Valentine Moghadam
Encyclopedia
Valentine Moghadam is a feminist
scholar, sociologist, activist
, and author, whose work focuses on women in development
, globalization
, feminist networks, and female employment in the Middle East
.
She has taught and performed research at various institutions of higher education, and most recently (January 2007) earned the position of Director of the Women’s Studies Program at Purdue University
, where she is also a Professor of Sociology
. Prior to this appointment, Moghadam worked for the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as the chief of gender equality
and development.
Her most recent publication, Globalizing Women: Transnational Feminist Networks, examines globalization as a gendered process and looks closely at Transnational Feminist Network
s (TFNs). In her preface, Moghadam writes, "'globalization-from-above' has engendered 'globalization-from-below,' producing a dynamic and transnational women’s movement that has been confronting neoliberal capitalism and patriarchal fundamentalism".
, Iran to an "urban, elite family" in 1952. After attaining her secondary education at an international school, she spent her first two years in the work force employed at a major daily newspaper, Kayhan
. Following her time at the newspaper, Moghadam taught English at the Imperial Air Force Language School. After these initial work experiences, Valentine Moghadam, with the support of her parents, sought a college education in the west.
(Ontario
, Canada), where she "joined the Iranian student movement and became a left-wing activist". As an undergraduate, she majored in history
and political science
and earned her bachelor’s degree in 1978. Moghadam earned her M.A. (1983) and Ph.D. (1986) in Sociology at American University
in Washington, D.C.
, from 1985 to 1988, Dr. Moghadam taught several courses about sociology, women, and development. In the following year, under the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women at Brown University
, Moghadam completed research as a Postdoctoral Fellow. In the fall of 1989 she also taught as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Program in Middle East Studies at Rutgers University
. As a Visiting Lecturer in the fall of 1990 and a Visiting Senior Lecturer in the fall of 1992, Moghadam taught at the University of Helsinki
. Then, from 1990 to 1995, she completed research in Helsinki, Finland at the WIDER Institute of the United Nations University
as the Senior Researcher and Coordinator of the Research Program on Women and Development. From May 2004 to December 2006, Moghadam worked in Paris
, France as the Chief of the Section for Gender Equality and Development in the Social and Human Services Sector of UNESCO
. In January 2007, Moghadam was appointed Director of the College of Liberal Arts’ Women’s Studies Program at Purdue University
, where she is also a professor in the Sociology Department. Most recently, she has accepted a position to become a professor in the Sociology Department at Northeastern University.
and the International Sociological Association
and seves on its executive committee. In March 1995, she was a member of the United Nations University delegation to the World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen
. Later that year, in September, she also participated in the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing
. Additionally, she has also aided in the establishment of the Palestinian Women’s Research and Documentation Center, located in Ramallah
. Her book Modernizing Women: Gender and Social Change in the Middle East was recognized as a Choice Outstanding Academic Book for the 1993 to 1994 academic year.
influenced her political views, which became more defined in her university education. The Iranian Revolution
of 1979 and the continued Islamization
in Iran following the revolution made an imprint on Moghadam’s ideology. This situation in Iran, and the situation for Iranian women that resulted, sparked her interest in gender politics. Following the conferral of her Ph.D., Moghadam turned her attention to women-in-development, and her identification as a feminist strengthened. Today, the global issues that most concern Moghadam are “the adverse effects of economic globalization, militarism,” and the fight for "women's rights everywhere, but especially in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan".
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
scholar, sociologist, activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
, and author, whose work focuses on women in development
Women in Development
Women in Development is an approach to development projects that emerged in the 1970s, calling for treatment of women's issues in development projects...
, globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
, feminist networks, and female employment in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
.
She has taught and performed research at various institutions of higher education, and most recently (January 2007) earned the position of Director of the Women’s Studies Program at Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
, where she is also a Professor of Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. Prior to this appointment, Moghadam worked for the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as the chief of gender equality
Gender equality
Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...
and development.
Her most recent publication, Globalizing Women: Transnational Feminist Networks, examines globalization as a gendered process and looks closely at Transnational Feminist Network
Transnational Feminist Network
A transnational feminist network is a network of women’s groups who work together for women’s rights at both a national and transnational level.-Globalization:...
s (TFNs). In her preface, Moghadam writes, "'globalization-from-above' has engendered 'globalization-from-below,' producing a dynamic and transnational women’s movement that has been confronting neoliberal capitalism and patriarchal fundamentalism".
Early life
Valentine Moghadam was born in TehranTehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, Iran to an "urban, elite family" in 1952. After attaining her secondary education at an international school, she spent her first two years in the work force employed at a major daily newspaper, Kayhan
Kayhan
Kayhan is an influential newspaper in Iran. Directly under the supervision of the Office of the Supreme Leader, it is regarded to be "the most conservative Iranian newspaper."...
. Following her time at the newspaper, Moghadam taught English at the Imperial Air Force Language School. After these initial work experiences, Valentine Moghadam, with the support of her parents, sought a college education in the west.
Education
Valentine Moghadam first studied at the University of WaterlooUniversity of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
(Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada), where she "joined the Iranian student movement and became a left-wing activist". As an undergraduate, she majored in history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and earned her bachelor’s degree in 1978. Moghadam earned her M.A. (1983) and Ph.D. (1986) in Sociology at American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Career
As a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at New York UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, from 1985 to 1988, Dr. Moghadam taught several courses about sociology, women, and development. In the following year, under the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, Moghadam completed research as a Postdoctoral Fellow. In the fall of 1989 she also taught as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Program in Middle East Studies at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
. As a Visiting Lecturer in the fall of 1990 and a Visiting Senior Lecturer in the fall of 1992, Moghadam taught at the University of Helsinki
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
. Then, from 1990 to 1995, she completed research in Helsinki, Finland at the WIDER Institute of the United Nations University
United Nations University
The United Nations University is an academic arm of the United Nations established in 1973, which serves purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The UNU undertakes research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of...
as the Senior Researcher and Coordinator of the Research Program on Women and Development. From May 2004 to December 2006, Moghadam worked in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France as the Chief of the Section for Gender Equality and Development in the Social and Human Services Sector of UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
. In January 2007, Moghadam was appointed Director of the College of Liberal Arts’ Women’s Studies Program at Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
, where she is also a professor in the Sociology Department. Most recently, she has accepted a position to become a professor in the Sociology Department at Northeastern University.
Memberships and accomplishments
Moghadam is a member of a variety of professional and feminist organizations. She belongs to the American Sociological AssociationAmerican Sociological Association
The American Sociological Association , founded in 1905 as the American Sociological Society , is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology by serving sociologists in their work and promoting their contributions to serve society.The ASA holds its...
and the International Sociological Association
International Sociological Association
International Sociological Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific purposes in the field of sociology and social sciences...
and seves on its executive committee. In March 1995, she was a member of the United Nations University delegation to the World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. Later that year, in September, she also participated in the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. Additionally, she has also aided in the establishment of the Palestinian Women’s Research and Documentation Center, located in Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
. Her book Modernizing Women: Gender and Social Change in the Middle East was recognized as a Choice Outstanding Academic Book for the 1993 to 1994 academic year.
Research, influence and ideology
Currently, Valentine Moghadam’s areas of research include "globalization, transnational feminist networks, civil society and citizenship, and women’s employment in the Middle East". Her experiences growing up in IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
influenced her political views, which became more defined in her university education. The Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
of 1979 and the continued Islamization
Islamization
Islamization or Islamification has been used to describe the process of a society's conversion to the religion of Islam...
in Iran following the revolution made an imprint on Moghadam’s ideology. This situation in Iran, and the situation for Iranian women that resulted, sparked her interest in gender politics. Following the conferral of her Ph.D., Moghadam turned her attention to women-in-development, and her identification as a feminist strengthened. Today, the global issues that most concern Moghadam are “the adverse effects of economic globalization, militarism,” and the fight for "women's rights everywhere, but especially in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan".
Further reading
- Moghadam, Valentine. Globalizing Women: Transnational Feminist Networks. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.
- Moghadam, Valentine. Identity Politics and Women: Cultural Reassertions and Feminisms in International Perspective. Boulder: Westview Press, 1994.
- Moghadam, Valentine. Modernizing Women: Gender and Social Change in the Middle East. Boulder: L. Rienner, 1993.
- Moghadam, Valentine. Women, Work, and Economic Reform in the Middle East and North Africa. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998.