Education
- Ph.D., Anthropology, Boston University, 2021
- J.D., University of Michigan Law School, 2019
- M.A., Middle Eastern Studies, University of Chicago, 2012
- B.A., Anthropology/History/Languages, Marlboro College, 2009
- A.A., Persian-Farsi, Defense Language Institute, 2002
Classes Taught
Instructor of Record
- Introduction to Anthropology, Boston University, Dept. of Anthropology
- Elementary Persian 101 and 102, Boston University, Dept. of Languages and Comparative Literature
Graduate Student Instructor or Teaching Fellow
- Reading the Qur’an, University of Michigan, Honors Program
- The Games We Play, University of Michigan, Honors Program
- Contemporary Moral Problems, University of Michigan, Philosophy Dept.
- Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Boston University, Dept. of Anthropology
- Introduction to Biological Anthropology, Boston University, Dept. of Anthropology
- Writing Fellow, Boston University, Honors Core
Publications
-"The Anchor of Republican Justice," Law and Liberty, October 2024
-"Why Focusing on Time, Place or Manner Speech Restrictions Neglects the Natural Roots of Law," Anchoring Truths, June 2024
-"Feeling the Polyamorous Love?," Law & Liberty, June 2024
-"Puncturing the 'Violent Islam' Trope," Law & Liberty, December 2023
-"A Law of the People," Law & Liberty, October 2023
-"Aiming at Ordered Liberty," Law & Liberty, January 2023
-“Islam's Lessons for Liberalism,” Law & Liberty, August 2022
-"Hungry Like the Wolf, Territorial Conquest and Great Power Competition in the New World," The Strategy Bridge, June 2022
- “What Is a Nudge?,” Nudging Public Policy, Edited volume on Nudges, February 2022 (Peer Reviewed)
- “Recovering a State Legal Theory,” Law & Liberty, February 2022
- “A Gambit Worth Taking,” Law & Liberty, December 2021
- “There's More to Graduate School than Careerism: A Response to Phillip Dolitsky,” Public Discourse, October 2021
- “Hybrid War and What to Do About It,” The Strategy Bridge, April 2021
- “Digitizing’s Downside,” Law & Liberty, July 2020
- “Islam in America,” Law & Liberty, May 2020
- “Islamic Law in the United States,” Sapiens, March 9, 2018
- “Identity Crisis,” Claremont Review of Books, June 27, 2017
- “ISIS: The Taint of Murji’ism and the Curse of Hypocrisy,” Mizan, September 21, 2016 (Peer Reviewed)
- “Refugees and the Islamic State’s Colonization Strategy,” War on the Rocks, December 7, 2015
Pedagogical Training & Certificates
- Graduate Teaching Certificate, University of Michigan. In progress. Required multiple classes on pedagogy, multi-day seminars, mentorship, and in-class teaching evaluations.
- Tutoring in ESL, Boston University. Class devoted to helping ESL students improve English composition
- Teaching College Anthropology, Boston University. Mentorship while serving as a teaching assistant
- Pedagogies of Writing, University of Chicago. Class devoted to training teachers in the writing core of the university on how to build syllabi, manage the class, grade and provide feedback to students
- Teaching Seminar, University of Chicago. Seminar on how to be an effective college instructor.
Conferences and Seminars
-James Wilson Fellowship, James Wilson Institute, Arlington, Va. Seminar exploring natural law and the American founding. Winter 2024.
-Fréderic Bastiat Seminar, Research Sequence, Mercatus Center, George Mason University. Seminar series designed to produce a peer-reviewed paper on a specific topic in political-economy for publication. Academic year, 2018-19. Participant
- Culture and Liberty Seminar, Mercatus Center, George Mason Univeristy. Seminar on the relationship between culture and liberty. August 2018. Participant.
- Cutler Fellowship, Salzburg Global Seminar. Seminar on producing scholarship on international law. February 2018. Participant.
- Fréderic Bastiat Seminar on Political Economy, Mercatus Center, George Mason University. Seminar on Austrian and related schools of political economy. Academic year, 2017-18. Participant
- “ISIS and the Arab Spring: Hostile Opportunities.” Boston Consortium for Arab Region Studies. April, 2015. Paper Presented
- The War in Iraq. Hertog Institute. Seminar presented by Paul Wolfowitz and I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby on decision making leading to the 1990 and 2003 Iraq Wars. October, 2014. Participant. Awarded $2,000 stipend.
- “The Senegalese Merchants Who Move and Build Africa.” African Studies Graduate Student Conference, Boston University, April 2012. Paper Presented.
- “Alphabet Wars: Turkish Orthography as Political Control.” Middle Eastern History and Theory Workshop Annual Conference, University of Chicago, May 2012. Paper Presented
Grants, Stipends and Fellowships
- Club for Growth Fellowship
- Dean’s Scholarship at University of Michigan Law School
- Wenner-Gren Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant
- Summer Graduate Research Abroad Fellowship (GRAF), Boston University
- Dean’s Fellowship, Boston University
- Summer FLAS for Uzbek, University of Chicago
- Critical Language Study Award for Uzbek study, Arizona State University
- Full Tuition Scholarship, University of Chicago
Committee and Other Service
American Bar Association
- Rule of Law Initiative, lawyer volunteer
- Justice Defenders Africa, lawyer volunteer
Hillsborough County Bar Association
- Bar Leadership Institute, selective program to integrate young lawyers into leadership positions within their community
New Books Network
- Host on the Anthropology and Law channels, responsible for conducting interviews with authors of recently published scholarly works in the disciplines of anthropology and law
University of Michigan
- Admissions evaluator for Honors Program responsible for reading and considering undergraduate applications to the Honors Program.
-Faculty mentor for the Parliamentary Debate Club, responsible for coaching students on debating strategy and proper debating etiquette
Boston University
- Graduate student representative to the Graduate Academic Affairs Committee responsible for approving changes to graduate academic programs and student policies
- Editor for the Pardee Periodical, the Boston University’s graduate journal of international affairs
- President, Vice-President and Treasurer to the Boston University Veterans’ Association
University of Chicago
- Student representative to the Veterans’ Service Subcommittee responsible for arranging veterans’ services on campus
Marlboro College
- Selectperson on university selectboard, responsible for running student government, setting student policies, overseeing student disciplinary actions and running the student-run Town Meeting.
- Member of the Standing Building Committee responsible for maintenance of buildings and approval of new works
- Student Work Day Coordinator responsible for coordinating student maintenance activities around the college
Theses
- Dissertation: Sharia The American Way: Ethnographic and theoretical exploration of legal and religious pluralism focusing on describing how American Muslims understand and use Islamic law. Develops an anthropologically grounded definition of both law in general and Islamic law in particular. Also explores secularism as a legal rather than a philosophical concept and its implementation within both an American as well as a comparative social framework.
- Masters Thesis: Theoretical exploration of traditional Pashtun political structures in Afghanistan with emphasis on their theoretical and practical orientation; specifically creating a typology to explore the role of interpersonal relationships in establishing and maintaining political relations among the various segments of Afghan Pashtun society.
-Undergraduate Thesis: three-part project; the first explored the intersection of claims made by various groups on libraries of Islamic jurisprudence in Chinguetti, Mauritania and how those claims and texts were mediated to serve a variety of different interests; travelogue/ethnography comparing my own experience traveling through and North and West Africa to others written in the past; a translation of a journal written by the French explorer Theodore Monod.
Language Skills & Area Expertise
- Proficiency in English (native language), French, Persian (Farsi and Dari), and Spanish, Arabic.
- Intermediate level Uzbek.
- Research Areas: Middle East & Central Asia, Africa & North America
- Field Sites: Mauritania (the Adrar region specifically); Boston, Ma
Organizations
American Oriental Society
Federalist Society
Florida Bar Association
Hillsborough County Bar Association
Propeller Club, Tampa Chapter
US Naval Institute
MacKinder Forum, Affiliate
Court Admissions
Florida State Courts
Northern District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Professional Experience
Associate, The Parrish Law Firm: 9/2020-Present
Represented clients in admiralty, insurance coverage and disability litigation
Officer, US Navy Reserves: 10/2018-Present
Served as a commissioned officer in the US Navy specializing in policy and cultural issues
Public Defender, Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida: 9/2019-9/2020
Defended accused against misdemeanor crimes in trial courts.
US Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida: 6/2018-8/2018
Appellate division. Prepared briefs, wrote legal memoranda and performed legal research.
Kaplan Test Prep Instructor GRE/LSAT: 2014-2016
Responsible for teaching the Kaplan method, basic test taking strategies as well as verbal and mathematical skills to a wide range of students preparing to take entrance exams for professional schools.
Freelance Translator: 2005-2016
Free-lance translator translating French, Spanish, Arabic and Persian into English. Worked on a number of projects including video subtitling, legal translations, and transcribing educational materials.
Electronic On-Ramp: January 2010-August 2010, Charlottesville, Va
Geo-Political Analyst. Authored and published various papers analyzing military and political events.
McNeil Technologies: January 2007-August 2007, Iraq
Worked as a translator and analyst for the US government in Iraq. Responsible for producing timely and accurate translations or summaries of documents in Farsi, French and Arabic.
United States Army: June 2001- December 2006
Persian transcriber and sergeant in charge of a group of five linguists. Linguist and analyst for detachment in Afghanistan