing its influence on Iranian society, particularly the youth, as well as on Shariati’s perceptions and ideas about women’s social role within that socio-political context, this paper argues that Shariati crafted a “collective revolutionary Islamic identity” for women. This concept underscores the socio-historical and political significance of Shariati’s arguments about Muslim women in the political setting leading up to the revolution of 1979.
KAOSGL, 2020
This special issue is an outcome of a dream and
policy and also a very difficult but instructive,... more This special issue is an outcome of a dream and
policy and also a very difficult but instructive,
exciting process. Before we go to the cause
of this assessment, perhaps the story of the
the emergence of the Kaos GL magazine will make
it all more understandable. Kaos GL Magazine,
which has been published continuously since
1994, arose from a group of homosexuals’ need
for producing their own words, and has been
continuing to say it for 25 years. Since then, it
has been an area where many LGBTIs and anyone,
who has a say against the imposed gender
norms can express themselves.
Land Acknowledgement and Recognition Before we can talk about sociology, power, and inequality, w... more Land Acknowledgement and Recognition Before we can talk about sociology, power, and inequality, we must acknowledge our presence on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Lenapehoking, both diasporic and descendant of Lenape communities. The American Sociological Association (ASA), acknowledges that academic institutions, indeed the nation-state itself, was founded upon and continues to enact exclusions and
The main question that I pursue in this paper is: What made Anis al-Dawlah the special character ... more The main question that I pursue in this paper is: What made Anis al-Dawlah the special character that we know her as in Qajar history? Born Fatimah in 1845, in a rural poor family in Imamah village, as the story is well-known, she attracted Nasir al-Din shah's attention on one the his journeys. According to Taj al-Saltanah's Khatirat, what had attracted the king to her was not so much a beautiful face but clever answers that she had given the king in his conversation with her. When in 1852, she was engaged to Nasir al-Din Shah, brought to the Shah's andarun, entrusted to Furugh al-Saltanah and became her lady-in-waiting, she was under ten years of age. Quickly, she learnt the ways of the Court, witnessed the relationships, personal and political, among both the inner and outer circles, as well as ministers, diplomats and their wives who visited the Court. After Furugh al-Saltanah's death, she became nearer and dearer to the king. As she grew in age and status, gained insight and experience, her position in the andarun was elevated. With the death of Mahd-i 'Ulya in 1873, she virtually became the fi rst lady of the Qajar court, until Nasir al-Din Shah's death in 1896. We know from historical documents of the period that in her powerful position, people with various complains, demands, petitions would turn to her for mediation. This could be a poor farmer or a high-ranking statesman. Foreign visitors often paid her respect and noted her position and influence in their reports. Unlike many other wives of Nasir al-Din Shah, Anis al-Dawlah bore the king no children; in the last year of the monarch's life she was granted the honorifi c title Qudsiyah; she was deeply grieved by his death and died within a year of his assassination. What emerges from this brief biography for my argument in this paper is that unlike many other wives of the king, her status in the Court was neither because of stunning beauty, nor because of her relation to any (male) off-springs. We need to understand and appreciate her in terms of her individuality, but not simply as an individual; she was a woman of her period.
IQSA and Boston University, 2012
American Sociological Association- Global & Transnational Sociology , 2022
Table of Contents Additionally, we are also pleased to feature a fabulous line up of graduate stu... more Table of Contents Additionally, we are also pleased to feature a fabulous line up of graduate students on the market, and impressive scholarly work recently published by the section's members. We hope that you enjoy reading this newsletter, which highlights a wide array of globally-oriented scholars from within and outside US academia, working on a multitude of pertinent and pressing global issues today. And perhaps more importantly, we hope you have restful and joyful Winter Holidays! Sincerely, The Editors. Dear GATS Section Members, This newsletter comes at the backdrop of compounding global events and crises occupying and animating popular and scholarly discourses. From popular upheavals in the streets of Iran and China protesting violent authoritarianism to climate-induced displacement and speculative infrastructural development, the global challenges facing the world today have taken on particular urgency. In this issue of the Global and Transnational Section of ASA, we feature a host of scholars from around the world whose research grapples with understanding these events and their consequences from a global perspective. As part of our Spotlight Series, we first feature an interview with Mahbubeh Moqadam, describing the emergence and diffusion of popular protests across different sectors, regions, and groups in Iran-a watershed moment in the country's long history of women's struggles. Our second Spotlight Series features Dalia Wahdan and examines the socioeconomic impacts of the resurgence of large-scale infrastructural projects in Egypt and their convergence with private financial markets. Following a similar critical line of inquiry, our third Spotlight Series puts into dialogue Dr. M. Anwar Hossen and Dr. Nikhil Deb who examine the violent socioeconomic impacts and displacement brought about by climate-induced disasters in Bangladesh. Last but definitely not least, the issue brings together in conversation, Dr. Dana Moss and Dr.
Panel at the 24th world congress of the International Political Studies Association, Poznan, Pola... more Panel at the 24th world congress of the International Political Studies Association, Poznan, Poland.
Papers by Mahbubeh Moqadam
Taylor&Francis, Sep 19, 2024
Proposing a socio-historical and decolonial analytical lens, I challenge the current dominant dis... more Proposing a socio-historical and decolonial analytical lens, I challenge the current dominant discourses surrounding Iranian women’s agency in emerging public spaces in the late 19th century. I scrutinise the urban landscape in late 19th-century Iran, drawing from a variety of archival data, such as first-hand memoirs, travelogues, and official reports, to situate Iranian women in a broader sociohistorical context and present a nuanced understanding of their presence in emerging public spaces. To do so, I compare texts written by the non-locals with those written by local observers with a specific focus on their characterisation of women and their presence and agency in the newly emerging public spaces during this time. Having used grounded theory methods to carry out the initial examining and coding of the data, I investigate the degree to which the images portrayed by the local and non-local texts take into account the material circumstances of women. I deconstruct the dominant knowledge about Iranian women’s portrayal and reconstruct a layered sociohistorical interpretation of the findings, thereby proposing an alternative decolonial narrative of women’s agency in public spaces in 19th-century Iran. I contend that the prevalent historical portrayal of women’s agency, particularly in public spaces, is markedly shaped by one of the narratives of the late 19th century, i.e. that of the non-local Western observers. Building on a comparative analysis, I argue that to produce alternative decolonial place-based feminist knowledge, it is imperative to re-engage with domestic texts. By revisiting these sources, feminist scholars can question and deconstruct the dominant knowledge on women’s presence in urban landscapes and reconstruct a more accurate and diversified feminist narrative that acknowledges women’s dynamic interplay with the local and global forces which in itself is a decolonial feminist practice.
Journal of Asian and African Studies
The literature on Ali Shariati, “the ideologue’’ of ‘‘the Iranian revolution,” and his arguments ... more The literature on Ali Shariati, “the ideologue’’ of ‘‘the Iranian revolution,” and his arguments about women presents varied views, including rejection, criticism, and confirmation. While this literature is instructive, it primarily interprets Shariati’s texts from today’s socio-political perspective, and it thus lacks an analytical dimension that examines how and why Shariati’s ideas profoundly influenced numerous Iranian women in the 1970s. By revisiting the global and local socio-historical context of the 1970s and analyzing its influence on Iranian society, particularly the youth, as well as on Shariati’s perceptions and ideas about women’s social role within that socio-political context, this paper argues that Shariati crafted a “collective revolutionary Islamic identity” for women. This concept underscores the socio-historical and political significance of Shariati’s arguments about Muslim women in the political setting leading up to the revolution of 1979.
RAACES, 2022
In this paper, we instrumentalize transnational feminist pedagogy to discover the radical possibi... more In this paper, we instrumentalize transnational feminist pedagogy to discover the radical possibility found in-between pandemic and possibilities. The intertwining of racism and COVID-19 has resulted in a pandemic within a pandemic, and the additional intersectional systems of oppression (e.g., gender, neoliberal capitalism, etc.) form additional localities within the pandemic matrices. The isolating nature
of quarantining and the transition to virtual spaces illuminate the magnitude of the pandemical matrices and the intersectional complexities that arise when the matrices are examined. The personal narratives included in this paper serve as a force to deconstruct the complexity of the pandemical matrices and center the humanized experiences of the people themselves. The narratives are evocative of the culmination of feminist epistemological gatherings that occurred through Zoom meetings, Google Docs collaborations, and WhatsApp conversations. Each gathering and the subsequent reflections composed as a result revealed the extensive ways in which we were all webbed by the pandemical matrices. Our personified webbings are not fixed points on an etched grid but rather are constantly shapeshifting as time and space continue to evolve in their respective continuums.
Conference Presentations by Mahbubeh Moqadam
WOMEN AND GENDER IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE PROGRAM-UIUC, 2024
IPSA & AISP, 2016
At Check-in/Registration, attendees pick up their programs and name badges. All congress attendee... more At Check-in/Registration, attendees pick up their programs and name badges. All congress attendees MUST wear name badges at all times while attending the Congress.
AIS, 2014
The objective of this paper is to investigate the correlation between the evolving status of wome... more The objective of this paper is to investigate the correlation between the evolving status of women in the final years of the Qajar era (1895-1925) and the inception of the women's rights movement that followed this period. Adopting a historical sociology framework and utilizing archival documents from the period, I examine the status of Qajar women, with a specific focus on their participation in public spaces.
In this paper I argued that for urban women in late Qajar society, the notion of self began to shift, resulting in the emergence of a new identity. This transformation became particularly prominent in the last decade of the era, encouraging women to become more involved in public spaces and acquire the essential knowledge needed to understand the outside world.
Drafts by Mahbubeh Moqadam
The main question that I pursue in this paper is: What made Anis al-Dawlah the special character ... more The main question that I pursue in this paper is: What made Anis al-Dawlah the special character that we know her as in Qajar history? Born Fatimah in 1845, in a rural poor family in Imamah village, as the story is well-known, she attracted Nasir al-Din shah's attention on one the his journeys. According to Taj al-Saltanah's Khatirat, what had attracted the king to her was not so much a beautiful face but clever answers that she had given the king in his conversation with her. When in 1852, she was engaged to Nasir al-Din Shah, brought to the Shah's andarun, entrusted to Furugh al-Saltanah and became her lady-in-waiting, she was under ten years of age. Quickly, she learnt the ways of the Court, witnessed the relationships, personal and political, among both the inner and outer circles, as well as ministers, diplomats and their wives who visited the Court. After Furugh al-Saltanah's death, she became nearer and dearer to the king.
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Notifications by Mahbubeh Moqadam
policy and also a very difficult but instructive,
exciting process. Before we go to the cause
of this assessment, perhaps the story of the
the emergence of the Kaos GL magazine will make
it all more understandable. Kaos GL Magazine,
which has been published continuously since
1994, arose from a group of homosexuals’ need
for producing their own words, and has been
continuing to say it for 25 years. Since then, it
has been an area where many LGBTIs and anyone,
who has a say against the imposed gender
norms can express themselves.
Papers by Mahbubeh Moqadam
of quarantining and the transition to virtual spaces illuminate the magnitude of the pandemical matrices and the intersectional complexities that arise when the matrices are examined. The personal narratives included in this paper serve as a force to deconstruct the complexity of the pandemical matrices and center the humanized experiences of the people themselves. The narratives are evocative of the culmination of feminist epistemological gatherings that occurred through Zoom meetings, Google Docs collaborations, and WhatsApp conversations. Each gathering and the subsequent reflections composed as a result revealed the extensive ways in which we were all webbed by the pandemical matrices. Our personified webbings are not fixed points on an etched grid but rather are constantly shapeshifting as time and space continue to evolve in their respective continuums.
Conference Presentations by Mahbubeh Moqadam
In this paper I argued that for urban women in late Qajar society, the notion of self began to shift, resulting in the emergence of a new identity. This transformation became particularly prominent in the last decade of the era, encouraging women to become more involved in public spaces and acquire the essential knowledge needed to understand the outside world.
Drafts by Mahbubeh Moqadam
policy and also a very difficult but instructive,
exciting process. Before we go to the cause
of this assessment, perhaps the story of the
the emergence of the Kaos GL magazine will make
it all more understandable. Kaos GL Magazine,
which has been published continuously since
1994, arose from a group of homosexuals’ need
for producing their own words, and has been
continuing to say it for 25 years. Since then, it
has been an area where many LGBTIs and anyone,
who has a say against the imposed gender
norms can express themselves.
of quarantining and the transition to virtual spaces illuminate the magnitude of the pandemical matrices and the intersectional complexities that arise when the matrices are examined. The personal narratives included in this paper serve as a force to deconstruct the complexity of the pandemical matrices and center the humanized experiences of the people themselves. The narratives are evocative of the culmination of feminist epistemological gatherings that occurred through Zoom meetings, Google Docs collaborations, and WhatsApp conversations. Each gathering and the subsequent reflections composed as a result revealed the extensive ways in which we were all webbed by the pandemical matrices. Our personified webbings are not fixed points on an etched grid but rather are constantly shapeshifting as time and space continue to evolve in their respective continuums.
In this paper I argued that for urban women in late Qajar society, the notion of self began to shift, resulting in the emergence of a new identity. This transformation became particularly prominent in the last decade of the era, encouraging women to become more involved in public spaces and acquire the essential knowledge needed to understand the outside world.