University of Wisconsin - Madison
Biography Yasmine Ansari (she/they/او) is an abolitionist feminist scholar whose research lies at the intersection of the anthropology of reproduction, postcolonial studies of science, medicine, and technology, and Middle Eastern gender and sexuality studies. Yasmine is currently a PhD student in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She holds an …
Biography Saeedeh Asadipour is a Ph.D. candidate in Art History, Theory, and Criticism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, specializing in modern and contemporary art of the Middle East, with a particular focus on critical theories of science and technology. Her research explores the capacity of aesthetics in decolonizing dominant knowledge systems and their respective technological …
Biography Shakiba Bakhtiari is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, specializing in comparative politics of authoritarian regimes. Her research focuses on the dynamics of authoritarian power-sharing and regime survival, alongside the advancement of women’s rights and political representation in authoritarian and transitional regimes. Before starting her Ph.D., …
Biography Laila Eissa is a Ph.D. candidate and Arabic instructor in the Department of African Cultural Studies. She is from Egypt and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Ain Shams University. In 2022–2023, she was a Fulbright FLTA at the University of Utah, where she taught Arabic. In May 2025, she earned her …
Biography Richard W. Ellis joined the Department of Art History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a doctoral student in the fall of 2024. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art history from the University of South Florida (USF), where he focused on Islamic art and architecture. Prior to beginning his doctoral studies, …
Biography My research focuses on the competition and recreation cultures of the Medieval Mediterranean, with an emphasis on the Mamluks. I am also pursuing academic and enthusiast interests in modern medievalism and historical recreation.
Biography Faezeh Jafari is a Ph.D. Student of Islamic art in the History of Art Department at UW–Madison. She holds a bachelor’s in Carpet Studies from the Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman and a master’s degree from the Tehran University of Art. Her research focuses on Islamic art, Persian carpets, and paintings. She is passionate …
Biography Jérémie Langlois is a Ph.D. student in the Political Science department, where his work looks at civil society and institutional change in the Middle East and North Africa, with a focus on Algeria and Sudan. In 2024, Jérémie was a CASA II Fellow at the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) in Amman, Jordan. …
Biography Zhanyang Liu is a first-year Ph.D. student in Political Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research examines identity, dissent, and state–society relations in the Middle East and beyond. She is particularly interested in how institutions influence political behavior and public discourse. She holds dual master’s degrees from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor: an …
Biography Ali Mansouri’s research focuses on Contemporary Theatre in the Middle East, with an emphasis on Political Performances, Applied Theatre, Theatre in Education, Migration Studies, and Performance Philosophy. He is particularly interested in the transformative power of theatre as a tool for social change, especially in the context of displacement and migration. His work explores …