Dr. Anahita Arian

Frau

Curriculum Vitae

  • Since October 2021 Visiting Scholar at the Department of Global History Freie Universität Berlin.
  • Since March 2020 post-doctoral fellow affiliated with the Chair of History of Science at the University of Erfurt.
  • 2012-2019 PhD in International Relations, University of Groningen, Netherlands. Doctoral thesis: The XVII C. Safavid Diplomatic Envoy to Siam: A Politics of Knowledge Formation.
  • June-August 2019 Visiting Scholar Orient Institute Beirut, Max Weber Foundation, Lebanon.
  • February 2019 Visiting Scholar Department of International Relations, Universidad de San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador.
  • 2017-2020 Research Associate at the Department of International Relations, University of Erfurt.
  • 2012-2017 Lecturer at the Department of International Relations, University of Groningen, Netherlands.
  • 2007-2010 MA in International Relations, University of Groningen, Netherlands.
  • 2003-2007 BA in International Relations, University of Groningen, Netherlands.
  • Linguistic proficiency in Persian, Dutch, English, German, French and Arabic.

Kontakt: anahita.arian@uni-erfurt.de

Since April 2020 post-doctoral fellow affiliated with the professorship for the History of Science and the Center for Political Practices and Order, University of Erfurt. Funded by an Initialization Scholarship granted by the Thuringian Program for Funding of Young Female Academics and Artists.

Forschungsschwerpunkte

I am an International Relations scholar specialized in the history and theory of international relations, the study of global encounters, connectivities, historical and intellectual entanglements, and the study of knowledge formation, epistemic practices, epistemologies, and their interlinkages with the realm of politics, the exercise of power, and the institution and governance of political orders with a special focus on the Islamic world/Eurasia and the Indian Ocean region. My work is characterized by interdisciplinarity as it cut across the disciplines of International Relations, History, History of Science, Philosophy, Theology, Anthropology and Literature and my research interests include History and Theory of International Relations, Global Connected Histories, Intellectual History, History of Science, Global Encounters, Diplomacy, Entanglements, Questions of Epistemology and Ontology, Epistemic Practices, Knowledge-Power Nexus,  Postcolonialism and Decoloniality, Metaphysics, Religion, Political Theology, and Aesthetics.

At the moment, I work on the following research projects:

The Politics of Astronomy and the Practice of Politics in the Medieval Islamic World.

The Politics of Astronomy and the Practice of Politics in the Medieval Islamic World.

This project examines how in the Islamic medieval world political orders conditioned epistemic practices and the formation of knowledge in the discipline of astronomy, and how astronomy, in turn, affected the praxis of politics and the governance of political orders.

Non-Western Agency in World Politics (together with Prof. John M. Hobson, University of Sheffield).

Non-Western Agency in World Politics (together with Prof. John M. Hobson, University of Sheffield).

This project explores various forms, dimensions and shapes of non-Western agency in world politics in history and contemporary times and illustrates how this has and continues to constitute world politics in various ways.

Global Encounters, Diplomacy, and Order in the Indian Ocean Persianate World: The XVII Century Safavid Embassy to Siam.

Global Encounters, Diplomacy, and Order in the Indian Ocean Persianate World: The XVII Century Safavid Embassy to Siam.

This project analyses the Safavid Empire’s praxis and understanding of international relations in the late seventeenth century.

The Aryan Myth and Identity Formation in Global Contexts (together with Dr. Amir Theilhaber, University of Bielefeld)

The Aryan Myth and Identity Formation in Global Contexts (together with Dr. Amir Theilhaber, University of Bielefeld)

This project explores how the Aryan myth has been memorialized and employed in various parts of the world for the formation of national identities.