Alex Shams is an Iranian-American journalist, editor, and sociocultural anthropologist with a PhD from the University of Chicago. His work examines politics, power, and collective memory in the contemporary Middle East. He is the editor of Ajam Media Collective, an online platform highlighting transnational histories of culture, society, and politics across West, Central, and South Asia. Shams has curated art and academic residencies at the Lahore Biennale (2020) and the National College of Arts Triennale (2025), fostering contemporary connections between Iranians and Pakistanis. He previously worked as a journalist in Bethlehem, Palestine, and holds degrees from Harvard University and the University of Southern California.