Persian and Iranian Studies Program

The Persian and Iranian Studies program offers undergraduate degrees in NELC with a focus on Persian literature and Iranian studies. The graduate program consists of the M.A. degree in NELC and the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Near and Middle Eastern Studies. The M.A. program concentrates on classical and modern Persian literature and culture, including the poetry and prose of greater Iran from the tenth century A.D. to the present.

Events:

MAY 18, 2012, Welcoming Vali: An Exploration of the Literary Legacy of Vali Dakhani on Friday, May 18, 3:30-5 Thompson 317. Our work explores the legacy of the eighteenth century poet, Vali Dakhani, most often described as the originator of Urdu/Rekhta poetry. While widely acknowledged as one of the primary creators of Urdu, both in his time and ours, Vali's literary merits and influence have remained quite controversial. Our presentation will discuss the origins of this debate in eighteenth-century Persian tazkiras and contextualize the image of Vali presented within such Persian sources with the literary creativity his work inspired among later poets. Vali's legacy, we argue, offers new ways to think about the engagement between Persian and the emerging vernacular literary traditions of the late Mughal period.

(Documents in Persian and Urdu, along with our translations will be available on Catalyst by May 11.)

Upcoming lecture series: The University of Washington’s Persian and Iranian Studies Program is happy to announce the following series of informal lectures, showcasing the research of local and visiting scholars. Printable flier (pdf file).

Save the dates:

Friday, May 11, 12:30-2:00 p.m.:

Bryan Averbuch (Ph.D. candidate, Harvard) "Luxury and Commerce in the Sasanian and Islamic Empires, 6th-10th Centuries C.E."

All meetings will be held in Smith Hall, room 306, unless otherwise announced.

Joel Walker
Director, Persian and Iranian Studies Program