03/20/2024
By Nephtaly Pierre-Louis

The UMass Lowell Greeley Advisory Board would like to invite you to the 2024 Day Without Violence Lecture to be delivered by Iranian literary scholar, poet, and intersectional feminist activist, Fatemeh Shams. Prof. Shams is the 2024 Greeley scholar for Peace Studies at UMass Lowell, and currently serves as associate professor of Persian literature and gender studies at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Her scholarship lies at the intersections of sociology, gender studies, and literature with a focus on literary production as a politicizing practice. Our theme for this year is “Imagining new possibilities with feminist and queer resistance,” and we are excited to learn from Prof. Shams. Please see below (also attached) for details of the lecture and share widely with others who might be interested.

2024 Day Without Violence Lecture: Girls of Revolution and the Future of Feminist Resistance Movement in Iran

Free and open to the public

Tuesday April 9, 2024 | 10-11:30 a.m.

Allen House, 2 Solomont Way, Lowell, MA 01854

About the Speaker: Fatemeh Shams is an Iranian literary scholar, poet, and intersectional feminist activist who currently serves as associate professor of Persian literature and gender studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Shams has been living in exile since June 2009, and her lived experience has served as a springboard for her poetic creativity and feminist activism. In the span of the past two decades, Shams has tirelessly advocated for political change, structural justice, and gender equality, with a specific focus on Iranian and Afghan women’s right to bodily and intellectual freedom and autonomy. In October 2022, Shams joined a group of Iranian feminists and queer activists to draft Iran’s Women’s Bill of Rights for the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement. She is regularly featured in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Guardian, and NPR. Her many awards include the 2013 Jaleh Esfahani Poetry Award in 2013, the 2016 Latifeh Yarshater Prize, and the 2023 Poetry International Chapbook Prize.

Contact: Urmi Dutta