Nada Ayad

Nada Ayad is the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS) at The Cooper Union. She previously served as Assistant Dean (2019–2020) and Associate Dean (2020–present). Her academic career includes a postdoctoral fellowship at Cooper Union (2016–2018) and an Assistant Professorship at FIT (2018–2019). She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Southern California, an M.A. in Modern English Literature from Leeds University, and a B.A. in American Literature from USC with minors in French and German.

Her research focuses on modern Arabic literature, decolonization theories, women of color feminisms, and translation studies. Current projects include a book on Egyptian women’s political narratives across 1919, 1952, and 2011 revolutions, emphasizing the intersection of domesticity and revolutionary movements. She has translated works from French and Arabic, including interviews for the Sawt documentary on Egyptian women’s 2011 Revolution experiences.

Ayad teaches core courses like HSS1 (Freshman Seminar) and HSS4 (The Arab Spring), alongside electives on race, gender, and literature. She co-founded the Intersectional Justice Discussion Group and the Race and Climate Reading Group with the Cooper Climate Coalition. Her work bridges literary analysis, feminist theory, and decolonial practices, emphasizing marginalized voices in political narratives.

Her publications span journals like Research in African Literatures and Translation Review, with contributions to edited volumes on postcolonial and translation studies. Her translations include Moroccan student accounts of the Arab Spring and Egyptian feminist texts from the 1919 Revolution era.