Sona Kazemi

Dr. Sona Kazemi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She holds postdoctoral fellowships from The Ohio State University (2018–2022) and Mills College (2020–2021). Her research focuses on disability studies, state violence, Middle Eastern politics, and transnational solidarity. She is the 2018 recipient of the Irving K. Zola Award (Honorable Mention) and currently serves as Associate Editor for the Global Ideas Section of the Review of Disability Studies. Her first monograph, Disabling Relations, is under contract with Temple University Press (2025).

Research Interests:

• Intersection of disability, race, and gender
• State violence and carceral systems
• Iranian socio-political dynamics
• Global disability justice
• Transnational migration

Recent Work:

• Co-editing Disabling States (Canadian Scholars Press, 2026)
• Leading projects on Iran’s prison systems and transnational abolition

Media Engagement:

• Radio/Podcast interviews on disability rights and Middle Eastern socio-politics
• Contributions to Iran International TV and Radiopooya