Younes Saramifar — Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Personal profile

Personal information

I take pride in the fact that I begun my higher education in sociology/cultural anthroplogy and remained consistently within the discpline of social sciences while maintaining diverse interests. My research interests begin with the mundane affairs of everyday life and end up in most weird and lesser explored corners of existence. So be aware of the maddness before coming closer.

My work concentrates on questions of subjectivity, violence, materiality and print culture. However, I maintain an academic interest in sexuality, digital presence and gender studies. I explored the question of materiality of guns and bodies while studying militancy and militants in Lebanon. Currently, I am tracing the pleasures of violence and the convergence of the subjectivity of authors and readers within propaganda materials and state sanctioned memoirs.

My theoretical interests are influenced by post-structuralism, critical theory and storytelling. Therfeore, I designed and organize the Summer School in 'hands-on anthroplogy and storytelling'. You can find more information about it here https://handsonanthropology.org/ and Stories from Amsterdam.

I am currently a post-doctoral fellow in Université libre de Bruxelles at the center for interdisicplinary studies of religion and laicite. The project that I have started there is called 'God from bedrooms till streets in the Middle East (Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan).

Ancillary activities

No ancillary activities

Ancillary activities are updated daily

Teaching

At the moment I teach (this year I am not part of the 2018 teaching program at the faculty of scoial sciences in VU)

Hands-on Anthropology and Ethnography (Summer School)
Middle East Today at Amsterdam University College
Sacred cityscape in VU faculty of theology

Prizes and Awards

Nomination for Teacher Talent Prize 2016-2017, FSW, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Nomination for Teacher Talent Prize 2017-2018, FSW, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Petrer Beahr Prize for Best Research proposal 2017
Einstein Junior Research Fellowship 2018-2019 (Einstein Foundation Berlin/ fellowship hosted in Humboldt University)
Vrije Universiteit Research Fellowship 2019-2020 (Ghorashi Fellow)