PhD Student

British and Irish Literature

Contact Information

Email: mtadayon@unm.edu
Office Location: Humanities 258

Biography

Maryam Tadayon began her journey in the sciences by pursuing an undergraduate degree in Biology. Yet, even as she immersed herself in scientific study, there was a quiet, persistent voice within her that longed for the world of the humanities where cultural, social, and philosophical questions could be explored with curiosity and depth. After working in the scientific field, she decided to step into the realm of literature. Maryam pursued both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English Language and Literature in Iran, her homeland, which sparked a passion for comparative cultural studies.

It was through reading Irish literature that Maryam began to see the threads that connect Ireland and Iran, particularly in the shared experiences of gender and women’s issues. These parallels laid the foundation for Maryam’s research, which takes a transnational approach to gender, believing firmly that women’s struggles are universal, transcending borders and cultures. Now a PhD student in the Department of English at the University of New Mexico, Maryam’s research is centered on the construction of female identity under the pressures of patriarchy, religion, the state, colonialism, and neoliberalism. Focusing on 20th- and 21st-century Iran and Ireland, she delves into how women resist and navigate these systems, reclaiming their agency and challenging the forces that seek to confine them. Maryam’s work also touches on the intersections of sexuality, race, and class, highlighting the multifaceted ways women face and fight overlapping forms of marginalization.

Through her research, Maryam seeks to amplify the voices of women who have long been overshadowed by male-centered narratives. By examining female-authored fiction, she endeavors to challenge traditional histories and center women’s lived experiences. Her work is enriched by critical frameworks such as postcolonial feminism, ecofeminism, intersectionality, and diasporic literature, offering a multidisciplinary perspective that reflects the complexities of gender and identity in literature. Maryam’s research contributes to a broader conversation about how literature becomes a space for resistance, where gender, race, class, and sexuality intersect and identities are reclaimed.

Maryam has served as a teaching assistant in the Core Writing program at UNM since the Fall of 2023. This position has allowed her to practice feminist pedagogy, and has also allowed her to engage with the younger generation on a range of social and cultural issues that enriches her understanding of contemporary perspectives on gender, identity, and power. These exchanges continuously inform and inspire her research and teaching practices.