Ehsan Estiri
Temporary Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Utah State University
Areas of Expertise
- Anthropology of the Middle East
- Folklore Theory
- Middle East and the Media
- Film/ Film Ethnography
Education
- Ph.D., Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures with the disciplinary designation of Cultural Anthropology of the Middle East, The Ohio State University
- M.A, Folk Studies, Western Kentucky University
- M.A, Social Anthropology with Specialization in Film Ethnography, Dalarna University, Sweden
- B.A, Dramatic Arts/ Directing, University of Tehran
Ehsan Estiri recently finished his dissertation fieldwork in Los Angeles area, where he studied the ways in which Iranian communities negotiate and reperform Iranianness in their everyday lives in Southern California.
Courses Taught
- The Middle East in the Media (General Education: Culture and Ideas & Diversity/Global Studies)
- Films of the Middle East (General Education: Culture and Ideas & Diversity/Global Studies)
Peer-Reviewed Publications
“Alleviating Folkloristics Theory Anxiety: What Can Folklorists Learn from Conceptualizations of Tradition in Anthropology of Islam?” New Direction in Folkore. vol. 17, 2019
“Politics of Traditionalization: Justification and Framing Processes in Historical Continuity of the Iranian Fire Festival.” Western Folklore vol. 77 (2), 2018
“Folklore: Artistic/Literary or Anthropological Reality?” Diyar vol. 4 (in Persian) , 2018
Selected Research Projects
Winter 2018
Resistance, Racism and Invention of History: Reconstruction of Zoroastrianism in the Iranian Social Media - Presented at Symposium on The Digital Persianate: Constructing Participatory Persian Cultures in the Digital Age, UC San Diego
Fall 2017
What Can Folklorists Learn from Conceptualizations of Tradition in Anthropology of Islam?
Presented at 2017 American Folklore Society annual meeting
Fall 2016
The Tale of Donald J. Trump and the American Media
Presented at 2016 American Folklore Society annual meeting
Spring 2016
“Zoroaster is The Savior”: Reconstruction of Vernacular Zoroastrianism in Iranian Middle-class Everyday Life
Presented at 9th annual OSU/IU Folklore and Ethnomusicology Graduate Student Conference
The Constitutive Nature of Orientalist Narratives
Presented at 206th American Oriental Society annual meeting
Fall 2015
Is Gharaki Folkart? Public Sexual Touch in the Northeast of Iran
Presented at 2015 American Folklore Society annual meeting
Spring 2015
Ghareki: Public Sexual Touch in the Northeast of Iran
Presented at 8th annual IU/OSU Folklore and Ethnomusicology Graduate Student Conference
Winter 2014
A Secret Army of Motifs: The Shrine, Cave and Legends of Sarah Bat Asher in Esfehan, Iran
Presented at 2014 American Folklore Society annual meeting and 7th annual IU/OSU Folklore and Ethnomusicology Graduate Student Conference
Fall 2013
Ancient Iranian Bonfire as an Act of Protest: The Traditional Performance and its Associated Beliefs
Presented at 2013 American Folklore Society annual meeting
Fall 2012
Nakhl Gardani: A Ritual in Rim of Desert
Presented at 6th annual IU/OSU Folklore and Ethnomusicology Graduate Student Conference
Selected Documentary and Ethnographic Films
August 2011
Miss Robabe is an Exception
HD/ 45:00 min, Yusefabad, Neyshaboor, Iran,
IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3532552/
June 2011
Tireless
HD/ 30:00 min Afchang, Sabzevar, Iran
February 2011
Not Dead, Yet
HD/ 40:00 min, Mend, Gonabad, Iran
June 2010
Cellphone
HD/ 33:00 min, Falun, Sweden
Fall 2009
Kitchen, Language and Interpretation
HD/ 17:30 min, Falun, Sweden
Talk
Spring 2015
Tradition and Nationalism
https://cfs.osu.edu/events/dinner-and-dialogue-folklore-and-tradition-ehsan-estiri