Department of Social Science

Shahin Gerami

Professor of Social Science & Women's Studies

CV  |  Education  |  Courses Taught  |  Publications  |  Service  |  Presentations  |  Honors

Professor Gerami joined the Social Science faculty as the Coordinator of Women's Studies in Fall of 2006. She brings to the program years of experience in global feminist activism, critical gender research, and a passion for teaching.

Professor Gerami holds a law degree from the University of Tehran and practiced law in Iran prior to the Islamic revolution. She earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Oklahoma in 1983, and most recently taught at Missouri State University at Springfield and coordinated the Gender Studies’ program there. She has won various teaching and research awards, and has been active in many local and international organizations.

Her research and activism has involved work with NGOs on issues of Afghani refugees in Iran, including with the United Nations and at the Beijing Conference on Women in 1995. She has written on Muslim masculinities, and conducted comparative research on gender and fundamentalism in Iran and the United States.

In her capacity as the coordinator of Women’s Studies, she has worked to increase the global dimension of the program. She offered WOMS 192 Gender and Sexualities in Islamic Perspective, during Spring 2007. The program will soon have a new General Education class in Area V, WOMS 102, The Global Study of Women.  Currently, in Fall of 2007, Dr. Gerami is teaching an online version of WOMS 10 and a section of WOMS 160, Women, Race and Class.

Women’s Studies has initiated many outreach programs to the community, among them an annual Service Fair for local organizations to promote their services on campus during the month of March.

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Education

Ph.D., Sociology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 1983

M.A., Sociology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 1978

Ll.B. in Law & Jurisprudence, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, 1972

Courses Taught: 

WOMS 10. Perspectives in Sex & Gender

WOMS 101.  The Study of Women

WOMS 160.  Women, Race and Class

WOMS 192.  Gender and Sexuality in Islamic Perspective

Most Recent Publications:

"Layered Violence, Imperialism, Occupation, and Religious Fundamentalism: The cases of Afghanistan and Palestine" (2008) in Maria Ochoa and Barbara K. Ige (eds). Shout Out: Women of Color respond to Violence, Seal Press, in press.

“Terrorism and National Security," Co-authored with Melodye Lehnerer (2008), in Amy Lind and Stephanie Brzuzy, (eds). Battleground: Women, Gender, and Sexuality, Greenwood Press, in press.

“Qur’ān: Modern Interpretations: Persian: Overview” Co-authored with Khadijeh Safiri, Alzahar University, Tehran (2007) in Suad Joseph (gen. ed.), Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures, vol. 5,  Practices, Interpretations, and Representations, E. J. Brill, LeidenNew York: Sage. 5: 255-258.

“Gendered Aspects of War and International Violence”, Co-authored with Melodye Lehnerer (2007) in G. Ritzer (gen. ed) The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology. (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing,) 1885-8.

“Gendered Radicalization of Faith: Discursive of Traditional Patriarchies and Hegemonic Masculinity versus Agency and Feminization of Faith,” Faith-based Radicalism: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism between Constructive Activism and Destructive Fanaticism. Brussels: Presses Interuniversitaires Europeennes, 2006.

“Abortion in Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asian Countries.” Also “Reproductive Health in Afghanistan” & “Reproductive Health in Iran,” with Melodye Lehnerer. Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures, ed. A. Najmabadi. New York: Sage Publishing, 2006.

“Islamist Masculinity and Muslim Masculinities.” Handbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities, M. Kimmel et al., eds. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publishing, 2005. Danish translation, Kvinder, Køn og Forskning / Women, Gender and Research 14 (1-2), 61-74.

“Men and Immigration.”  Encyclopedia of Men and Masculinities, ed. M.N. Kimmel. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2003.

“Afghani Women: Change and Continuity,” with Sondra Cogswell.  The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Women's Issues Worldwide: Asia and Oceania, ed. M. Desai. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003.

“Family in Afghanistan.” International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family , J. Ponzetti, ed.  New York: Macmillan Press, 2003.

“Women’s Agency and Household Diplomacy: Negotiating Fundamentalism,” with Melodye Lehnerer.  Gender and Society (August, 2001), 556-574.   Reprinted in The Kaleidoscope of Gender: Prism, Patterns, and Possibilities, ed. Joan Spade and Catherine Valentine.  Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2004.

“Mullahs, Martyrs and men: Conceptualizing Masculinity in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Men and Masculinities 5:3 (2003), 257-295.

“Christianity in Public Schools: Perspective of a Non-Christian Immigrant Parent,” Early Childhood Development and Care 147 (1998): 33-4.

Women and Fundamentalism: Islam and Christianity.  New York: Garland Press, 1996

Professional & Community Service

United Nation’s High Commission for Refugees in Iran.  Conducted need assessment of Afghani refugee families, 2000-2004, 2007.

Board member, American Association of University Women

Faculty Evaluation Committee, Missouri State University, 2004-2006

Sociology Committee, Missouri State University, 2003-06

Long Range Planning, Missouri State University, 2003-06

Scholarship Committee, Missouri State University, 1999-2004, chair 2001, 2003, 2004

Missouri State University International Committee, Fall 2003

Multicultural Task Force, Springfield Public Schools, 2000-2002

Missouri State University Child Care Task Force, 1993-1999

Arab-American Anti-Discrimination League, 1984-86

Recent Talks & Presentations

“Global Masculinity vs Transnational Brown Men: Discursive Identities at Home and Abroad”,  Keynote address at the international conference on Migration, Islam and Masculinities, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany, April 2007.

“Globalism from Below: Extralegal Transnationalism of Afghani Refugees in Iran,” presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, Montreal, Canada, August, 2006.

“Gendered Radicalization of Faith: Patriarchal Oppression versus Agency and Feminization of Scripture”, keynote address delivered at Faith-based Radicalism: Christianity, Islam and Judaism between Constructive Activism and Destructive Fanaticism” at the University Centre St-Ignatius Antwerp, Belgium, September 2005.

“Afghani Refugees in Iran: A Field Study in Repatriation, Resistance and Resettlement,” presented at The 37th World Congress of International Institute of Sociology, Stockholm, Sweden, July 2005. 

 “Men in Migration.” Midwest Sociological Society, Chicago, Illinois, April 2003.

“Civil War and Changing Afghani Families." Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Society, Chicago, Illinois, August 2002.

“Iranian Women’s Dual Functionality and International Embargo,” Annual Meetings of the Midwest Sociological Society, St. Louis, Missouri, April 2001.
 
“Mullahs, Martyrs and Men: Conceptualizing Masculinity in the Islamic Republic of Iran”, Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association, Washington. D.C, August 2000.

“Women’s Agency and Household Diplomacy: Negotiating Macro Restrictions at the Household Level,” with Melodye Lehnerer. Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association, Chicago, Illinois, August 1999.

“Abortion as Human Rights: A Case Study of Illegal Abortions in Iran.” Women’s World 99 Conference, Tromoso, Norway, June 1999.

Honors & Awards

Research Associate, Mineta Transportation Institute, to conduct a national survey of women’s organizations regarding safety of female passengers.

Research fellowship, “Repatriation of Afghani Refugees from Iran: A Longitudinal Study in Resistance and Resettlement,” CSU Research Funds 2006-2007, completed summer 2007.

University Planning Council, “Engaging Students in Community Projects,”
Reconfiguring Faculty Load to support student success, Spring 2007.

Professional Development Grant, “Expanding Global Dimension of Women’s Studies,” Fall 2006. 

Research Grant, University Centre St-Ignatius Antwerp, Belgium, September 2005.

Excellence in Service Award, College of Humanities and Public Affairs, 2005.

Sabbatical Leave, Missouri State University, Fall 2005.

International Travel Grant, The 37th World Congress of International Institute of Sociology, Stockholm, July 2005.

University Foundation Award in Research, Missouri State University, 2004.

Summer Fellowship “Afghan Refugees in Iran: A Field Study in Repatriation, Resistance, and Resettlement,” Summer 2004.

Silver Award, CASE District VI for Excellence in Multimedia, “SMS and You: Women in Afghanistan” with Don Hendrix and Mike Smith, January 2003.

Excellence in Teaching Award, Missouri State University, 1996.