Behnaz Mirzai

Historienne iranienne. Elle enseigne l’Histoire du Moyen Orient à l’université de Brock (Canada).
Domaines de recherche<: Moyen Orient, Océan Indien, Migration, Ethnicité.
En 2007, Behnaz Mirzai a réalisé « Afro-Iranian Lives », un film documentaire de 46 minutes sur la Diaspora africaine en Iran. http://www.afroiranianlives.com/

Behnaz Mirzai is an historian of modern Iran, who teaches Middle Eastern history at Brock University. Her areas of specialization include comparative and cross-cultural studies, ethnicity, slavery, gender, as well as social, economic and religious interactions in the Middle East. Her dissertation was entitled « Slavery, the Abolition of the Slave Trade and the Emancipation of Slaves in Iran 1828-1928 ». She is currently working on her book manuscript, which is based on her doctoral dissertation for publication.
She has edited a book (Slavery, Islam and Diaspora) with Ismael Musa and Paul Lovejoy, which is published by the Africa World Press in 2009. Her book review has appeared in The Historian. She has authored several articles: « African Presence in Iran: Identity and its Reconstruction, » in Traites et Esclavages: Vieux Problemes, Nouvelles Perspectives ? (Société française d’Histoire d’Outre-mer, 2002) ; « The 1848 abolitionist Farmân : a Step Towards Ending the Slave Trade in Iran, » in Abolition and its Aftermath in Indian ocean Africa and Asia (Routledge, 2005); « The Slave Trade and the African Diaspora in Iran, » in Monsoon and Migration: Unleashing dhow synergies (ZIFF, 2005); « Le commerce des esclaves africains dans l’Iran du XIXe siècle » in Jean-Marc Masseaut, (ed.), De l’Afrique à l’extrême Orient (Les Cahiers des Anneaux de la Mémoire, 2006); « The Trade in enslaved Africans in Nineteenth-Century Iran » in Kiran Kamal Prasad and Jean-Pierre Angenot (eds.), TADIA – The African Diaspora in Asia: Explorations on a Less Known Fact (Jana Jagrati Prakashana, 2008); « Emancipation and its Legacy in Iran: an Overview », in The Cultural Interactions Resulting from the Slave Trade and Slavery in the Arab Islamic World http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=38502&URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE&URL_SECTION=201.html (UNESCO,2008); « Qajar Haram: Imagination or Reality » in Slavery, Islam and Diaspora (Africa World Press, 2009).
In 2007, she has produced a 46 minute documentary film « Afro-Iranian Lives », that features the African Diaspora in Iran. http://www.afroiranianlives.com/
[email protected]

Rank:Assistant Professor
Department: History


Work currently in progress, or about to be begun, along with indication of when the project is likely to culminate and what form it will take:
History of Slavery in Iran, 1828-1928. Brill Press will publish this monograph, which is expected to be completed by 2008.
Two chapters of a volume on the history of slavery in Iran. This will be published in 2007.

Work previously undertaken, research achievements or projects completed:
co-edited Islam, Slavery and Diaspora with Paul Lovejoy and Ismael Musa (Africa World Press, forthcoming).

Published articles:
« African Presence in Iran: Identity and its Reconstruction, » in O. Petre-Grenouilleau, (ed.), Traites et Esclavages: Vieux Problemes, Nouvelles Perspectives ? (Paris: Société française d’Histoire d’Outre-mer, 2002): 229-246.
« The 1848 abolitionist Farmān: a Step Towards Ending the Slave Trade in Iran, » in Gwyn Campbell, (ed.), Abolition and its Aftermath in Indian ocean Africa and Asia (London: Routledge, 2005): 94-102.
« The Slave Trade and the African Diaspora in Iran, » in Abdul Sheriff, (ed.), Monsoon and Migration: Unleashing dhow synergies (Zanzibar: ZIFF, 2005).

Areas of Research Interest (in brief):
Middle East, Indian Ocean, Migration, Ethnicity.