Kelly Shannon, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Executive Director, Center for Peace, Justice, & Human Rights (PJHR) Florida Atlantic University

  • Boca Raton FL

Kelly Shannon, Ph.D., specializes in the history of U.S. foreign relations with the Islamic world and women's human rights.

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The 2020 Presidential Election is in Full Swing – and We have a Team of Experts to Help You from Now Until November

The election is on. In fact, it’s as if the campaign of the 2016 election has never come to a finish. U.S. President Donald Trump’s strategy of constant rallies, speeches and campaign stops has essentially meant the Republican incumbent has been on the stump for the better part of almost five years now. On the other side, at one time last year, there were more than two dozen contenders vying for the right to represent the Democrats. That field has been whittled down to about half of that, and it is expected to continue shrinking now that primaries are in play and the financial costs of keeping up will become a reality. So, if there were to be an actual starting point for the November election – this week could be it. On Monday, the Iowa Caucus kicks off what could be months of rigorous and aggressive campaigning for Democrats. The winner Monday will have a huge boost, but after that it’ll be all eyes on New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and then Super Tuesday. Also, this week, the President will deliver the State of the Union. The timing of this speech could be the change of channel the President needs as the clouds of impeachment linger. As well, the speech and the huge audience it gathers could set the tone of what's to come on the campaign trail. For political junkies and journalists – it is going to be a busy nine months. And if you are a reporter covering the primaries, politics and the presidential election – then let our experts help. The team from FAU can help with a variety of topics that will inevitably be part of or influence the policies and platforms of each party and candidate.   Kevin Wagner's research and teaching interests include presidential and judicial politics, political behavior and legislative behavior. He is also a research fellow of the FAU Business and Economics Polling Initiative (BEPI). Robert Rabil is an expert in political Islam, terrorism, U.S. foreign policy, and U.S.-Arab relations. Kelly Shannon specializes in the history of U.S. foreign relations, with particular attention to the Middle East and the 20th century. Colin Polsky is trained as a geographer, specializing in the human dimensions of global environmental change. He also oversees FAU's quarterly environmental poll. All of these experts from Florida Atlantic University are available to help with any of your questions or coverage – simply click on an expert’s icon to arrange an interview today.

Kelly Shannon, Ph.D.Kevin Wagner, Ph.D.Robert Rabil, Ph.D.Colin Polsky, Ph.D.

Biography

Kelly J. Shannon, Ph.D. is associate professor of history and the executive director of the Center for Peace, Justice, and Human Rights at Florida Atlantic University. She specializes in the 20th century history of U.S. foreign relations, with particular attention to the Islamic world, Iran, transnational history, women, and human rights. She is the author of U.S. Foreign Policy and Muslim Women’s Human Rights (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018). She earned her Ph.D. at Temple University, her M.A. at the University of Connecticut, and her B.A. from Vassar College. Shannon is currently working on a book about U.S. relations with Iran during the first half of the 20th century, tentatively titled "The Ties That Bind: U.S.-Iran Relations, 1905-1953," as well as a book geared toward a general audience on the transnational history of U.S. feminism(s), "American Feminism and the World since 1945: An International History."

Areas of Expertise

Modern Iran
Women's Rights
Human Rights
Transnational Feminism
U.S. Foreign Relations
20th Century U.S.
Diplomatic History
Modern Islamic World

Education

Temple University

Ph.D.

History

2010

University of Connecticut

M.A.

History

2005

Vassar College

B.A.

History

2003

Selected Media Appearances

120 Years Of Women's Resistance In Iran And Afghanistan

Hoover Institution  online

2024-05-15

In this panel discussion, Hoover Oral Historian Halima Kazem and Hoover Fellow Kelly J. Shannon will discuss the often overlooked or forgotten histories of women’s rights activism and resistance against oppressive regimes in Iran and Afghanistan that stretch back 120 years.

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The United States needs a new Iran policy—and it involves regime change, but not the traditional kind

Atlantic Council  online

2024-02-22

Iran's leaders have believed that the United States seeks regime change to roll back the Islamic revolution and restore US hegemony in Iran.

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Experts react: What’s really going on with Pakistan and Iran exchanging attacks?

Atlantic Council  online

2024-01-18

Pakistan just conducted airstrikes in southeastern Iran, two days after Iran used missiles and drones to strike western Pakistan.

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Selected Articles

Iran-US Relations

American History

2019

Historian James A. Bill famously described America’s relationship with Iran as a tragedy. “Few international relationships,” he wrote, “have had a more positive beginning than that which characterized Iranian-American contacts for more than a century.”

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‘I'm glad I'm not a Saudi woman’: the First Gulf War and US encounters with Saudi gender relations

Cambridge Review of International Affairs

2014

On 6 November 1990, nearly 50 Saudi women staged a protest against the ban on women operating motor vehicles in Saudi Arabia. Occurring in the midst of the First Gulf War, the women's protest was a political statement about the harsh restrictions placed on women in the Middle Eastern country which both reflected and influenced Saudi society’s encounter with their American allies during the war.

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Truman and the Middle East

Wiley Online Library

2012

Writing in the 1960s, scholars David McLellan and John Reuss (1967) claimed,“If foreign and military policies during the Truman Administration had to be summarized in a word, that word would be seminal”(p. 15).

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