I am a historian and theologian.
- Ph.D., History
- University of Michigan
- M.Div. student
- Princeton Theological Seminary, Francis Grimké Scholar
- B.A., History
- UCLA, with a minor in French language and literature
- Inquirer for ordination
- Ministry of Word and Sacrament, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Research interests
Dissertation
My dissertation, “General Intelligence: Iranian Student Activism and the Documentary Politics of Sojourn in France, 1945–1979,” examines Iranian student activism in France between the end of the Second World War and the 1979 Iranian revolution. I draw on the surveillance files the French state kept on these students and on the periodicals they produced themselves, studying how they organized politically and how their activity came to be documented. I conduct research in French, Persian, and German.
Theology
Alongside my historical work, I write on theology. At Life Under the Word, I work on Reformed and apocalyptic Pauline theology, drawing especially on Karl Barth and on the Pauline scholarship of J. Louis Martyn, Beverly Gaventa, and Douglas Campbell.
Essays and reviews
I also keep a blog on this site, where I write essays on intellectual history and critical theory. Recent subjects include Foucault’s historicism, Sartre’s late theory of subjectivity, the contrasting temporalities of E. P. Thompson and Reinhart Koselleck, and the work of nostalgia in exile and diaspora politics. The blog also carries reviews of new scholarship.
Editing, consulting, and course design
Beyond my own writing, I consult with scholars and students on theirs, and I advise on university course design. I also edit and translate for The New International.
To discuss a project or to request my résumé, please get in touch.