3:22 p.m., Sept. 27, 2007--Afsaneh Najmabadi, professor of studies of women, gender and sexuality and of history at Harvard University, will give a talk on “Trespassing Sex-Gender Walls in Iran” at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 4, in Bayard Sharp Hall.

Najmabadi's lecture is based on her own experiences in Iran, her native country, as well as on her extensive research and scholarship in the fields of gender equity, women's studies, sexuality and history.

Born in Tehran, Iran, in 1946, Najmabadi graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in physics. She received her master's degree in theoretical particle physics from Harvard University two years later. In 1984, she received her doctoral degree in sociology from the University of Manchester.

At Harvard since 2001, Najmabadi also has held professorships at Barnard College, Columbia University, Wellesley College and Harvard Divinity School.

The lecture, sponsored by UD's Department of History, is free and open to the public. For more information on the event, call (302) 831-8413.