Research Expertise and Interest

Persian literature, literary theory and criticism, cultural history, Afghanistan

Research Description

Wali Ahmadi is an associate professor of Persian literature.  He is a native of Kabul, Afghanistan, who came to the United States after graduating from high school in 1982. He received his B.A. in Political and Social sciences from California State University, Hayward (now East Bay) in 1987. In spring 1997, he was awarded a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from UCLA. From 1997-2000 he taught at the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of Virginia. Since 2000, he has been teaching Persian literature in the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at UC Berkeley. He was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 2007. He has served as the departmental Undergraduate Adviser. He was also MELC Department Chair (2021-24). Professor Ahmadi’s primary areas of interest include classical and modern Persian literature, literary theory and criticism, Afghanistan studies, and cultural history.