Pardis Mahdavi is an American scholar and the Provost and Executive Vice President of the University of Montana. Previously, she served as Dean of Social Sciences at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. Previously she was Acting Dean of

Josef Korbel School of International Studies The Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver is a professional school of international affairs offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees. It is named in honor of the founding dean, Josef Korbel, father o ...

at the University of Denver. Prior to that, she served as Dean of Women, and Chair and professor of anthropology at Pomona College. Mahdavi received her BA in diplomacy and world affairs from

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

; an MA in anthropology from Columbia University; an MIA (

Master of International Affairs The Master in International Affairs (MIA), or the Master in Global Affairs (MGA), also known as Master in International relations (MIR) is a master's degree awarded by schools of international affairs. Subject matter Details can vary between deg ...

) from Columbia University; and a PhD in sociomedical sciences and anthropology from Columbia University. She has been a fellow at the American Council of Learned Societies, the Social Science Research Council, the Woodrow Wilson Center, and Google Ideas. Appointed by Governor Hickenlooper and re-appointed by Governor Jared Polis, Mahdavi served on the Colorado Commission on Higher Education for two years. Mahdavi's research covers in labor, migration, 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 ...

, human rights, youth culture, transnational feminism and public health, specializing in the context of shifting political and global structures. Her global area of expertise is the Middle East, and she has published many books and articles focusing on the area. She is also a frequent contributor to the

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

and has published numerous groundbreaking works focusing on different issues affecting the Middle East.

Influential publications

Mahdavi's first book, ''Passionate Uprisings: Iran's Sexual Revolution'' was published by the

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officially ...

in 2008 and has been a foundation in the discourse on Iran's changing sexual landscape. The book is a personal narrative based on Mahdavi's own experiences in Iran, as well as first person testimony of young Iranians participating in this modern sexual revolution. The work focuses on the intersection of youth,

, politics and leisure, and highlights how the youth are changing social mores and in effect destabilizing the fundamentalist government. Her second book is titled ''Gridlock: Labor, Migration, and Human Trafficking in Dubai'' and was published in May 2011 by

. Mahdavi investigates Dubai as it has long been accused of being an epicenter of

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...

. Her investigation provides research suggesting that Dubai is more complicated than the stereotypes suggest, and is more a city of

migrants Migrant may refer to: Human migration *Human migration *Emigration, leaving one's resident country with the intent to settle elsewhere *Immigration, movement into a country with the intent to settle * Economic migrant, someone who emigrates from o ...

who are not all trapped, tricked and taken advantage of. Her research contrasts first person testimonies of migrants living in Dubai with interviews with U.S. politicians to show the disconnect between reality in Dubai and the discourse surrounding the nation.

Career

Teaching career

Associate Professor and Chair of Anthropology 2011–2017 Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Pomona College 2006–2017 Visiting Assistant Professor of Public Health, New York University, Summer 2007 Teaching Assistant,

Columbia University School of Public Health Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

, 2006 Teaching Assistant, Barnard College, 2005 Research Assistant,

, 2005 Visiting Scholar,

Tehran University The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

, 2004 Instructor, School of International Affairs, Columbia University, 2003 Practicum Coordinator,

, 2002

Publications

From Trafficking to Terror (Routledge, 2014) Gridlock: Labor, Migration, and Human Trafficking in Dubai (Stanford University Press, 2011) Passionate Uprisings: The Intersection of Sexuality and Politics in Post-Revolutionary Iran (Stanford University Press, 2008) "Youth, Sexuality and Politics in Post-Revolutionary Iran," in Handbook on Sexuality, Health and Human Rights (P. Aggleton and R. Parker, eds., Routledge, 2010) "Who Will Catch Me if I Fall? Health and the Infrastructure of Risk for Urban Iranians" in Contemporary Iran (A. Gheissari, ed., Oxford University Press, 2009) “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” Anthropology News, October 2008 “Passionate Uprisings: the Intersection of Sexuality and Politics in Post-Revolutionary Iran,” Culture, Health and Sexuality, Fall 2007 “Fashion and the Meaning of Tehrani Style,” Anthropology News, March 2007 “Iran’s Cyber-Sexual Revolution,” ISIM Review (Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World), Spring 2007 “Women, Gender and Sexualities: Modern Sex Education Manuals: Iran” and “Women, Gender and Sexualities: Practices: Iran,” in Encyclopedia of Women in Islamic Cultures (S. Joseph and A. Najmabadi, eds., Harvard Press, 2005)

Honors

Pomona College, Wig Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2012, 2017 National Development and Research Institute, Behavioral Science Training Fellowship, 2004–present Woodrow Wilson Foundation, Fellowship in Women’s Health, 2005—present Institute for Social and Economic Research Policy, Fellowship, 2005–present Society for Medical Anthropology/Society for Applied Anthropology, Del Jones Award for outstanding research to underserved populations, 2006 American Public Health Association, Outstanding Student Award in recognition of innovative and outstanding new scholarship in the field of public health, 2005 Asia Society's top leaders in Asia, 2008

References

External links

"Traffic Jam: Gender, Labor, Migration and Trafficking in Dubai"

"Pardis Mahdavi"

"Pardis Mahdavi"

"Pardis Mahdavi"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahdavi, Pardis American women non-fiction writers Pomona College faculty Living people American people of Iranian descent Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers