Education

• Ph.D. Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, Columbia University
• J.D. in International Law, Human Rights, and Litigation, American University
• B.A. in History, Emory University

Research Interests

Modern Iran, Minorities in the Middle East, Political Theology, Theories and Histories of Nationalism, Visual and Cultural Materiality of Shi'ism, Laws of Islamic Warfare, and Intellectual History

Bio

Neda Bolourchi is a Post-Doctoral Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Her research examines the transformative discourse on Iran as sacred during the twentieth century across the political and religious spectra. She is deeply engaged in archival theory and methodology as she works on a book manuscript as well as an oral history project. Her research travels include years in Iran, Syria, and Armenia. Her research has been supported by several Andrew W. Mellon Foundation fellowships, among others.

Her peer reviewed work on religion, politics, legal systems, and the modern Middle East has appeared in edited volumes as well as the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, the Iranian Studies Journal, and Religion and Contemporary Politics. She has forthcoming research on the auditory production of texts in mid-twentieth century Iran, Quranic versus contemporary concepts of feda' and fedayeen, and more.

In addition, her work as appeared in a variety of Jane's publications, Congressional Quarterly's Political Handbook of the World, Praeger Security International, and the Atlantic Council's Iran Source. She has provided analysis and commentary to the BBC, al-Jazeera, and al-Arabiya, among others.