Profile

Yalda Hamidi (She/Her/Hers) is an Assistant Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies and a Ms. Committee of Scholars member. She completed her academic degrees in Iran and the United States. Professor Hamidi passionately identifies as a feminist pedagogue, mentor, and storyteller.

In her research, Dr. Hamidi employs an anti-racist and transnational feminist lens to examine Iranian women's activism and literature. She has authored book chapters on #MeToo Iran, as well as peer-reviewed articles on Iranian diasporic literature and feminism in esteemed publications such as the Journal of Middle East Women's Studies, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Kohl: A Journal for Body and Gender Research, and has contributed book reviews to the Feminist Pedagogy Journal, Mashriq & Mahjar: Journal of the Middle East and Migration Studies, and Review of Middle East Studies.

At Minnesota State University Mankato, Professor Hamidi teaches courses on Transnational, Postcolonial, Islamic Feminism/s, Cultivating Inclusive Classrooms, and Queer of Color Critique. She actively collaborates with Women's Centers, local non-profit organizations, and the press to amplify the stories of women of color for broader public awareness. 

In 2021, Dr. Hamidi's Islamic Feminism Book Club, in partnership with the MNSU Mankato Women's Center, was honored with the Feminist Change Agent Award from the National Women's Studies Association. She received the Advising Recognition Award from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences in May 2022. Dr. Hamidi was the recipient of the Woman of Distinction Award from the YWCA Mankato in 2023 and the Advisor Recognition Award in 2022.

EDUCATION

• Ph.D., Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Stony Brook University, December 2020
• M.A., Cultural Analysis and Theory, Stony Brook University, December 2018
• M.A., Women’s Studies, University at Albany (SUNY), August 2014
• M.A., Social Research, University of Tehran, Iran, August 2007

recent Publications

Hamidi, N. Y. (2023). Woman, Life, Freedom, and the Question of Multiculturalism for Iranian Studies. In Roundtable on Woman, Life, Freedom. Cambridge University Press.

Hamidi, N. (2023). Rhetorical Listening to Iranian #MeToo Movement in Diaspora. In The #MeToo Movement in Iran: Reporting Sexual Violence and Harassment (pp. 39–52). Bloomsbury Books. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/metoo-movement-in-iran-9780755647279/

Yalda N. Hamidi; Politics of Location in Persepolis: The Social and Literary Construction of the Place, Space, and Belonging for Iranian Women in Persepolis versus Iran. Journal of Middle East Women's Studies 1 July 2022; 18 (2): 238–259. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/15525864-9767870

Hamidi, N., & Moyer, V. (2020). Locating Sickness: Disability, Queerness, and Race in a Memoir. Kohl: A Journal for Body and Gender Research .(مجله الابحاث الجسد و الجندر), 6(2), 202–211. https://kohljournal.press/locating-sickness-disability-queerness-and-race-memoir

Courses Taught

• GWS 110: Introduction to Gender 
• GWS 220: Sex and Gender Worldwide
• GWS 310: (Black) Feminist Thought
• GWS 340: Transnational Feminism
• GWS 440/540: Cultivating Inclusive Classrooms
• GWS 455/555: Sexuality and Queer Identities (Queer of Color Critique)
• GWS 610: Postcolonial Feminism: Gender, Race, and Empire
• GWS 630: Transnational Feminism 

some of the Media appearances and interviews

• Woman, Life, Freedom: Iranian Women’s Uprising, Hypatia 40th Anniversary Conference. (September 9, 2023).

• Hamidi, N., Corey-Gruenes, A., Drabent, D., & Nellis, A. (2022). Interview 1: Students Listen to Podcasts for Social Justice in the Classroom. In The International Journal of Equity and Social Justice in Higher Education: Vol. 1 (1st ed.). Minnesota State University, Mankato - DIGITAL COMMONS JOURNALS.

• Interview: Iranian Echoes: MSU Professor Brings Awareness to Iranian Feminist Revolution, Mankato Free Press. (December 7, 2022).
• Women, Life, Freedom: The Iranian feminist revolution," On The Issues With Michele Goodwin. (November 22, 2022).
• "Dr. Yalda Hamidi," SBS Insights. (June 8, 2022).