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4. Amin Sharifi Isaloo

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Biography

Dr Amin Sharifi Isaloo has a PhD in Sociology and he is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology. His fields of interests include politics, religion, arts and culture focusing on sociological and anthropological interpretations of symbols, images and ritual performances. He is the author of ‘Power, Legitimacy and the Public Sphere: The Iranian Ta’ziyeh Theatre Ritual’. His other publications are 'Cyberspace, Ta’ziyeh symbols, and the Public Sphere in Iran' (2016), International Political Anthropology, 9(1), pp. 37-56 and ‘Liminality and Experience: The 1979 Revolution in Iran and Shia Religious Symbols’ (2018), The Journal of the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions (JISASR), Volume 6, pp. 60-83. Currently, he teaches 'Race, Ethnicity and Migration and Nationalism’ and ‘Sociology of Development and Globalization’.
When asked what it is that he likes about teaching, Amin said the following;
"What excites and interests me most are the students, above all. Teaching is about making a difference in their lives and helping them achieve their educational and career goals. Knowledge is far more valuable when shared. Therefore, learning as a teacher and then transferring that knowledge to students has always been a top priority in my career. It is rewarding to see when students are able to apply what they've learned to real life situations." ‍

Research Interests

My general research interests include sociology, anthropology, politics, religion, and law focusing on methodological approaches to the understanding of uncertainty in politics and instability in societies. I see my research as part of a broader effort in the area of social sciences to study the interactions linking human behaviour, cultural symbols and their meanings, and the public sphere in the contemporary world. Therefore, considering the fundamental issue of what it means to be human, in the sense of sociability and political community, I am interested in exploring the current deep-seated political, social and cultural crisis to understand better the valuable concepts, theories and works that has been done in various fields of social sciences.
Existing research on ‘immigration and integration process’ is still underdeveloped in terms of empirical and theoretical foundations. I am currently interested in examining EU's recent immigration crisis to investigate the interaction of emerging immigration crisis and policy making. This research project would show how immigration crises and policies effects integration process by overcoming conceptual gaps in areas such as human rights, sovereignty, legitimacy and politics. As policies created and shaped by the existing powers, this research project will also examine the effect of the rise of emerging powers, particularly far-rights powers, on integration process.  ‍

Publications

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Books

	Year	Publication
	(2017)	Power, Legitimacy and the Public Sphere: The Iranian Ta’ziyeh Theatre Ritual. Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2017) Power, Legitimacy and the Public Sphere: The Iranian Ta’ziyeh Theatre Ritual. London, New York: Routledge. [Details]

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Book Chapters

	Year	Publication
	(2020)	'Liminality in the Direct Provisional system - Living under extreme rules and conditions' Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2020) 'Liminality in the Direct Provisional system - Living under extreme rules and conditions' In: Direct Provision: Asylum, the Academy and Activism. New York: Peter Long Publishing. [Details]
	(2019)	'Children in liminality: Case studies from Ireland and Iran' Amin Sharifi Isaloo and Annie Commins (2019) 'Children in liminality: Case studies from Ireland and Iran' In: Philosophy and Child Poverty. New York: Springer. [Details]

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Peer Reviewed Journals

	Year	Publication
	(2018)	'Liminality and Experience: The 1979 Revolution in Iran and Shia Religious Symbols' Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2018) 'Liminality and Experience: The 1979 Revolution in Iran and Shia Religious Symbols'. Journal of the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions, 6 :60-83   [Full Text] [Details]
	(2016)	'Cyberspace, Ta’ziyeh symbols, and the Public Sphere in Iran' Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2016) 'Cyberspace, Ta’ziyeh symbols, and the Public Sphere in Iran'. International Political Anthropology, 9 (1):37-56 [Full Text] [Details]

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Articles

	Year	Publication
	(2021)	Power, liminality and development in the Middle East: a case study of Iran-US relations. Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2021) Power, liminality and development in the Middle East: a case study of Iran-US relations. Online: Articles   [Details]
	(2021)	Liminality and Modern Racism. Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2021) Liminality and Modern Racism. Maynooth University: Articles [Details]
	(2021)	Leaving asylum seekers in liminality: The Covid-19 pandemic and Direct Provision in Ireland. Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2021) Leaving asylum seekers in liminality: The Covid-19 pandemic and Direct Provision in Ireland. Maynooth University: Articles [Details]

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Guest Lectures

	Year	Publication
	(2020)	Understanding Interculturalism. Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2020) Understanding Interculturalism. Guest Lectures [Details]
	(2019)	Children in the Direct Provision System. Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2019) Children in the Direct Provision System. Guest Lectures [Details]
	(2018)	Human Rights in Iran: 1979 until Present Day. Amin Shaifi Isaloo (2018) Human Rights in Iran: 1979 until Present Day. Guest Lectures [Details]

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Guest Speaker

	Year	Publication
	(2020)	The Direct Provision System and Mental Health. Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2020) The Direct Provision System and Mental Health. Guest Speaker [Details]
	(2019)	ACE Sanctuary Scholars Welcome Day. Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2019) ACE Sanctuary Scholars Welcome Day. Guest Speaker [Details]
	(2012)	Women Rights in Iran. Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2012) Women Rights in Iran. Guest Speaker [Details]
	(2012)	Human rights in Iran. Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2012) Human rights in Iran. Guest Speaker [Details]

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Professional Activities

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Professional Associations

	Association	Function	From / To
	European Sociological Association (ESA)	Member	/
	International Political Anthropology	Member	/
	Sociological Association of Ireland	Member	/

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Conference Contributions

	Year	Publication
	(2018)	HELLIN Conference 2018, Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2018) Liminality of refugees and barriers in the Irish higher education system. [Oral Presentation], HELLIN Conference 2018, Maynooth University . [Details]
	(2018)	Social Pathologies of Contemporary Civilization, Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2018) Liminality and Uncertainty in Early Career Academics. [Oral Presentation], Social Pathologies of Contemporary Civilization, University College Cork . [Details]
	(2018)	Anthropology in Practice: Research, Methods and Theory’ symposium, Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2018) Liminality in early career academics: An Autoethnography of Uncertainty. [Oral Presentation], Anthropology in Practice: Research, Methods and Theory’ symposium, Maynooth University . [Details]
	(2017)	Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions 6th Annual Conference, Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2017) Migration of myths from Bani Adam poem to discovery of SuShi. [Oral Presentation], Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions 6th Annual Conference, Waterford Institute of Technology . [Details]
	(2016)	Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions’ 5th Annual Conference, Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2016) The 1979 Revolution and Shia Religion in Iran. [Oral Presentation], Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions’ 5th Annual Conference, University College Cork . [Details]
	(2015)	Commemoration: Contexts and Concepts, Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2015) Commemorating the battle of Karbala: Remembering the past, shaping the present and imagining the future. [Oral Presentation], Commemoration: Contexts and Concepts, University College Cork . [Details]
	(2015)	Anthropological Association of Ireland, Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2015) Exploiting symbols in Liminal Schismogenesis: Examining the transition period of the 1979 revolution in Iran. [Oral Presentation], Anthropological Association of Ireland, University College Cork . [Details]
	(2013)	Sixth International Political Anthropology Workshop, Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2013) From Persian epics to Ta’ziyeh: A sacred theatrical mourning ritual and the public sphere in Iran. [Oral Presentation], Sixth International Political Anthropology Workshop, Waterford Institute of Technology . [Details]
	(2012)	SLSA Annual Conference, Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2012) Conflict and the role of powers acting against security and democracy- Case study: Persia (Iran. [Oral Presentation], SLSA Annual Conference, De Montfort University . [Details]
	(2012)	Postgraduate Conference, Amin Sharifi Isaloo (2012) One step more, why not democracy in Iran. [Oral Presentation], Postgraduate Conference, University College Cork . [Details]

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Education

	Year	Institution	Qualification	Subject
	2015	University College Cork	PhD	Sociology
	2020	University College Cork	Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education	Teaching and Learning
	2019	University College Cork	Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education	Teaching and Learning

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Languages

	Language	Reading	Writing	Speaking
	English	Fluent	Fluent	Fluent
	Turkish	Functional	Functional	Fluent
	Arabic	Fluent	Fluent	Basic
	Persian	Fluent	Fluent	Fluent

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Teaching Activities

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Teaching Interests

My interdisciplinary background and interests have led me to teach a range of undergraduate courses in the social science, particularly Sociology. I am currently teaching ‘Race, Ethnicity and Migration and Nationalism’, ‘Sociology of Development and Globalization’ and 'Introduction to Sociology of Religion and Fundementalism' courses in the Department of Sociology. Over the last few years I have taught 'Sociology of Religion and Civilization’,‘Sociology of Culture and Arts’, ‘Social Research Methods’, 'Development Practice', 'Development and Human Rights', 'Introduction to Development Theories', 'Research Skills', ‘Race, Ethnicity, Migration and Development', ‘Development and Aid’, ‘Anthropology of Fundamentalism’, ‘The Middle East Studies’, Social Studies, 'Contemporary Politics' and 'Media Law and Ethics'.