Mohammad Rafi

Biography

Mohammad Rafi, Ph.D., is a Lecturer in German and European Studies in the European Languages and Studies Department at the University of California, Irvine, where he also served as Director of the German Language Program from 2021 to 2023. Rafi received his Ph.D. in German with an emphasis in Critical Theory from UC Irvine in 2016, with a dissertation examining the genealogy of German ideological interaction with Iranian nationalism. His research focuses on German-Iranian relations and the experiences of Muslims in Germany.

Rafi has published peer-reviewed articles on German cultural work during World War I and its influence on Iranian nationalism, appearing in volumes published by Presses Universitaires de Strasbourg and Telos Press. His work examines the intersection of German ideology, Iranian national identity, and questions of cultural authenticity, including the influence of Nazi racial laws on Iranian identity formation and the reception of German philosophy in Iran. He has also contributed public scholarship on contemporary Iranian diaspora politics and U.S.-Iran relations.

Rafi has been invited to speak at institutions including the University of Washington, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, and the German Institute of Global and Area Studies in Hamburg. He has presented his research at conferences of the German Studies Association, the Pacific and Ancient Modern Language Association, and the American Comparative Literature Association. At UC Irvine, Rafi teaches courses ranging from German language instruction to upper-division courses on German Romanticism and Islam in Europe.

Education

• Ph.D. in German with an emphasis in Critical Theory, University of California, Irvine, 2016
• M.A. in German Philosophy & Literature, University of California, Los Angeles, 2008
• B.A. in Political Science (emphasis on International Relations) Minor In German, University of California, Los Angeles, 2005

Distinctions

• UC Irvine Lecturer of the Year Award Nomination, 2023-2024
• Chancellor's Club Fellowship, UC Irvine, 2015-2016
• Graduate Deans Dissertation Fellowship (honorable mention), UC Irvine, 2015
• UCLA Deans Humanities Fellowship, 2006-2008