Listening with Iranian women in exile: politics and poetics of everyday practices of belonging
We’re delighted to welcome Nassim Zand Disari as the next speaker in our Starting the Conversation Community Engaged Research Speaker Series.
The talk will take place in person in ART 368, in the Institute for Community Engaged Research.
And we will also be sharing it via Zoom.
Abstract
Public spaces have long been sites of negotiation and struggle for Iranian women living under the gender apartheid of the Islamic regime since 1979. For many, these everyday constraints and systematic injustice have led to an irreversible journey away from home. But what happens when they arrive somewhere new – when they begin to search for belonging in an unfamiliar place? This question sits at the heart of my doctoral research, which explores the politics of sound and listening among Iranian women in exile in Metro Vancouver. I draw on decolonial critical listening and relational sonic ethnography to understand how experiences of belonging, alienation, inclusion, and exclusion take shape through sound and sonic encounters in public spaces. In this conversation, I will share some preliminary insights from this ongoing work.
Bio
Nassim Zand is a doctoral student, public scholar and social advocate from Iran. After completing her master’s degree in Belgium, she returned to Iran and became involved in cultural heritage practices through various roles: from founding a youth NGO in Iran, to interning at UNESCO Uzbekistan, as well as working as a policy consultant for UNESCO in Afghanistan. Nassim is currently in her fourth year of a PhD program in Community Engagement, Social Change, and Equity. Nassim is a recipient of the 2025 ICER Student CER Award.
