Fatemeh Shams, an associate professor of Persian literature in the department of Near Eastern languages and civilizations in the School of Arts & Sciences, was named the 2024 Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies by the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. The award, named for international human rights activist Rev. Dana McLean Greeley, honors “a distinguished advocate for peace, noted humanitarian, or faith leader” selected because of their ability to “effectively promote the cause of peace and conflict resolution at local, regional, national, or international levels and/or peace and justice studies.”

A yearlong series of events focused on feminist and queer resistance globally will culminate in a residency by Dr. Shams at UMass Lowell. In describing the reason for offering Dr. Shams the reward, the Greeley Foundation for Peace and Social Justice referenced her “groundbreaking” monograph, “A Revolution in Rhyme: Poetic Co-Option Under the Islamic Republic” and other essays that address “gendered literary historiography, womanhood, threshold and sensory representations of exilic identity in the Persianate world and beyond through a comparative lens.”

The foundation also noted Dr. Shams’ tireless advocacy for “political change, structural justice, and gender equality. Over the years, Dr. Shams has been a voice of the opposition movement in diaspora and a woman’s rights advocate at the forefront of Iran’s feminist resistance movement.”