Narges Bajoghli
Assistant Professor
About
Narges Bajoghli is an award-winning anthropologist, filmmaker, and writer. Her academic research focuses on the intersections of media, power, and military in Iran. Her research focuses on pro-regime cultural producers in Iran, and is based on ethnographic research with Basij, Ansar-e Hezbollah, and Revolutionary Guard media producers in Iran. The resulting book, “Anxieties of Power: Sustaining the Revolution in Iran,” will be published by Stanford University Press in 2019.
Narges received her PhD in socio-cultural anthropology from New York University, where her dissertation was awarded the Dean's Outstanding Dissertation Award in the Social Sciences. She was also trained as a documentary filmmaker in NYU's Culture and Media Program. Her research in Iran was supported by research grants from the Social Science Research Council, the National Science Foundation (awarded/declined), The Wenner Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, the American Institute of Iranian Studies, and NYU's Torch Fellowship. Subsequently, for write-up, her project was awarded a Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship from New York University and she was concurrently a Fellow at the Center for Humanities at New York University.
For her second book project, Narges is focusing on chemical warfare in the Middle East. She is the director of The Skin That Burns, a documentary film about survivors of chemical warfare in Iran, distributed by Film Media Group. The film has screened in The Hague, Hiroshima, Jaipur, Tehran, and in the U.S. (New York, New Orleans, New Jersey, Chicago, and Irvine), at festivals and university campuses. She has also directed oral history projects on survivors of chemical weapons in Iran.
In addition to her academic writing, she has also written for The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Al Monitor, Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP), The Huffington Post, and LobeLog. She has also appeared as a guest commentator on Iranian politics on DemocracyNow!, NPR, BBC WorldService, BBC NewsHour, and PBS NewsHour.
Narges received her PhD in socio-cultural anthropology from New York University, where her dissertation was awarded the Dean's Outstanding Dissertation Award in the Social Sciences. She was also trained as a documentary filmmaker in NYU's Culture and Media Program. Her research in Iran was supported by research grants from the Social Science Research Council, the National Science Foundation (awarded/declined), The Wenner Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, the American Institute of Iranian Studies, and NYU's Torch Fellowship. Subsequently, for write-up, her project was awarded a Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship from New York University and she was concurrently a Fellow at the Center for Humanities at New York University.
For her second book project, Narges is focusing on chemical warfare in the Middle East. She is the director of The Skin That Burns, a documentary film about survivors of chemical warfare in Iran, distributed by Film Media Group. The film has screened in The Hague, Hiroshima, Jaipur, Tehran, and in the U.S. (New York, New Orleans, New Jersey, Chicago, and Irvine), at festivals and university campuses. She has also directed oral history projects on survivors of chemical weapons in Iran.
In addition to her academic writing, she has also written for The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Al Monitor, Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP), The Huffington Post, and LobeLog. She has also appeared as a guest commentator on Iranian politics on DemocracyNow!, NPR, BBC WorldService, BBC NewsHour, and PBS NewsHour.
Bajoghli, N (2019) Iran Reframed: Anxieties of Power in the Islamic Republic. Stanford University Press
In the News
“All sides need to begin to de-escalate”: Tensions between Iran, UK & U.S. spark fears of war.
Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies Narges Bajoghli interviewed on Democracy Now, 7/22
“All sides need to begin to de-escalate”: Tensions between Iran, UK & U.S. spark fears of war.
Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies Narges Bajoghli interviewed on Democracy Now, 7/22
Iran spy TV show glorifies hard-liners imprisoning reporter.
Narges Bajoghli quoted in Associated Press, 7/14
A closer look at Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies Narges Bajoghli interviewed on CNN Connect the World. 7/7
New Iranian TV show attempts to cast IRGC in new light.
Narges Bajoghli cited in Jerusalem Post, 7/7
Iranian James Bonds: New TV series tries to improve image of feared intelligence services.
Narges Bajoghli quoted on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 7/5
Iran stiffens its resolve as the Trump administration’s pressure mounts.
Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies Narges Bajoghli quoted in The New York Times, 5/22
The hidden sources of Iranian strength.
Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies Narges Bajoghli wrote in Foreign Policy, 5/15
Can Washington rethink Iran?
Rethinking Iran initiative and Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies Narges Bajoghli highlighted in The Washington Post, 4/30
Iran’s other generation gap, 40 years on.
Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies Narges Bajoghli wrote in Foreign Affairs, 2/11
The Islamic Republic at 40: What does the future hold for Iran?
Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies Narges Bajoghli interviewed on Al Jazeera Stream 2/7