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Dr. Aghil Daghagheleh is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Northern ºÚÁÏÉçÇø. He is a political sociologist whose teaching and research sit at the intersection of ethnicity and minority politics, social movements and collective action, and studies of the Middle East/West Asia. He teaches courses on resistance, global change, race and ethnicity, and research methods.

His current book project investigates how Indigenous and marginalized communities resist state incorporation when open resistance is dangerous or impossible. Focusing on Arab communities in southwest Iran, the book explores how resistance is manifested and lived through everyday political, religious, and social practices. The research reveals the importance of land, sovereignty, and refusal for understanding ethnic and minority politics in Iran and broader West Asia.

His recent work includes an article in Current Anthropology on religious conversion and ethnic relations among Iran’s Arab minority, as well as a book chapter on the rise of Salafism in Iran. He has also written on the sociology of ethnicity in Iran and on the role of ethnic relations in recent political crises, with essays appearing in Global Dialogue, Jadaliyya, Middle East Report, and other public-facing venues.

Beyond academia, he has authored a book in Persian and writes essays and commentary in Persian and English on democracy, authoritarianism, and the struggles of ethnic minorities.

PhD, Rutgers University, 2023. Area of Study: Sociology

MA, Rutgers University, 2014.

MS, Shahid Beheshti University (SBU), 2005.

BA, Shahid Chamran University (SCU), 2000. Area of Study: Statistics

2025-Present; University of Northern ºÚÁÏÉçÇø (UNC); 2014-2025; Assistant Professor Lecturer of Sociology, Rutger University

Political Sociology; Ethnicity and Nationalism; State Formation and Marginalized Peripheries; Social Movements and Collective Action; Middle East/West Asia Studies

Books:

Daghagheleh, A., Kalhor, S. (2011). Urban Poverty in Tehran, Iran. Tehran: Jameshenasan Press.

Journal Articles:

Daghagheleh, A. (2026) Conversion as Refusal: Ethnic Relations, Shiism, and Conversion to Sunni Islam among Iran’s Arab Minority. Current Anthropology, 67(3), 405–415.

Daghagheleh, A. (2018) Ambivalent Voting Behavior: Ideology, Efficacy, and the Socioeconomic Dynamic of Voter Turnout in Iran, 1997–2005. Sociological Forum, 3(44), 1023-1044.

Sedigh, R., Daghagheleh, A. (2008). Perception of Social Equality in Iran. Journal of Social Sciences (University of Tehran), 16(34), 23-47.

Daghagheleh, A. (2008). The Social Impact Analysis of Development of Oil and Gas Industries in Asaluyeh, Iran. Iranian Journal of Social Sciences, 16(33), 55-75.

Daghagheleh, A. (2007). Arab Community and Identity Formation in Iran. Rahbord (Center for Strategic Studies), 14(45), 49-71.

Book Chapter:

Daghagheleh, A. (2023). The Myth of Jihadism: The Rise of Salafi Islam in Iran. In Elisa  Orofino (Ed.), Rethinking Islamism Beyond Jihadi Violence. Vernon Press.

Selected Public Sociology

Daghagheleh, A. 2026. Ethnicity in Iran: The Question Iranian Sociology Avoids. Global Dialogue, 16(1).

Daghagheleh, A. 2026. The Invisible Role of Ethnic Relations in Iran’s Current Crisis. Jadaliyya.

Daghagheleh, A. (2023). Subalternity and the Revolutionary Moment of Jina/Mahsa. Tehran: Quarterly Journal of Political Economy Critique. Persian. https://tinyurl.com/2ut5ajsa

Daghagheleh, A. (2018). A ‘Blue’ Generation and Protests in Iran. Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP).

Daghagheleh, A. (2014). Fashion Victims (4th ed., vol. 13). Contexts (ASA).

The Anne Foner Award for Writing the best dissertation, the Department of Sociology at Rutgers University. (May 2024).