Aghayan, Nooshin

Nooshin completed her undergraduate studies in chemistry in 1997. She worked as a professional lab specialist in metal extraction and foundry companies for almost eight years. As a literature and art enthusiast, she eventually left industry for good and joined the Tehran University of Art. Her Master’s thesis, titled “Postmodernism in Cinema,” was a steppingstone for the continuation of her postgraduate studies in Canada.  Nooshin graduated from the Cultural Studies Department at Trent University in 2019. Her PhD dissertation, “Instabilities in the Definition of a Tradition as Islamic, Persian, and Iranian in the Shadow of Orientalism,” is a thorough study of the formation of Islamic Art as a category as well as an academic discipline. While conducting her research at Trent University, she introduced Islamic art by teaching visual art studies to both undergraduate students and interested audiences who joined continuing education programs at the same institute. Since her graduation, Nooshin has conducted a series of online courses to make the public familiar with art history.

Nooshin has a good grasp on translating classic and modern Persian poetry into the English language. A sample of her translations is collected in Sivash Zamiran’s book A Glass of Poem. She has been an active blogger since 2010, writing regularly about cinema, critical theory, and art history for different online platforms.

Nooshin has recently joined the Department of World Studies at the University of Tehran.