Dr. Carl Ernst, William R. Kenan, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at UNC, was the principal organizer of a major workshop on “Practice, Performance, and Politics of Sufi Shrines in South Asia and Beyond,” held on August 1-4 in India. Fourteen international scholars gathered to discuss new research related to the central role of Sufi shrines in Southeast Asia, North Africa, West Africa and other regions. Afterwards, Professor Ernst traveled around India to give lectures on the subjects of Sufism and Islam in several universities and cultural centers. Please click on the link below for a full account of the workshop.

The Persian Language, Linguistics, and Culture Program at UH Manoa is now accepting applications for Roshan Institute Fellowships for Persian Language and Culture for Fall 2014.

This Fellowship program supports graduate students at the University of Hawai‘i and in particular, the College of Languages, Linguistics, and Literature in their study of Persian language and culture. Fellows must be full-time students in good academic standing and taking Persian language and culture courses offered by the Persian Language, Linguistics, and Culture Program. Fellowships carry a stipend of $2,500 up to $5,000, and are available for one year with the possibility of renewal based on the Fellow’s academic performance.

Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute and the Honolulu Museum of Art are delighted to announce the Persian Screen Film Festival, which will be held at the Museum’s Doris Duke Theatre from September 6 – 12. The Festival will begin with an opening night reception, followed by the screening of “A Cube of Sugar” (“Ye Habe Ghand”) by award-winning director Seyyed Reza Mir-Karimi and Iran’s submission for the 2013 Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film. Also included in the line-up are “Snow on the Pines” (“Barf Rooy-e Kaj-Ha”) by Payman Mooadi in his directorial debut; “The Orange Suit” (“Narenji Poush”), winner of the Best Director award at Fajr International Film Festival; and “The Last Step” (“Peleh Akher”) which received the FIPRESCI prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2013. Please click on the link below for the full schedule.

The Tenth Biennial Conference of the International Society for Iranian Studies will be held on August 6 – 9 in Montreal, Canada. Organized under the leadership of the International Society for Iranian Studies President, Professor Mehrzad Boroujerdi, and members of the organizing committee, the Tenth Biennial Conference will include 100 panels with over 400 presenters who are renowned faculty members, active scholars, and promising students in Persian Studies. A number of additional events such as book launches, concerts, receptions and readings will also take place. Please click on the link below to access the conference webpage and view the full schedule.

Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute is delighted to continue its support of the Biennial Conference this year and congratulates ISIS and all participating presenters for their outstanding efforts to promote Persian Studies scholarship.

Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute would like to congratulate Professor Fatemeh Keshavarz on her appointment as Director of the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Maryland, effective August 1. Professor Keshavarz joined UMD in 2012 as Roshan Institute Chair in Persian Studies and Director of Roshan Institute for Persian Studies (RIPS). Under her leadership, RIPS has continued to grow as the premier center for the learning, understanding, and appreciation of Persian culture. In her new role with the SLLC, Professor Keshavarz will focus on strengthening the collaborative scholarly bonds among the departments while continuing to advance Persian Studies as Roshan Institute Chair and Director of RIPS. Please join us in extending our sincere congratulations and best wishes to Professor Keshavarz.

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Roshan Institute for Persian Studies recently announced the full line-up of fall semester courses. Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced Persian language will be offered as well as courses in Modern Iran, Iranian Cinema, Persian Media and several others. Please click on the attached flyer for the full listing.

The Persian Language, Linguistics, and Culture Program was established in fall 2013 at the University of Hawaii at Manoa through a partnership with Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute. It offers Persian language and culture courses, fellowships for graduate students and holds events celebrating Persian culture and traditions. Now in its second year, the Program will offer four courses in fall 2014:

– PERS 101: Beginning Modern Persian I
– PERS 201: Intermediate Modern Persian I
– IP 261: Introduction to Persian Art, Culture, History, and Literature
– IP 365: Persian Literature in Translation
All courses will be taught by Dr. Ladan Hamedani, Roshan Institute Instructor in Persian Language and Culture. 

San José State University will be offering two sections of Persian language/culture during the fall 2014 semester. Persian IA (Elementary Persian I) and Persian 25A (Intermediate Persian Language and Culture) will be taught by Naciem Nikkhah, Lecturer in Persian Language. For more information, please contact naciem.nikkhah@sjsu.edu or 408 924-4476.

SJSU’s Persian Studies Program is made possible through a grant from Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute, with support provided for courses, faculty research, fellowship, scholarships and cultural events.

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