Ali Kaveh is a sessional instructor at the sociology department of the University of British Columbia. He has been teaching undergraduate sociology courses mainly social theories, research methodologies, sociology or gender, migration, ethnicity, and religion since 2010. Before he taught language, literature, and basic philosophy to undergrad students between 2004 and 2006. He has also worked in the field of quality assurance and quality enhancement in higher education assessing and working as the lead of the Center of Excellence in Quality Assurance. His previous research mainly focused on gender inequality, women’s empowerment, masculinity, and mental health. His recent research focused on migration and identity, diaspora, and transnationalism.

I study the identity construction of Afghan young adult (1.5 and second-generation) immigrants focusing on language, religiosity, and belonging in the construction of identity among the Afghan diaspora in Canada. I want to know how family and parents contribute to the process of identity building of 1.5 and second generations in a family-oriented community. I also try to understand the role of other important factors such as religiosity and mother language on the identity development process of Afghan young adults in the diaspora. Finally, I want to know how do 1.5 and 2nd-generation Afghan immigrants in Canada define their national/transnational identity and belonging.

I also study the mental health of the post-August-2021 Afghan refugees who were forced to leave their home country due to the collapse of the government and the takeover of the Taliban in Afghanistan. This research is being done in collaboration with the School of Psychology of the University of East London.

Recent Publications:

1. The cultural complexity of training counselors abroad: the case of Afghanistan. (Lucia Berdondini, Ali Ahmad Kaveh, and Sandra Grieve, published in an edited book titled “Black Identities + White Therapies: Race, Respect + Diversity” by Divine Charura Colin Lago. https://www.pccs-books.co.uk/products/black-identites-and-white-therapies
2. Counselling Training in Afghanistan: The Long-term Development of the INSPIRE Project” International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, Volume 35, Number 3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-018-9369-4. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019
3. The INSPIRE Project: Using the ‘unknown’ to Co-construct a Training Course on Humanistic Counselling in Afghanistan; Berdondini, L., Grieve, S. & Kaveh, A. Int J Adv Counselling (2014) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-014-9208-1; Springer International.