Janet Afary is an author,

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

activist and researcher of history,

religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

and women studies. She is a professor and the Mellichamp Chair in Global Religion and Modernity at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

(UCSB).

Career

She received her M.A. degree from

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

. In 1991, she received her PhD in History and Near East studies from the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Afary is married to Kevin B. Anderson, a fellow professor at UCSB. Her research fields includes politics of contemporary Iran and gender,

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

in modern Middle East,

constitutionalism Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional to ...

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

, the public sphere in the Middle East, cinema and popular culture of the Middle East, global feminism,

feminist theory Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or Philosophy, philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. It examines women's and men's Gender role, social roles, experiences, intere ...

, modern Transcaucasia & Central Asia: art and folklore. She is known for her writings and research on the

Iranian Constitutional Revolution The Persian Constitutional Revolution (, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911 during the Qajar era. The revolution led to the establishment of a parliament in I ...

. Her articles have appeared in ''The Nation'', ''the Guardian'', and numerous scholarly journals and edited collections. Afary is a professor of religious studies at the University of California Santa Barbara. She previously taught at in the History Department and Women's Studies at

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

. In the 1980s, she served as the coordinator for the Iranian Jewish Association of California. She has served as president of the International Society for Iranian Studies (ISIS-MESA), the Association for Middle East Women's Studies (AMEWS-MESA), and the Coordinating Council for Women in History of the American Historical Association (CCWH-AHA).

Bibliography

Articles

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Books

* * * * ''Pregnancy and Miscarriage in Qatar: Women, Reproduction and the State (Sex, Family and Culture in the Middle East)'', 2020 (Contributor) * * * * (Winner of the British Society for Middle East Studies Annual Book Prize) * * (Winner of the Latifeh Yarshater Book Award for Iranian Women's Studies, 2006) * * *

Honours and awards

* She was the recipient of the ''Horace H. Rackham Distinguished Dissertation Award'' from the University of Michigan. * Afary was awarded the ''Keddie/Balzan Fellowship'' by the International Balzan Prize Foundation for the 2008–2009 academic year to work at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA). * Dehkhoda Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Iranian Studies (Germany).

Sources

External links

Contributors: Janet Afary, Britannica
*
Afary, Janet's profile
at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

Janet Afary
at

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topi ...

Contributor Profile: Janet Afary, Global Journal

Birds and Cages Amy Littlefield's review of Janet Afary, Sexual Politics in Modern Iran
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Janet Afary (Guest editor): Iranian Studies, Special issue: On gender a
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afary, Janet Iranian expatriate academics in the United States Iranian writers Iranian women writers Iranian emigrants to the United States Living people Iranian women academics University of California, Santa Barbara faculty University of Tehran alumni University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Faculty of Letters and Humanities of the University of Tehran alumni 20th-century Iranian women writers 21st-century Iranian women 20th-century American women 21st-century American women writers Iranian women historians American women historians