mehr


Mehraneh Ebrahimi

Photo of Mehraneh Ebrahimi

Assistant Professor

Office: Atkinson 728
Ext: 22143 Email: mehr@yorku.ca


My area of specialization encompasses Middle Eastern diasporic writing. In 2019, I published my first monograph Women, Art, and Literature in the Iranian Diaspora which studies intermedial works of art and literature such as graphic novels, videographic installations, and photo-poetry. I propose a new reading strategy to map the works’ engagement with aesthetics, ethics, and politics.
I am currently working on my second monograph on refugee life stories in which I distinguish between the poetics and politics of exile.

I am interested in how stories become means of survival.

As a teacher, I want to empower students with critical tools to read the world as closely as they read books. I have won several teaching awards including two placements on student council’s “Teaching Honour Roll”. I practice a variety of pedagogical techniques to keep my lectures interactive. These include strategic use of digital learning interfaces, conducting formative assessments, and inviting local poets and writers to my lecturers.

In addition to my critical work on politics and aesthetics, I am also a creative writer and a visual artist.

More...

Degrees

Ph.D. Comparative Literature, Western University
M.A. English Literature, University of Tehran
B.A.hon. English Literature, University of Tehran

Appointments

Faculty of Graduate Studies

Research Interests

English , Aesthetics & Politics , Middle Eastern exilic non/fiction , Iran Diaspora, Rancière, Satrapi, Neshat, Boochani, Neyestani, Nayeri
Books

Publication
Year

Ebrahimi, Mehraneh. Women, Art, and Literature in the Iranian Diaspora, Syracuse UP.

Reviewed by: Iranian Studies Journal

2019

Persian Editor, Marche sur mes yeux: Portrait de l'Iran aujourd'hui قدمت روی چشم پرتره ایران امروز by Serge Michel & Paolo Woods. Paris: Grasset.

Reviews:BBC & VOA Persian

2010

Book Manuscript under review at Rutledge: Ebrahimi, Mehraneh. Refugee Literature: Dignity, Agency, & Voice in Iranian Exilic Life Writing.

In Progress: Tehranto; Displacement Poesy. Book Manuscript


Journal Articles

Publication
Year

In Progress: Ebrahimi, Mehraneh. "Truth-Angst in The Ungrateful Refugee Offers no Closure to Childhood Traumas."

In Progress: Ebrahimi, Mehraneh. “Refugee Literature: Dignity, Agency, & Voice in Iranian Exilic Life Writing.” Revise and resubmit Postcolonial Text

In Progress: Ebrahimi, Mehraneh. “Migrant Dreams Build Nations: Shirin Neshat’s Reverent Gaze in Land of Dreams Endows Subjects with Human Rights

In Progress: Ebrahimi, Mehraneh. "Aesthetic Emancipation in Mana Neyestani’s An Iranian Metamorphosis"

In Progress: Ebrahimi, Mehraneh. “No Friends but the Mountains; Testimonio that Decolonized Border Politics.”


Conference Papers

Publication
Year

“Aesthetic Free Play & War; Comics from the Middle East,” Comics and Politics Conference. Ryerson University. July 25-27

2019

“Re-presenting Muslim Women in an Era of Military Benevolence,” Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Ottawa. May 31-June2

2015

“Cultural Capital of the Post-9/11 Middle East: Representations,” American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA). New York. March 20-23

2014

“Collective Paranoia: Discourse of Humanrightism,” ACLA. Theme: Global Positioning. Toronto, April 4-7

2013

“Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis I & II; Framing of a Liminal Self Through the Hybrid Genre of Graphic Memoir,” North-Eastern MLA. Boston. March 21-24

2013

“@ the Swirling Edge of Cultural Paranoia,” CCLA at Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Victoria, BC. June 2-4

2013

“Popular Protests from the Middle East and their Literary Consequences” CLIFF University of Michigan. March 16-17

2012


Current Courses

Term Course Number Section Title Type
Winter 2024 GS/EN6691 3.0 M Exile SEMR
Fall/Winter 2023 AP/EN4400 6.0 A Diaspora Literatures SEMR


Upcoming Courses

Term Course Number Section Title Type
Summer 2024 AP/EN3425 3.0 A Middle Eastern Literature ONLN


My area of specialization encompasses Middle Eastern diasporic writing. In 2019, I published my first monograph Women, Art, and Literature in the Iranian Diaspora which studies intermedial works of art and literature such as graphic novels, videographic installations, and photo-poetry. I propose a new reading strategy to map the works’ engagement with aesthetics, ethics, and politics.
I am currently working on my second monograph on refugee life stories in which I distinguish between the poetics and politics of exile.

I am interested in how stories become means of survival.

As a teacher, I want to empower students with critical tools to read the world as closely as they read books. I have won several teaching awards including two placements on student council’s “Teaching Honour Roll”. I practice a variety of pedagogical techniques to keep my lectures interactive. These include strategic use of digital learning interfaces, conducting formative assessments, and inviting local poets and writers to my lecturers.

In addition to my critical work on politics and aesthetics, I am also a creative writer and a visual artist.

Degrees

Ph.D. Comparative Literature, Western University
M.A. English Literature, University of Tehran
B.A.hon. English Literature, University of Tehran

Appointments

Faculty of Graduate Studies

Research Interests

English , Aesthetics & Politics , Middle Eastern exilic non/fiction , Iran Diaspora, Rancière, Satrapi, Neshat, Boochani, Neyestani, Nayeri

All Publications


Books

Publication
Year

Ebrahimi, Mehraneh. Women, Art, and Literature in the Iranian Diaspora, Syracuse UP.

Reviewed by: Iranian Studies Journal

2019

Persian Editor, Marche sur mes yeux: Portrait de l'Iran aujourd'hui قدمت روی چشم پرتره ایران امروز by Serge Michel & Paolo Woods. Paris: Grasset.

Reviews:BBC & VOA Persian

2010

Book Manuscript under review at Rutledge: Ebrahimi, Mehraneh. Refugee Literature: Dignity, Agency, & Voice in Iranian Exilic Life Writing.

In Progress: Tehranto; Displacement Poesy. Book Manuscript


Journal Articles

Publication
Year

In Progress: Ebrahimi, Mehraneh. "Truth-Angst in The Ungrateful Refugee Offers no Closure to Childhood Traumas."

In Progress: Ebrahimi, Mehraneh. “Refugee Literature: Dignity, Agency, & Voice in Iranian Exilic Life Writing.” Revise and resubmit Postcolonial Text

In Progress: Ebrahimi, Mehraneh. “Migrant Dreams Build Nations: Shirin Neshat’s Reverent Gaze in Land of Dreams Endows Subjects with Human Rights

In Progress: Ebrahimi, Mehraneh. "Aesthetic Emancipation in Mana Neyestani’s An Iranian Metamorphosis"

In Progress: Ebrahimi, Mehraneh. “No Friends but the Mountains; Testimonio that Decolonized Border Politics.”


Conference Papers

Publication
Year

“Aesthetic Free Play & War; Comics from the Middle East,” Comics and Politics Conference. Ryerson University. July 25-27

2019

“Re-presenting Muslim Women in an Era of Military Benevolence,” Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Ottawa. May 31-June2

2015

“Cultural Capital of the Post-9/11 Middle East: Representations,” American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA). New York. March 20-23

2014

“Collective Paranoia: Discourse of Humanrightism,” ACLA. Theme: Global Positioning. Toronto, April 4-7

2013

“Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis I & II; Framing of a Liminal Self Through the Hybrid Genre of Graphic Memoir,” North-Eastern MLA. Boston. March 21-24

2013

“@ the Swirling Edge of Cultural Paranoia,” CCLA at Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Victoria, BC. June 2-4

2013

“Popular Protests from the Middle East and their Literary Consequences” CLIFF University of Michigan. March 16-17

2012


Current Courses

Term Course Number Section Title Type
Winter 2024 GS/EN6691 3.0 M Exile SEMR
Fall/Winter 2023 AP/EN4400 6.0 A Diaspora Literatures SEMR


Upcoming Courses

Term Course Number Section Title Type
Summer 2024 AP/EN3425 3.0 A Middle Eastern Literature ONLN