Samah Choudhury

Ph.D. Candidate, Islamic Studies

Education

A.M., Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University
B.A., Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Michigan

Research Interests

• Gender and sexuality
• Critical race theory
• Religion and state structures
• Humor
• Islam in America
• Secularism
• Decolonial theory, methods, and pedagogies

Professional Biography

I am a doctoral candidate in Islamic Studies. My dissertation research looks at the cultural productions of humor by South Asian Muslim men and the ways in which Islam is constructed and then articulated through comedic performance. I have served as President of the UNC Islamicate Graduate Students Association from 2016 – 2018, and as a Graduate Student Representative within the department from 2017 – 2019.