Stanford Persian Studies

Stanford Persian Studies: A Deep Dive into Iranian Language and Culture

Introduction:

Are you fascinated by the rich tapestry of Persian language and culture? Do you dream of deciphering ancient texts, understanding the nuances of Persian poetry, or gaining a profound insight into Iranian history and society? Then delve into the vibrant world of Stanford Persian Studies. This comprehensive guide explores the renowned program at Stanford University, unveiling its history, faculty expertise, course offerings, research opportunities, and the impact its graduates have on the field. We’ll examine the program's unique strengths, its contributions to scholarship, and the pathways it provides for students passionate about Persian studies. Whether you're a prospective student, a researcher seeking collaboration, or simply someone curious about this fascinating area of study, this article offers a detailed exploration of all things Stanford Persian Studies.


I. A Legacy of Excellence: The History of Persian Studies at Stanford

Stanford's engagement with Persian studies boasts a rich history, evolving from initial offerings within broader Middle Eastern studies programs to a dedicated and robust department. While pinpointing an exact founding date can be complex, the program's growth reflects the increasing global recognition of Persian language and culture's significance. Early initiatives likely focused on language acquisition and literature, gradually expanding to encompass a wider range of disciplines including history, political science, and anthropology. The development of the program has been closely tied to the appointment of influential scholars, the acquisition of crucial archival materials, and the growing interest in the region amongst students and researchers. Examining the historical trajectory illuminates the program's commitment to academic rigor and its adaptation to evolving scholarly trends.


II. Faculty Expertise: Leading Scholars in the Field

Stanford's Persian Studies program attracts and retains leading scholars whose expertise spans numerous areas within the field. These individuals are not only accomplished researchers and prolific publishers, but also dedicated teachers who inspire a new generation of Persianists. Their research interests often reflect the multifaceted nature of the field, encompassing areas such as classical Persian literature, modern Iranian cinema, contemporary political discourse, and the historical evolution of Iranian society. A detailed examination of the faculty's individual publications and research grants highlights the program's strong research profile and its contribution to the broader academic landscape.


III. Course Offerings: A Diverse Curriculum for Diverse Learners

The curriculum offered within Stanford's Persian Studies program caters to a wide range of student needs and interests. Students can expect a rigorous and comprehensive approach to language acquisition, beginning with foundational courses for beginners and culminating in advanced seminars designed to challenge even the most experienced students. Beyond language training, the program offers a diverse array of courses spanning various disciplines. These courses often integrate interdisciplinary approaches, allowing students to connect Persian studies with other fields, such as history, political science, or comparative literature. The availability of specialized courses focused on specific historical periods, literary genres, or cultural aspects broadens the scope of study and allows for a deeper understanding of Iranian culture.


IV. Research Opportunities: Contributing to the Scholarship

Stanford's commitment to research extends significantly to its Persian studies program. Students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels benefit from ample research opportunities, working alongside faculty mentors on cutting-edge projects. These opportunities often involve archival research, fieldwork in Iran (where possible and permitted), and collaborations with other research institutions. Access to Stanford's vast library resources and digital archives further enhances the research experience, providing students with unparalleled access to primary sources. The ability to participate in research not only strengthens the students' academic credentials but also contributes significantly to the body of knowledge on Persian studies.


V. Alumni Impact: Shaping the Future of Persian Studies

The impact of Stanford's Persian Studies program extends far beyond the university walls. Graduates of the program have gone on to achieve remarkable success in diverse fields. Many have pursued academic careers, becoming professors and researchers at leading universities worldwide. Others have embarked on careers in government, diplomacy, journalism, and the private sector, utilizing their expertise in Persian language and culture to inform policy decisions, facilitate international relations, and bridge cultural understanding. Their contributions demonstrate the value of a strong foundation in Persian studies and the program's success in preparing students for meaningful and impactful careers.


Ebook Outline: "Unlocking the Treasures: A Comprehensive Guide to Stanford Persian Studies"

Introduction: A brief overview of the ebook's purpose and structure.
Chapter 1: Historical Development: Tracing the evolution of Persian studies at Stanford.
Chapter 2: Faculty Profiles: Showcasing the expertise of key faculty members.
Chapter 3: Curriculum Exploration: Detailed analysis of course offerings at all levels.
Chapter 4: Research Opportunities: Highlighting available research avenues for students.
Chapter 5: Alumni Success Stories: Showcasing the diverse career paths of graduates.
Chapter 6: Connecting with the Program: Information on how to apply and get involved.
Conclusion: Summary of key takeaways and future perspectives.


Detailed Explanation of Outline Points:

Each chapter of the ebook would delve deeper into the points outlined above. For example, Chapter 1 would not only mention the establishment of the program but would also discuss pivotal moments in its history, such as the appointment of significant faculty, the acquisition of important library collections, and the evolution of curriculum to reflect changing scholarly trends. Similarly, Chapter 2 would include biographical sketches of key professors, highlighting their research interests, notable publications, and contributions to the field. Chapter 3 would provide a comprehensive listing of courses with descriptions, including prerequisites and expected learning outcomes. Chapter 4 would detail specific research projects undertaken by faculty and students, showcasing the program's research strengths. Chapter 5 would feature interviews or case studies of successful alumni, illustrating the diverse career paths available to graduates. Chapter 6 would provide practical advice on application procedures, funding opportunities, and networking within the department.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

1. What language proficiency is required for admission? Proficiency varies depending on the program level, but strong language skills are essential.
2. Are there funding opportunities available for students? Yes, Stanford offers various scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships.
3. What career options are available to graduates? Graduates pursue careers in academia, government, diplomacy, business, and more.
4. Does the program offer study abroad opportunities? Opportunities may exist, depending on the program and external factors.
5. What research facilities are available to students? Access to Stanford's extensive library and digital archives is provided.
6. What is the program's focus on contemporary Iranian studies? The program incorporates contemporary issues alongside historical perspectives.
7. Are there opportunities for interdisciplinary research? Yes, the program encourages collaborations with other departments.
8. How can I contact the Persian Studies department? Contact information is readily available on the Stanford website.
9. What is the application process for the program? Detailed application instructions can be found on the Stanford admissions website.


Related Articles:

1. The Evolution of Persian Literary Criticism at Stanford: This article explores the historical development of Persian literary studies within the program.
2. Stanford's Contribution to Persian Linguistics: Focuses on the linguistic research conducted by faculty and students.
3. The Impact of Stanford Persian Studies on US-Iran Relations: Examines the program's influence on diplomatic and political understanding.
4. Funding Opportunities for Persian Studies at Stanford: A detailed guide to scholarships and financial aid.
5. Notable Alumni of Stanford's Persian Studies Program: Profiles of successful graduates and their career paths.
6. Contemporary Iranian Cinema and its Representation at Stanford: Analysis of the program's engagement with modern Iranian film.
7. Researching Persian History at Stanford: Accessing Archival Resources: A guide to utilizing Stanford's resources for historical research.
8. The Role of Persian Studies in Understanding Globalization: Explores the program's contributions to global studies.
9. Applying to Stanford's Persian Studies Program: A Step-by-Step Guide: A comprehensive guide for prospective students.


  stanford persian studies: Life in Prison Bahman Aḥmadī Umūyī, Abbas Milani, 2020 This is an Authorized translation from the Persian of Zendegi dar Zendan.
  stanford persian studies: Iran in the International System Heinz Gärtner, Mitra Shahmoradi, 2019-12-06 Drawing on Iran’s history and its relations with great powers and regional neighbours, this book addresses the question of how much continuity and/or change there is in Iranian international relations since the Iranian revolution. Iran has often been at the centre of the political debate on both the Gulf region and the transatlantic relations. Following the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Viennese nuclear agreement in May 2018 signed by the five permanent members of the UN-Security Council, the relationship between Iran and the world entered a new phase. With high expectations within Iran for improved relations with Europe, the this book calls for a new and innovative approach to be undertaken by the Iranian leadership towards the US, Europe and Asia if Iran is to find a role for itself within regional and international structures. Exploring power relations, negotiations, the role of international institutions and international law, the contributors consider the relations among central powers that influence Iran’s internal and external affairs; and examine Iran’s domestic motives and role in the local and regional context. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of Politics, International Relations, Iranian Politics, Iranian Foreign Policy. It may also provide insights for policymakers, journalists, and the military.
  stanford persian studies: The Emergence of Iranian Nationalism Reza Zia-Ebrahimi, 2016-03-15 Reza Zia-Ebrahimi revisits the work of Fath?ali Akhundzadeh and Mirza Aqa Khan Kermani, two Qajar-era intellectuals who founded modern Iranian nationalism. In their efforts to make sense of a difficult historical situation, these thinkers advanced an appealing ideology Zia-Ebrahimi calls dislocative nationalism, in which pre-Islamic Iran is cast as a golden age, Islam is reinterpreted as an alien religion, and Arabs become implacable others. Dislodging Iran from its empirical reality and tying it to Europe and the Aryan race, this ideology remains the most politically potent form of identity in Iran. Akhundzadeh and Kermani's nationalist reading of Iranian history has been drilled into the minds of Iranians since its adoption by the Pahlavi state in the early twentieth century. Spread through mass schooling, historical narratives, and official statements of support, their ideological perspective has come to define Iranian culture and domestic and foreign policy. Zia-Ebrahimi follows the development of dislocative nationalism through a range of cultural and historical materials, and he captures its incorporation of European ideas about Iranian history, the Aryan race, and a primordial nation. His work emphasizes the agency of Iranian intellectuals in translating European ideas for Iranian audiences, impressing Western conceptions of race onto Iranian identity.
  stanford persian studies: Iran in Motion Mikiya Koyagi, 2021-04-27 Completed in 1938, the Trans-Iranian Railway connected Tehran to Iran's two major bodies of water: the Caspian Sea in the north and the Persian Gulf in the south. Iran's first national railway, it produced and disrupted various kinds of movement—voluntary and forced, intended and unintended, on different scales and in different directions—among Iranian diplomats, tribesmen, migrant laborers, technocrats, railway workers, tourists and pilgrims, as well as European imperial officials alike. Iran in Motion tells the hitherto unexplored stories of these individuals as they experienced new levels of mobility. Drawing on newspapers, industry publications, travelogues, and memoirs, as well as American, British, Danish, and Iranian archival materials, Mikiya Koyagi traces contested imaginations and practices of mobility from the conception of a trans-Iranian railway project during the nineteenth-century global transport revolution to its early years of operation on the eve of Iran's oil nationalization movement in the 1950s. Weaving together various individual experiences, this book considers how the infrastructural megaproject reoriented the flows of people and goods. In so doing, the railway project simultaneously brought the provinces closer to Tehran and pulled them away from it, thereby constantly reshaping local, national, and transnational experiences of space among mobile individuals.
  stanford persian studies: Disoriental Négar Djavadi, 2018-05-01 National Book Award Finalist: “A multigenerational epic of the Sadr family’s life in Iran and their eventual exile . . . Full of surprises” (The Globe and Mail). Winner of the 2019 Albertine Prize and Lambda Literary Award Kimiâ Sadr fled Iran at the age of ten in the company of her mother and sisters to join her father in France. Now twenty-five and facing the future she has built for herself, as well as the prospect of a new generation, Kimiâ is inundated by her own memories and the stories of her ancestors, which come to her in unstoppable, uncontainable waves. In the waiting room of a Parisian fertility clinic, generations of flamboyant Sadrs return to her, including her formidable great-grandfather Montazemolmolk, with his harem of fifty-two wives, and her parents, Darius and Sara, stalwart opponents of each regime that befalls them. It is Kimiâ herself—punk-rock aficionado, storyteller extraordinaire, a Scheherazade of our time, and above all a modern woman divided between family traditions and her own “disorientalization”—who forms the heart of this bestselling and beloved novel, recipient of numerous literary honors. “Where initially Disoriental seems focused on Kimiâ’s father and his pro-democracy activism—first against the Shah, then the Ayatollah Khomeini—this is truly Kimiâ’s story of disorientation—national, familial and sexual—and finding herself again.” —The Globe and Mail “A tour de force of storytelling . . . Djavadi deftly weaves together the history of 20th-century Iran [and] the spellbinding chronicle of her own ancestors. . . . Perfectly blends historical fact with contemporary themes.” —Library Journal “Riveting . . . Djavadi is an immensely gifted storyteller, and Kimiâ’s tale is especially compelling.” —Booklist (starred review) “A wonder and a pleasure to read.” —Rivka Galchen, author of Atmospheric Disturbances WINNER 2019 ALBERTINE PRIZE WINNER 2019 LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST 2018 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST 2019 CLMP FIRECRACKER AWARD FINALIST 2019 BEST TRANSLATED BOOK AWARD WINNER LE PRIX DU ROMAN NEWS WINNER STYLE PRIZE WINNER 2016 LIRE BEST DEBUT NOVEL WINNER LA PORTE DORÉE PRIZE ONE OF THE GLOBE & MAIL’S BEST BOOKS OF 2018
  stanford persian studies: Making History in Iran Farzin Vejdani, 2014-11-05 Iranian history was long told through a variety of stories and legend, tribal lore and genealogies, and tales of the prophets. But in the late nineteenth century, new institutions emerged to produce and circulate a coherent history that fundamentally reshaped these fragmented narratives and dynastic storylines. Farzin Vejdani investigates this transformation to show how cultural institutions and a growing public-sphere affected history-writing, and how in turn this writing defined Iranian nationalism. Interactions between the state and a cross-section of Iranian society—scholars, schoolteachers, students, intellectuals, feminists, and poets—were crucial in shaping a new understanding of nation and history. This enlightening book draws on previously unexamined primary sources—including histories, school curricula, pedagogical materials, periodicals, and memoirs—to demonstrate how the social locations of historians writ broadly influenced their interpretations of the past. The relative autonomy of these historians had a direct bearing on whether history upheld the status quo or became an instrument for radical change, and the writing of history became central to debates on social and political reform, the role of women in society, and the criteria for citizenship and nationality. Ultimately, this book traces how contending visions of Iranian history were increasingly unified as a centralized Iranian state emerged in the early twentieth century.
  stanford persian studies: Beholding Beauty Domenico Ingenito, 2020-12-29 In Beholding Beauty: Saʿdi of Shiraz and the Aesthetics of Desire in Medieval Persian Poetry, Domenico Ingenito explores the unstudied connections between eroticism, spirituality, and politics in the lyric poetry of 13th-century literary master Sa‘di Shirazi.
  stanford persian studies: Between Foreigners and Shi‘is Daniel Tsadik, 2007-11-09 Based on archival and primary sources in Persian, Hebrew, Judeo-Persian, Arabic, and European languages, Between Foreigners and Shi'is examines the Jews' religious, social, and political status in nineteenth-century Iran. This book, which focuses on Nasir al-Din Shah's reign (1848-1896), is the first comprehensive scholarly attempt to weave all these threads into a single tapestry. This case study of the Jewish minority illuminates broader processes pertaining to other religious minorities and Iranian society in general, and the interaction among intervening foreigners, the Shi'i majority, and local Jews helps us understand Iranian dilemmas that have persisted well beyond the second half of the nineteenth century.
  stanford persian studies: Prozak Diaries Orkideh Behrouzan, 2016-10-26 Prozak Diaries is an analysis of emerging psychiatric discourses in post-1980s Iran. It examines a cultural shift in how people interpret and express their feeling states, by adopting the language of psychiatry, and shows how experiences that were once articulated in the richly layered poetics of the Persian language became, by the 1990s, part of a clinical discourse on mood and affect. In asking how psychiatric dialect becomes a language of everyday, the book analyzes cultural forms created by this clinical discourse, exploring individual, professional, and generational cultures of medicalization in various sites from clinical encounters and psychiatric training, to intimate interviews, works of art and media, and Persian blogs. Through the lens of psychiatry, the book reveals how historical experiences are negotiated and how generations are formed. Orkideh Behrouzan traces the historical circumstances that prompted the development of psychiatric discourses in Iran and reveals the ways in which they both reflect and actively shape Iranians' cultural sensibilities. A physician and an anthropologist, she combines clinical and anthropological perspectives in order to investigate the gray areas between memory and everyday life, between individual symptoms and generational remembering. Prozak Diaries offers an exploration of language as experience. In interpreting clinical and generational narratives, Behrouzan writes not only a history of psychiatry in contemporary Iran, but a story of how stories are told.
  stanford persian studies: Persianate Selves Mana Kia, 2020-05-19 For centuries, Persian was the language of power and learning across Central, South, and West Asia, and Persians received a particular basic education through which they understood and engaged with the world. Not everyone who lived in the land of Iran was Persian, and Persians lived in many other lands as well. Thus to be Persian was to be embedded in a set of connections with people we today consider members of different groups. Persianate selfhood encompassed a broader range of possibilities than contemporary nationalist claims to place and origin allow. We cannot grasp these older connections without historicizing our conceptions of difference and affiliation. Mana Kia sketches the contours of a larger Persianate world, historicizing place, origin, and selfhood through its tradition of proper form: adab. In this shared culture, proximities and similarities constituted a logic that distinguished between people while simultaneously accommodating plurality. Adab was the basis of cohesion for self and community over the turbulent eighteenth century, as populations dispersed and centers of power shifted, disrupting the circulations that linked Persianate regions. Challenging the bases of protonationalist community, Persianate Selves seeks to make sense of an earlier transregional Persianate culture outside the anachronistic shadow of nationalisms.
  stanford persian studies: Words, Not Swords Farzaneh Milani, 2011-05-16 A woman not only needs a room of her own, as Virginia Woolf wrote, but also the freedom to leave it and return to it at will; for a room without that right becomes a prison cell. The privilege of self-directed movement, the power to pick up and go as one pleases, has not been a traditional right of Iranian women. This prerogative has been denied them in the name of piety, anatomy, chastity, class, safety, and even beauty. It is only during the last 160 years that the spell has been broken and Iranian women have emerged as a moderating, modernizing force. Women writers have been at the forefront of this desegregating movement and renegotiation of boundaries. Words, Not Swords explores the legacy of sex segregation and its manifestations in Iranian literature and film and in notions of beauty and the erotics of passivity. Milani expands her argument beyond Iranian culture, arguing that freedom of movement is a theme that crosses frontiers and dissolves conventional distinctions of geography, history, and religion. She makes bold connections between veiling and foot binding, between Cinderella and Barbie, between the figures of the female Gypsy and the witch. In so doing, she challenges cultural hierarchies that divert attention from key issues in the control of women across the globe.
  stanford persian studies: Bottom of the Pot Naz Deravian, 2018-09-18 Winner of the IACP 2019 First Book Award presented by The Julia Child Foundation Like Madhur Jaffrey and Marcella Hazan before her, Naz Deravian will introduce the pleasures and secrets of her mother culture's cooking to a broad audience that has no idea what it's been missing. America will not only fall in love with Persian cooking, it'll fall in love with Naz.” - Samin Nosrat, author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: The Four Elements of Good Cooking Naz Deravian lays out the multi-hued canvas of a Persian meal, with 100+ recipes adapted to an American home kitchen and interspersed with Naz's celebrated essays exploring the idea of home. At eight years old, Naz Deravian left Iran with her family during the height of the 1979 Iranian Revolution and hostage crisis. Over the following ten years, they emigrated from Iran to Rome to Vancouver, carrying with them books of Persian poetry, tiny jars of saffron threads, and always, the knowledge that home can be found in a simple, perfect pot of rice. As they traverse the world in search of a place to land, Naz's family finds comfort and familiarity in pots of hearty aash, steaming pomegranate and walnut chicken, and of course, tahdig: the crispy, golden jewels of rice that form a crust at the bottom of the pot. The best part, saved for last. In Bottom of the Pot, Naz, now an award-winning writer and passionate home cook based in LA, opens up to us a world of fragrant rose petals and tart dried limes, music and poetry, and the bittersweet twin pulls of assimilation and nostalgia. In over 100 recipes, Naz introduces us to Persian food made from a global perspective, at home in an American kitchen.
  stanford persian studies: Politics and Culture in Contemporary Iran Abbas Milani, Larry Jay Diamond, 2015 Despite the relative calm apparent in Iran today, there is unmistakable evidence of political, social, and cultural ferment stirring beneath the surface. The authors of Politics and Culture in Contemporary Iran¿a unique group of scholars, activists, and artists¿explore that unrest and its challenge to the legitimacy and stability of the present authoritarian regime. Ranging from political theory to music, from human rights law to social media, their contributions reveal the tenacious and continually evolving forces that are at work resisting the status quo.
  stanford persian studies: Alternative Iran Pamela Karimi, 2022-09-27 Alternative Iran offers a unique contribution to the field of contemporary art, investigating how Iranian artists engage with space and site amid the pressures of the art market and the state's regulatory regimes. Since the 1980s, political, economic, and intellectual forces have driven Iran's creative class toward increasingly original forms of artmaking not meant for official venues. Instead, these art forms appear in private homes with trusted audiences, derelict buildings, leftover urban zones, and remote natural sites. While many of these venues operate independently, others are fully sanctioned by the state. Drawing on interviews with over a hundred artists, gallerists, theater experts, musicians, and designers, Pamela Karimi throws into sharp relief the extraordinary art and performance activities that have received little attention outside Iran. Attending to nonconforming curatorial projects, independent guerrilla installations, escapist practices, and tacitly subversive performances, Karimi discloses the push-and-pull between the art community and the authorities, and discusses myriad instances of tentative coalition as opposed to outright partnership or uncompromising resistance. Illustrated with more than 120 full-color images, this book provides entry into unique artistic experiences without catering to voyeuristic curiosity around Iran's often-perceived underground culture.
  stanford persian studies: The Shah Abbas Milani, 2011-01-04 The definitive biography of the last Shah of Iran, tracing his dramatic rise and fall and his role in the creation of the contemporary Islamic Republic. Though his monarchy was toppled in 1979 and he died in 1980, the life of Mohammad-Reza Shah Pahlevi, the last Shah of Iran, continues to resonate today. Here, internationally respected author Abbas Milani gives us the definitive biography, more than ten years in the making, of the monarch who shaped Iran's modern age and with it the contemporary politics of the Middle East. The Shah's was a life filled with contradiction—as a social reformer he built schools, increased equality for women, and greatly reduced the power of the Shia clergy. He made Iran a global power, courting Western leaders from Churchill to Carter, and nationalized his country's many natural resources. But he was deeply conflicted and insecure in his powerful role. Intolerant of political dissent, he was eventually overthrown by the very people whose loyalty he so desperately sought. This comprehensive and gripping account shows us how Iran went from politically moderate monarchy to totalitarian Islamic republic. Milani reveals the complex and sweeping road that would bring the U.S. and Iran to where they are today.
  stanford persian studies: Persian Service Annabelle Sreberny, Massoumeh Torfeh, 2014-01-16 Rumour and speculation in Iran have been rife for generations that the BBC has had a hand in every political upheaval in the country. In this vein the BBC has become a notable element in the complex and tortured narrative of Anglo-Iranian relations. The BBC Persian Service was initially developed in 1940 to prepare and broadcast British war-time propaganda. And it has since been seen by many in Iran as an integral part of British policy-making in the region. Thirty years ago, the Shah of Iran regarded the BBC Persian Service radio as his 'enemy number one' and held it responsible for promoting the revolution of 1979. Only a couple decades earlier, the BBC Persian Service was widely accused for having been complicit in the CIA-led 1953 coup against Prime Minister Mohammad Musaddiq. And a decade earlier, the BBC Persian Service was strongly linked to the British-planned removal of Reza Shah in 1941. The BBC Persian service has frequently been perceived as an entity which was not simply a vehicle to record the changes occurring in Iran and throughout the Middle East, but rather an active agent of change. In this book, Annabelle Sreberny and Massoumeh Torfeh track the history of the BBC Persian Service, critically analysing both the assumptions that the BBC is a standard bearer for objective reporting and representations of it as a simple tool of Western interests. Also examining the history of relations between the Foreign Office and the BBC Persian Service, they demonstrate that these have never been pre-defined or rigid. Instead, they explore how both institutions have moved from an interest in what can crudely be called state-orchestrated 'propaganda' to a more subtle advocacy of fair and balanced journalism as the best agent of British values and influence.
  stanford persian studies: America and Iran John Ghazvinian, 2021 A history of the relationship between Iran and America from the 1700s through the current day--
  stanford persian studies: The Discovery of Iran Ali Mirsepassi, 2021-11-23 The Discovery of Iran examines the history of Iranian nationalism afresh through the life and work of Taghi Arani, the founder of Iran's first Marxist journal, Donya. In his quest to imagine a future for Iran open to the scientific riches of the modern world and the historical diversity of its own people, Arani combined Marxist materialism and a cosmopolitan ethics of progress. He sought to reconcile Iran to its post-Islamic past, rejected by Persian purists and romanticized by their traditionalist counterparts, while orienting its present toward the modern West in all its complex and conflicting facets. As Ali Mirsepassi shows, Arani's cosmopolitanism complicates the conventional wisdom that racial exclusivism was an insoluble feature of twentieth-century Iranian nationalism. In cultural spaces like Donya, Arani and his contemporaries engaged vibrant debates about national identity, history, and Iran's place in the modern world. In exploring Arani's short but remarkable life and writings, Ali Mirsepassi challenges the image of Interwar Iran as dominated by the Pahlavi state to uncover fertile intellectual spaces in which civic nationalism flourished.
  stanford persian studies: Discovering Cyrus Reza Zarghamee, 2018-05-22 Some of the most fascinating human epochs lie in the borderlands between history and mystery. So it is with the life of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire in the sixth century bce. By conquest or gentler means, he brought under his rule a dominion stretching from the Aegean Sea to the Hindu Kush and encompassing some tens of millions of people. All across this immense imperium, he earned support and stability by respecting local customs and religions, avoiding the brutal ways of tyranny, and efficiently administering the realm through provincial governors. The empire would last another two centuries, leaving an indelible Persian imprint on much of the ancient world. The Greek chronicler Xenophon, looking back from a distance of several generations, wrote: Cyrus did indeed eclipse all other monarchs, before or since. The vision of the biblical prophet known as Second Isaiah anticipates Cyrus' repatriation of Jews living in exile in Babylon with these words of the Lord: He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please. Despite what he achieved and bequeathed, much about Cyrus remains uncertain. Persians of his era had no great respect for the written word and kept no annals. The most complete accounts of his life were composed by Greeks. More fragmentary or tangential evidence takes many forms - among them, archaeological remains, administrative records in subject lands, and the always tricky stuff of legend. Given these challenges, Discovering Cyrus: The Persian Conqueror Astride the Ancient World is a remarkable feat of portraiture. In his vast sweep, Reza Zarghamee draws on sources of every kind, painstakingly assembling detail, and always weighing evidence carefully where contradictions arise. He describes the background of the Persian people, the turbulence of the times, and the roots of Cyrus' policies. His account of the imperial era itself delves into religion, military methods, commerce, court life, and much else besides. The result is a living, breathing Cyrus standing atop a distant world that played a key role in shaping our own.
  stanford persian studies: Say What Your Longing Heart Desires Niloofar Haeri, 2020-11-10 Following the 1979 revolution, the Iranian government set out to Islamize society. Muslim piety had to be visible, in personal appearance and in action. Iranians were told to pray, fast, and attend mosques to be true Muslims. The revolution turned questions of what it means to be a true Muslim into a matter of public debate, taken up widely outside the exclusive realm of male clerics and intellectuals. Say What Your Longing Heart Desires offers an elegant ethnography of these debates among a group of educated, middle-class women whose voices are often muted in studies of Islam. Niloofar Haeri follows them in their daily lives as they engage with the classical poetry of Rumi, Hafez, and Saadi, illuminating a long-standing mutual inspiration between prayer and poetry. She recounts how different forms of prayer may transform into dialogues with God, and, in turn, Haeri illuminates the ways in which believers draw on prayer and ritual acts as the emotional and intellectual material through which they think, deliberate, and debate.
  stanford persian studies: The Struggle for Development in Iran Pooya Azadi, Mohsen B. Mesgaran, Matin Mirramezani, 2022 Governance -- Demographic trends -- Labor force and human capital -- Economy -- Financial sector -- Energy sector -- Agriculture sector -- Migration and brain drain -- Research and development policy -- Conclusion : the path forward.
  stanford persian studies: Tales of Two Cities Abbas Milani, 2006 Offers a memoir of revolution and exile. This book is not only the odyssey of one intellectual doomed to exile, but also a message of hope and salvation for the increasing number of people forced to leave their homeland and settle in America.
  stanford persian studies: Squandered Opportunity Thomas Juneau, 2015-05-19 The Islamic Republic of Iran faced a favorable strategic environment following the US invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. Its leadership attempted to exploit this window of opportunity by assertively seeking to expand Iran's interests throughout the Middle East. It fell far short, however, of fulfilling its long-standing ambition of becoming the dominant power in the Persian Gulf and a leading regional power in the broader Middle East. In Squandered Opportunity, Thomas Juneau develops a variant of neoclassical realism, a theory of foreign policy mistakes, to explore the causes and consequences of Iran's sub-optimal performance. He argues that while rising power drove Iranian assertiveness—as most variants of realism would predict—the peculiar nature of Iran's power and the intervention of specific domestic factors caused Iran's foreign policy to deviate, sometimes significantly, from what would be considered the potential optimal outcomes. Juneau explains that this sub-optimal foreign policy led to important and negative consequences for the country. Despite some gains, Iran failed to maximize its power, its security and its influence in three crucial areas: the Arab-Israeli conflict; Iraq; and the nuclear program. Juneau also predicts that, as the window of opportunity steadily closes for Iran, its power, security, and influence will likely continue to decline in coming years.
  stanford persian studies: Soundtrack of the Revolution Nahid Seyedsayamdost, Nahid Siamdoust, 2017 The politics of music -- The nightingale rebels -- The musical guide : Mohammad Reza Shajarian -- Revolution and ruptures -- Opening the floodgates to pop music : Alireza Assar -- Rebirth of independent music -- Purposefully fālsh : Mohsen Namjoo -- Going underground -- Rap-e Farsi : Hichkas -- The music of politics
  stanford persian studies: Iran, Islam and Democracy Ali M. Ansari, 2006 Revised, updated, and expanded, this new edition details political developments in Iran since the summer of 2000. In expanding on arguments outlined in the first edition, the book looks at the increasing polarity of views and the changing nature of reformism in light of successive setbacks and growing international tensions.
  stanford persian studies: Making Islam Democratic Asef Bayat, 2007 This book looks anew at the vexing question of whether Islam is compatible with democracy, examining histories of Islamic politics and social movements in the Middle East since the 1970s.
  stanford persian studies: Iran Michael Axworthy, 2017 Since the beginning of recorded history, Iran/Persia has been one of the most important world civilizations. Iran remains a distinct civilization today despite its status as a major Islamic state with broad regional influence and its deep integration into the global economy through its vast energy reserves. Yet the close attention paid to Iran in recent decades stems from the impact of the 1979 revolution, which unleashed ideological shock waves throughout the Middle East that reverberate to this day. Many observers look at Iran through the prism of the Islamic Republic's adversarial relationship with the US, Israel, and Sunni nations in its region, yet as Michael Axworthy shows in Iran: What Everyone Needs to Know(R), there is much more to contemporary Iran than its fraught and complicated foreign relations. He begins with a concise account of Iranian history from ancient times to the late twentieth century, following that with sharp summaries of the key events since the1979 revolution. The final section of the book focuses on Iran today--its culture, economy, politics, and people--and assesses the challenges that the nation will face in coming years. Iran will be an essential overview of a complex and important nation that has occupied world headlines for nearly four decades.
  stanford persian studies: The Persian Sphinx Abbas Milani, 2009 Amir Abbas Hoveyda was a central figure in the historic struggle between modernity and tradition in Iran-a struggle pitting Western cosmopolitanism against Persian isolationism, secularism against religious fundamentalism and ultimately civil society and democracy against authoritarianism...In telling the story of Hoveyda's life, the author has not only laid bare the development of Iranian society during a pivotal period (1919-1978) but has also unearthed important new materials on U.S.-Iranian relations... -- p. [4]
  stanford persian studies: The Myth of the Great Satan Abbas Milani, 2013-09-01 This critical review of the history of America's relations with Iran shows how little of the two countries' long and complicated relationship is reflected in the foundational axioms of the Great Satan myth. The author explains why meaningful and equitable relations can begin only after the two nations have arrived at a common, critical, and accurate reading of the past.
  stanford persian studies: Whisper Tapes Negar Mottahedeh, 2019-02-05 “Lyrical, intelligent, and passionately written, Whisper Tapes reignites a long dormant conversation about the urgency of global feminism.” —Shilyh Warren, University of Texas at Dallas Kate Millett was already an icon of American feminism when she went to Iran in 1979. She arrived just weeks after the Iranian Revolution, to join Iranian women in marking International Women's Day. Intended as a day of celebration, the event turned into a week of protests. Millett, armed with film equipment and a cassette deck to record everything around her, found herself in the middle of demonstrations for women’s rights and against the mandatory veil. Listening to the revolutionary soundscape of Millett's audio tapes, Negar Mottahedeh offers a new interpretive guide to Revolutionary Iran, its slogans, habits, and women’s movement—a movement that, many claim, Millett never came to understand. Published with the fortieth anniversary of the Iranian Revolution and the women's protests that followed on its heels, Whisper Tapes re-introduces Millett's historic visit to Iran and lays out the nature of her encounter with the Iranian women's movement. “In offering a deeply contingent history, Negar Mottahedeh beautifully shows Kate Millett's simultaneous closeness to and distance from the events surrounding her.” —Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi, Princeton University “Lyrical in style and poetic in meaning, Whisper Tapes challenges readers to adopt an intersectional view of Iranian feminist movements while adding layers and dimensionality to Millett’s preexisting literature.” ––Aisha Jitan, The Middle East Journal “Mottahedeh's illuminating study complements Millett's work and offers a more nuanced reading of a historic moment.” —Lucy Popescu, Times Literary Supplement
  stanford persian studies: The City as Anthology Kathryn Babayan, 2021-04-06 Household anthologies of seventeenth-century Isfahan collected everyday texts and objects, from portraits, letters, and poems to marriage contracts and talismans. With these family collections, Kathryn Babayan tells a new history of the city at the transformative moment it became a cosmopolitan center of imperial rule. Bringing into view people's lives from a city with no extant state or civic archives, Babayan reimagines the archive of anthologies to recover how residents shaped their communities and crafted their urban, religious, and sexual selves. Babayan highlights eight residents—from king to widow, painter to religious scholar, poet to bureaucrat—who anthologized their city, writing their engagements with friends and family, divulging the many dimensions of the social, cultural, and religious spheres of life in Isfahan. Through them, we see the gestures, manners, and sensibilities of a shared culture that configured their relations and negotiated the lines between friendship and eroticism. These entangled acts of seeing and reading, desiring and writing converge to fashion the refined urban self through the sensual and the sexual—and give us a new and enticing view of the city of Isfahan.
  stanford persian studies: Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers Robert M. Sapolsky, 2004-09-15 Renowned primatologist Robert Sapolsky offers a completely revised and updated edition of his most popular work, with over 225,000 copies in print Now in a third edition, Robert M. Sapolsky's acclaimed and successful Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers features new chapters on how stress affects sleep and addiction, as well as new insights into anxiety and personality disorder and the impact of spirituality on managing stress. As Sapolsky explains, most of us do not lie awake at night worrying about whether we have leprosy or malaria. Instead, the diseases we fear-and the ones that plague us now-are illnesses brought on by the slow accumulation of damage, such as heart disease and cancer. When we worry or experience stress, our body turns on the same physiological responses that an animal's does, but we do not resolve conflict in the same way-through fighting or fleeing. Over time, this activation of a stress response makes us literally sick. Combining cutting-edge research with a healthy dose of good humor and practical advice, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers explains how prolonged stress causes or intensifies a range of physical and mental afflictions, including depression, ulcers, colitis, heart disease, and more. It also provides essential guidance to controlling our stress responses. This new edition promises to be the most comprehensive and engaging one yet.
  stanford persian studies: Cooking in Iran Najmieh Batmanglij, 2020-04-07 The Grande Dame of Iranian Cooking Esteemed American chef. Award-winning cookbook author. Persian cooking instructor. Iranian immigrant. Storyteller. Mother of two acclaimed sons - Zal, a filmmaker; Rostam, a musician. Born in the middle of the 20th century in Tehran, Iran. Lives in Washington, DC and Los Angeles. Consults with restaurants around the world. Member of Les Dames d'Escoffier.
  stanford persian studies: Ancient Iran Howard Baskerville Professor in the History of Iran and the Persianate World Associate Director Dr Samuel M Jordan Center for Persian Studies & Culture Touraj Daryaee, 2020-06-30 One of the most influential civilizations in antiquity was that of the Iranian world. The disparate peoples of ancient Iran were remarkable in that their imperial histories proved to be of enduring significance not only for the region from the Oxus to the Euphrates, but also for the Eurasian sphere, and briefly even for that of north Africa. Iran is often encountered through the prism of the classical and biblical worlds, where Cyrus and Darius the Great loom large as rulers of many lands and peoples. However, as Touraj Daryaee shows, neither these great kings, nor Xerxes' military expeditions to Greece, nor Sasanian encounters with the Romans centuries later, are the sum total of ancient Iran. Rather than focusing on the traditional Persian triple empires - Achaemenids, Arsacids/Parthians, and Sasanians (550 BCE-330 CE) - the author explores the much larger expanse of tribes and traditions that culminated in the formation of these great empires of antiquity. The result is a survey that fully reveals ancient Iran to student and non-specialist alike.
  stanford persian studies: Memories of an Impossible Future: Mehdi Akhav N S Les and the Poetics of Time Marie Huber, 2016-11-17 In Memories of an Impossible Future: Mehdi Akhav n S les and the Poetics of Time Marie Huber traces the quest for a modern language of poetry through different figurations of temporality in the works of one of Iran s foremost poets. Akhav n is placed in dialogue with European thinkers and emerges as an original voice in world literature. Chapters examine aspects of rhythm and metaphor, messianism and historicity, and functions of time in Akhav n s lyric and epic poems. Through a range of close readings Huber seeks to understand Akhav n s texts as crystallisations of a historical moment, both rooted in the Persian tradition and pointing beyond it. Her analyses combine attention to philological detail with meditations on the philosophical significance of Akhav n s poetics.
  stanford persian studies: Democracy in Iran Misagh Parsa, 2016-11-07 The Green Movement protests that erupted in Iran in 2009 amid allegations of election fraud shook the Islamic Republic to its core. For the first time in decades, the adoption of serious liberal reforms seemed possible. But the opportunity proved short-lived, leaving Iranian activists and intellectuals to debate whether any path to democracy remained open. Offering a new framework for understanding democratization in developing countries governed by authoritarian regimes, Democracy in Iran is a penetrating, historically informed analysis of Iran’s current and future prospects for reform. Beginning with the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Misagh Parsa traces the evolution of Iran’s theocratic regime, examining the challenges the Islamic Republic has overcome as well as those that remain: inequalities in wealth and income, corruption and cronyism, and a “brain drain” of highly educated professionals eager to escape Iran’s repressive confines. The political fortunes of Iranian reformers seeking to address these problems have been uneven over a period that has seen hopes raised during a reformist administration, setbacks under Ahmadinejad, and the birth of the Green Movement. Although pro-democracy activists have made progress by fits and starts, they have few tangible reforms to show for their efforts. In Parsa’s view, the outlook for Iranian democracy is stark. Gradual institutional reforms will not be sufficient for real change, nor can the government be reformed without fundamentally rethinking its commitment to the role of religion in politics and civic life. For Iran to democratize, the options are narrowing to a single path: another revolution.
  stanford persian studies: Last Scene Underground Roxanne Varzi, 2015-10-21 Leili could not have imagined that arriving late to Islamic morals class would change the course of her life. But her arrival catches the eye of a young man, and a chance meeting soon draws Leili into a new circle of friends and artists. Gathering in the cafes of Tehran, these young college students come together to create an underground play that will wake up their generation. They play with fire, literally and figuratively, igniting a drama both personal and political to perform their play—just once. From the wealthy suburbs and chic coffee shops of Tehran to subterranean spaces teeming with drugs and prostitution to spiritual lodges and saints' tombs in the mountains high above the city, Last Scene Underground presents an Iran rarely seen. Young Tehranis navigate their way through politics, art, and the meaning of home and in the process learn hard lessons about censorship, creativity, and love. Their dangerous discoveries ultimately lead to finding themselves. Written in the hopeful wake of Iran's Green Movement and against the long shadow of the Iran-Iraq war, this unique novel deepens our understanding of an elusive country that is full of misunderstood contradictions and wonder.
  stanford persian studies: Us & Them Bahiyyih Nakhjavani, 2018-06-05 The international bestselling author shares “a glitteringly poignant novel” of an Iranian family navigating war, migration, and generational divides (Ruth Padel, author of Where the Serpent Lives). Ever since the Iranian Revolution, Lili and Goli have argued about where their mother, Bibijan, should live. They also disagree about her finances, which remain blocked as long as she insists on waiting for her missing son to return from the Iran–Iraq war. When they begin sending Bibijan back and forth between Paris and Los Angeles, they begin to wonder where the money is coming from. But in order to remember the truth, Bibijan must finally relinquishes the past. Mirrored in fragmented lives, Us&Them is a story of generational tensions that explores Iranian life away from home in all its aspects—the ludicrous and the tragic, the venal and the generous. It also highlights how “we” can become “them” at any moment, for our true exile is alienation from others. Acclaimed author Bahiyyih Nakhjavani offers a poignant satire about migration, one of the vital issues of our times.
  stanford persian studies: Touba and the Meaning of Night Shahrnush Parsipur, 2008-01-01 An Iranian woman forges her own path through life in this “stylishly original contribution to modern feminist literature” (Publishers Weekly). After her father’s death, fourteen-year-old Touba takes her family’s financial security into her own hands by proposing to a fifty-two-year-old relative. But, intimidated by her outspoken nature, Touba’s husband soon divorces her. When she marries again, it is to a prince with whom she experiences tenderness and physical passion and bears four children—but their relationship sours when he proves unfaithful. Touba is granted a divorce, and as her unconventional life continues, she becomes the matriarch of an ever-changing household of family members and refugees . . . Hailed as “one of the unsurpassed masterpieces of modern Persian literature” (Iranian.com), Touba and the Meaning of Night explores the ongoing tensions between rationalism and mysticism, tradition and modernity, male dominance and female will—all from a distinctly Iranian viewpoint. Defying both Western stereotypes of Iranian women and expectations of literary form, this beautiful novel reflects the unique voice of its author as well as an important tradition in Persian women’s writing. “Parsipur’s novel carries the reader on a mystical and emotional odyssey spanning eight decades of Iranian cultural, political, and religious history . . . rewarding and enlightening.” —Booklist “A sweeping chronicle of modern Iranian history and a study of the plight of twentieth-century Iranian women . . . [displaying] deft utilization of magic realism and Persian myths . . . rich and well-crafted.” —Library Journal
  stanford persian studies: Passionate Uprisings Pardis Mahdavi, 2009 Investigates the emerging, new sexual culture of Iranian youth, in which sexuality represents freedom and engaging in sex can be considered political activism.