About

Kamran Scot Aghaie is an Associate Professor in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. His academic focus includes Islamic studies, Shi'ism, and modern Iranian and Middle Eastern history. His secondary areas of interest encompass world history, historiography, religious studies, nationalism, gender studies, and economic history. Aghaie's work integrates these diverse fields to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of Middle Eastern history and religious movements, emphasizing the cultural and political developments within Islamic societies.

Research topics

• History
• Political science
• Sociology
• Ancient history
• Religious studies

Selected publications

• Creating the Modern Iranian Policeman: 1911–1935

  Iranian Studies · 2025-06-05

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract 1911 to 1935 was a chaotic, yet foundational, period in the transformation of the police force in Tehran and Iran more broadly. The nationalization of modern Iranian policing can be traced back to this time period. This article explores the role of nationalism and anti-imperialism on policing, how the structure and process of policing underwent transformation, including how police were recruited, trained, and deployed. Localized and decentralized policing was slowly abandoned in favor of an integrated national force, with policing through mediation being replaced with the exercise of power in a top-down and center to periphery manner. Education of police officers also underwent transformation, as new strategies were pursued to create a modern nationalist Iranian police force.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Launching the journal, opening the forum

  Performing Islam · 2019-12-01

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  Preview this article: Launching the journal, opening the forum, Page 1 of 1 < Previous page | Next page > /docserver/preview/fulltext/pi/8/1-2/pi_00002_7-1.gif

  PublisherDOI

• Why did Qajar elites become such enthusiastic patrons of ta'zīyah? A simple question with a complex answer

  Performing Islam · 2019-12-01 · 1 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract The Qajar elites of Iran used various Shi'i religious rituals to bolster their legitimacy, but ta'zīyah was the Qajar ritual par excellence. This article argues for the key role played by the following factors. First, the relationship between the Qajar elites and the elite ulamā was often contentious. Second, since the ulamā controlled most religious spaces and rituals, it was difficult for the Qajar elites to sponsor rituals independently of the ulamā, and third, since the ulamā had conflicting and ambivalent attitudes towards certain Shi'i rituals, because of the practices of dressing up and representing holy Shi'i persons (including males dressing up as female characters), and because of the injurious aspects of rituals like qamah zanī and zanjīr zanī. Finally, hierarchies of status within the ulamā developed throughout the Qajar period, following the victory of the Ūsūlīs over the Akhbārīs in Iraq and Iran. A combination of these factors meant that the highest-ranking ulamā typically did not sponsor rituals like ta'zīyah, which provided a unique opportunity for Qajar elites to promote their legitimacy, with relative independence from the elite ulamā.

  PublisherDOI

• Launching the journal, opening the forum

  Performing Islam · 2018-11-01

  article

  Abstract

  PublisherDOI

• Mohammad Jafar Amir Mahallati , Ethics of War and Peace in Iran and Shiʿi Islam (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2016). Pp. 351. $36.96 cloth. ISBN: 9781442629516

  International Journal Middle East Studies · 2018-01-31

  article1st authorCorresponding

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  PublisherDOI

• Launching the journal, opening the forum

  Performing Islam · 2017-12-01

  article

  Abstract

  PublisherDOI

• Launching the journal, opening the forum

  Performing Islam · 2017-05-01

  article

  Abstract

  PublisherDOI

• Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures Newsletter, Vol 2 (Fall 1999)

  Texas ScholarWorks (Texas Digital Library) · 2016-01-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Symposium on pilgrimage to holy sites; graduate student news; brown bag luncheon series; Tracking Cultures; conference on Hassan Fathy; faculty publications; new assistant professors Kamran Aghaie and Yildiray Erdener; faculty profile Mohammad Ali Jazayery; faculty workshops.

  PublisherDOI

• Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures Newsletter, Vol 3 (Spring 2000)

  Texas ScholarWorks (Texas Digital Library) · 2016-01-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  conference on Judaism and Islam: cross currents; new Jewish Studies major; student news; MELC faculty awards and grands; lectures and presentations; faculty publications and other creative work; A retrospective of Haim Shiran's films; faculty profile: Yaron Bar-Adon; workshop on the teaching of Islamic and Jewish studies.

  PublisherDOI

• Contesting Marginality: Ethnicity and the Construction of New Histories in the Islamic Republic of Iran

  Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) · 2014-01-01

  article
  Publisher

Frequent coauthors

• Deborah A. Kapchan

  4 shared

• Michael Frishkopf

  4 shared

• Laura Chakravarty Box

  4 shared

• Earle H. Waugh

  University of Alberta

  4 shared

• Richard K. Wolf

  4 shared

• Dhiraj Murthy

  The University of Texas at Austin

  4 shared

• Razia Sultanova

  4 shared

• Martin Stokes

  King's College London

  4 shared

Education

• MA and PhD, History

  University of California Los Angeles

  1999