Iranian Women's Social Justice Movements: How Social Media Advances or Silences Their Voices

Join us this fall and spring as we partner with our newest research center, the Center for Research to Transform Systems for Family, Community & Social Justice for these educational events!

Friday, October 13, 2023

Cost: Free

CEUs: 1.0

Description: 

The KU School of Social Welfare’s mission statement states that it is dedicated to promoting social justice domestically and abroad. To further these efforts, it is integral to learn about how others advocate and fight for human rights and social justice around the world.

Ariana Nasrazadani, and Dr. Pegah Naemi Jimenez, two researchers at the school, bring their educational, professional, and personal experiences together, to examine the role of Iranian women in social justice movements, their important and often overlooked perspectives, and their frequent erasure from the social justice narrative.

Ms. Nasrazadani and Dr. Naemi Jimenez applied a critical discourse analysis methodology and completed a systematic review of social media posts during the first six months of the current unrest in Iran after the state-sanctioned murder of a Kurdish-Iranian woman, Mahsa Jina Amini in September 2022. They will present a brief historical overview of the current social movement in Iran and their initial findings of social media’s depiction of Iranian women’s role during the movement.

Objectives

At the end of this presentation, attendees will be able to:

• Develop an understanding around the history of women-led social movements in Iran and the context behind the movement taking place in Iran today
• Understand the impact of social media in social justice movements
• Recognize the utility of using social media for research
• Enhance their knowledge around critical discourse methodology for qualitative data analysis and its application

Presenter Bios:

Dr. Pegah Naemi Jimenez, Ph.D. is an Associate Researcher at the School of Social Welfare. Dr. Naemi Jimenez's research and scholarship focus on cross-system approaches to promote child and family well-being. She applies advanced analytic, data-driven, and critical anti-racist approaches and frameworks to family, organizational, and institutional level issues that impact families, in partnership with community organizations to support decision-making in child and family programs. Presently, she serves as PI for a multi-year process, impact, and outcomes evaluation of the Missouri Children’s Trust Fund Safe Sleep Initiative, which she examines the safe sleep programs and activities of five different local grantees. She is also an evaluator and researcher to several other multi-year evaluations of federal child and family well-being projects.  Dr. Naemi Jimenez practices as a researcher with integrity and a critical perspective, interrogating systems, policies, and procedures that negatively impact children, families, and communities; and developing evidence to inform transformational change.

Ariana Nasrazadani, M.A. (she/her/hers), joined the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare in April 2022 and is an Assistant Researcher, Sr. supporting evaluation work on three of the School’s projects. Ariana holds bachelor’s (2014) and master’s (2017) degrees in Global and International Studies from the University of Kansas with a focus on Middle Eastern geopolitics and policy and has additional expertise in Iranian social movements and dissent. She has previous professional and research experience in community partner and relationship-building, narrative-based research, community-based and community-involved research, survey and evaluation design, and data management. Ariana is passionately dedicated to social justice, policy reform and change, and furthering diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts for all, but especially those who are unheard and underrepresented.

Rose Hicks (they/them/theirs) joined the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare in April of 2022 and is a student hourly performing research tasks for various projects within the University. Rose is currently working towards a Bachelor of Behavioral Neuroscience with a minor in Spanish language from the University of Kansas. As a member of the queer community and as a disabled individual, Rose strives to give voice to those most ignored in society through their work and does so passionately, knowing that many of the projects they work on hit close to home. As an adopted individual who has intimate experience with the world of social welfare, Rose brings a unique and caring perspective to all projects they work on.

Questions: email kusswro@ku.edu