Fatemeh Nasr Esfahani
224 Church St SE
Minneapolis,
MN
55455
Fatemeh Nasr Esfahani is a Ph.D. student in the Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Department at the University of Minnesota. Before joining UMN, she obtained a doctoral degree in sociology from the University of Isfahan, Iran in 2018. Her PhD dissertation, entitled “A Sociological Study of Ethnic Jokes in Iran”, explored the historical development of ethnic jokes in Iranian society and their socio-cultural implications in different historical periods. She also worked as a teaching and research assistant at Iranian universities for more than 10 years.
Fatemeh’s research interests include diverse aspects of humor in Iranian society, specifically the role of humor in people’s everyday life. As for her prospective Ph.D. research at the University of Minnesota, she would like to explore and investigate the role of women’s humor as an activist strategy toward democratization, gender equity, and social change in Iran. Focusing on the interconnections between humor, women’s movements, and social justice, she aims to analyze the creative practices and strategies of Iranian women comedians in Iran and its diaspora, as forms of socio-political protest striving towards social change.
Educational Background
- PhD: Sociology, University of Isfahan, 2012-2018
- MA : Social Sciences, Alzahra University, 2006-2009
- BA: Social Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, 2002-2006
Specialties
- Humor Studies, Gender Studies, Feminist Theory and Practice, Middle Eastern Studies