Sophia Farokhi is Research Coordinator for The Cinema Iranica Project at the Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies. Sophia most recently held a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Historical Studies, University of Toronto. She holds a PhD in Iranian Studies. Her dissertation, Contesting Identities: A Critical Analysis of Iranian Identities, examined contemporary Iranian political identities, their roots in Persian history, and their relation to more recent cultural and political phenomena in the Middle East, paying particular attention to the sociopolitical and religious influences shaping the perspective of contemporary Iranian political thinkers. Subsequent to the completion of her dissertation, Sophia worked as a lecturer at several universities in Iran, teaching courses in Iranian studies, political sociology, and political thought.Sophia is the author of numerous articles on Iranian society and politics, including “Cultural Schizophrenia: A Critical Analysis of Iranian Identity in the Thought of Dariush Shayegan,” and has written, edited, and translated several books. She recently co-translated Professor Shafique Virani’ book; The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, A Search for Salvation (2007) with Amirkabir Publishers, one of the most well-known publishing houses in Iran.