Fatemeh NasrEsfahani

Fatemeh NasrEsfahani is a Ph.D. candidate in Feminist Studies in the Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Minnesota. She is the recipient of the 2025–26 Harold Leonard Memorial Fellowship in Film Study and has received research funding from the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) for the collaborative project Creative Defiance: Art, Digital Activism, and Feminist Solidarity. Fatemeh’s research explores humor in Iranian society, focusing on how laughter and comedy shape everyday life and function as tools for human rights advocacy and social transformation. Her dissertation investigates the role of women’s comedy as an activist strategy for advancing gender equity and social change in Iran. By examining the creative practices of Iranian women comedians—both within Iran and in the diaspora—her work highlights humor as a form of feminist protest and socio-political resistance.

Before joining the University of Minnesota, Fatemeh worked for over a decade as a teaching and research assistant at universities in Iran. With a strong foundation in research methodology, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, and interdisciplinary inquiry, she has developed a deep understanding of complex social issues across diverse contexts. Her publications include a book chapter on Iranian ethnic jokes and several peer-reviewed journal articles on the sociology of humor.

Beyond academia, she enjoys reading fiction, solving crossword puzzles, hiking, and exploring both natural landscapes and urban social life.