Amirpouyan Shiva

Amirpouyan Shiva is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Arts. He holds a PhD in socio-cultural anthropology from the University of Minnesota (2018). His research focuses on digital media practices, self-fashioning in social media, and the socio-political implications of media interactions. His work integrates ontological perspectives from Perso-Islamic mysticism and Iranian internet culture, challenging traditional anthropological frameworks.

Education:

• PhD in Socio-Cultural Anthropology, University of Minnesota (2018)

Research interests include digital and virtual media, performance, aesthetics, expressive culture, and language materiality. He employs virtual ethnography, particularly in the Persian blogosphere, to explore how media shapes individual and collective identities. His interdisciplinary approach bridges new media studies, linguistics, and technology studies.

Teaching: Prior to UBC, he taught at the University of Minnesota, Macalester College, and UBC’s Sauder School. Courses include Anthropology of Media, Principles of Field Work, and Urban Ethnographic Field School.

Methodologically, he specializes in online ethnography and qualitative methods. His work contributes to debates on non-human agency in constructing human subjectivity and societal transformation.