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Hamid Rezai
Pitzer College
Occupation
Assistant Professor
Contact

CA
United States
ABOUT
Hamid Rezai, M.Phil., Ph.D. Columbia University BA, MA (Diplom) Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany. Hamid is a scholar of the contemporary history and politics of the Middle East with a particular focus on popular mobilization in the region, especially in Iran. Additional research interests include Comparative Politics of the Middle East, Identity Politics, and Political Violence. Currently he is revising his manuscript _Authoritarian States, Contentious Societies: Politics, People, and Protest in Contemporary Iran_, which examines the impact of demographic alteration, elite factionalism, and dissident discourse on the emergence of popular protests, their trajectories, and their likely outcomes. For the past several years, he has taught a variety of courses at Columbia University, Sarah Lawrence College, the City University of New York, and American University in Cairo(AUC)including, Political Theory, State and Society in the Middle East, Modern Arab Politics, Iranian Revolution, History and Politics of the Modern Middle East, History and Civilization of Islam, Social Movements in the MENA, and Cinema and Society in the MENA. From 2008-2010 he was an Exchange Scholar in the Politics Department at Princeton University. Recent awards include a Columbia University Contemporary Civilization Preceptorship (2008-10), Columbia University Multi-Year Faculty Fellowship (2003-2010), Margaret Abdel-Ahad Pennar Fellowship (2006-2007), and the Andrew W. Mellon and John W. Kluge Endowment for a New Generation of Faculty Excellence Fellowship (2006). He has lived in the Middle East, U.S., and Europe, is fluent in Persian, German, Tabari, and English, and has advanced reading proficiency in Arabic, and intermediate reading proficiency in French and Latin. He teaches currently at the University of California, Riverside.
Discipline
History
Sub Areas
Democratization
State Formation
Geographic Areas of Interest
Iran
All Middle East
Europe
Specialties
Iranian Studies
Comparative Politics, Soc Movements (Modern ME)
Political Violence & Identity Politics
Languages
English (fluent)
German (fluent)
Persian (native)
Arabic (advanced)
Latin (intermediate)
Education
PhD | 2012 | MESAAS | Columbia U.
MPhil | 2005 | MESAAS | Columbia U.
MA | 2003 | Pol Sci | U of Munich, Germany
Abstracts
Factionalism, Fragmentation, and Political Opportunity Structure: Social Movements in Iran, 1989-2005 Authoritarian States and Contentious Societies: Comparative Analysis of State-Dissidents Interactions in Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, and Syria Oppressive State and Authoritarian Opposition: Diffusion and Contraction of Social Protest in Iran, 1979-1989