Sheyda Jahanbani

Contact Information (785) 864-9459 Office: 3611 Wescoe Email: sfaj@ku.edu

Assistant professor, history of the U.S. and the world (1776-2001), modern U.S. history, the history of international cooperation, the cold war at home and abroad, the U.S. and the "third world," social science in the European and American traditions, global poverty, social policy, social reform, and social protest in 20th century America, U.S.-Latin American relations.

Dr. Jahanbani is an historian of American foreign relations specializing in the post-1945 period. She is especially interested in the legacy of the liberal internationalist tradition in American foreign policy. This includes the history of U.S. relations with the "Third World," the history of the social sciences, (particularly the history of modernization and development), and the emergence of distinctly "global" problems in the post-World War II period.

In addition to her pursuits as a scholar, Prof. Jahanbani is also interested in national politics and contemporary policy issues. She has served as an intern to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education & Welfare (1996-97), and the Office of Public Affairs, National Security Council, Office of the President (1998-99). She also worked as an organizer for the United Auto Workers in their campaign to advocate for academic workers, particularly non-tenured faculty and graduate teaching assistants at public and private universities across the country.

Her current project, "'A Different Kind of People:’ The Poor at Home and Abroad, 1935-1975,” seeks to historicize the origins of a global conception of poverty. This work shows how a transnational conception of poor people as ‘backwards’ and culturally distinct emerged from the nexus of intellectuals, activists, and administrators who shaped U.S. domestic anti-poverty and international development policies in the late-20th century.

Her next project will explore the democratization of American and Western European foreign policy in the post-World War II period, charting the rise and exploring the significance of the celebrity-diplomat, people-to-people diplomacy, overseas volunteer programs, and the non-governmental organization as major players in international relations. According to Dr. Jahanbani, "In plain language, I want to try to figure out how and why Angelina Jolie was elected to the Council on Foreign Relations before I was!"