The University of Toronto’s Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, Department of History and the Department of Historical Studies in conjunction with the Toronto Initiative for Iranian Studies and The Foundation for Iranian Studies have teamed up to present the Iranian Studies Seminar Series. Our distinguished seminars are designed to feature work from leading faculty members who are enganged in exploring various topics in the Iranian community and culture. Each seminar is uniquely created to provide insight and practical advice to those interested in this particular area of academia. With the rich content embeded into each of our seminars they are bound to spark inspirational ideas for future reasearch.

On March 28, 2014, Dr. Carl Ernst, William R. Kenan, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will present the lecture “Anglo-Persian Taxonomies of Indian Religions.”

Congratulations to Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute Fellow and Grand Valley State University Assistant Professor of History Dr. Chad Lingwood on the publication of “Politics, Poetry, and Sufism in Medieval Iran. New Perspectives on Jāmī’s Salāmān va Absāl” (Leiden: Brill, 2014).

In his new book, Dr. Lingwood offers new insights into the political significance of poetry and Sufism at the court of Sulṭān Ya‘qūb (d. 896/1490), leader of the Āq Qoyūnlū. The basis of the study is Salāmān va Absāl, a Persian allegorical romance ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Jāmī (d. 898/1492), the great Timurid belletrist and Naqshbandi Sufi, dedicated to Ya‘qūb. Lingwood demonstrates that Salāmān va Absāl, which modern critics have dismissed as ‘crude’ and ‘grotesque,’ is a sophisticated work of political and mystical advice for a Muslim ruler. In the process, he challenges received wisdom concerning Jāmī, the Āq Qoyūnlū, and Perso-Islamic advice literature. Significantly, the study illustrates the extent to which Jāmī’s compositions integrated the Timurid and Āq Qoyūnlū realms.

An exhibition at the Library of Congress will explore the rich literary tradition of the Persian language over the last millennium, from illuminated manuscripts to contemporary publications. The exhibition will bring attention to the literary achievements of Iran and the greater Persian-speaking regions of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Central and South Asia and the Caucasus. The exhibition’s 75 items are drawn primarily from the outstanding Persian collection in the Library’s African and Middle Eastern Division. The Library’s Persian collection is among the most important in the world today outside of Iran. “A Thousand Years of the Persian Book” will open on Thursday, March 27 and close on Saturday, September 20, 2014.

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On March 15, 2014, the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s International Student Association presents its annual International Night on the theme of “A Voyage Through Paradise.” A booth on Iran will feature books, slideshow of pictures from Iran, videos on Persian cuisine and Persian poetry reading with music. Twenty some other cultures will be represented at International Night 2014. The event is free and open to the public.

An exceptional program of lectures and presentations on Persian art and culture will take place in Washington, D.C. from March to September 2014. These scholarly events are designed by Roshan Institute for Persian Studies at UMD and its Chair, 

The British Library recently announced that more than 15,000 images from 27 works, from its collection of 11,000 Persian manuscripts, are now available online. The Library’s holding originate from Iran, Central Asia, India and the greater Iranian world, and range in time from the 12th century to recent years, representing most of the traditional fields of humanities and religious studies. Many of the Persian manuscripts are copies of rare texts, with examples of some of the finest illustrated Mughal, Timurid and Safavid paintings. Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute is delighted to support this major initiative to increase access to this extraordinary collection for scholars all over the world.

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This winter, UCLA’s Center for Near Eastern Studies and Program of Iranian Studies are co-hosting a series of presentations as part of the Bilingual Lecture Series on Iran. Distinguished speakers include Dr. Ziba Mir-Hosseini (SOAS, London), Dr. Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak (UMD), Pouran Derakhshandeh, Mary Apick and Parviz Sayyad, Dr. Hashem Pesaran (USC and University of Cambridge), and Dr. Houchang Chehabi (Boston University). The CNES’ Bilingual Lecture Series on Iran was launched in 2002-03 to promote Middle Eastern languages not only as subjects of study but also as vehicles for intellectual communication. The program is organized by Professor Nayereh Tohidi (California State University, Northridge).

In Spring 2014, the Louvre Museum will present two concerts showcasing the beauty of classical and contemporary Persian music. On May 17, vocalist Pantea Alvandipour will interpret classical repertory from the 19th century under the Qajar dynasty, followed by Maede Tabatabai Niya who will perform original works composed by contemporary musician Siamak Jahangiry on May 18. Mr. Jahangiry (ney), Maryam Gharassou (tar lute), Ali Bahrami Fard (santour cithara) and Pasha Karami (percussions) will accompany the singers. This musical program is supported by the Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Fund at the Louvre.

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Iraj Tabibnia, author of “The Story of the Compact of Rostam and Sohrab,” will deliver a series of ten bilingual lectures on The Book of Kings (Sahnameh) at San Jose State University in Fall 2014. The Book of Kings is a masterpiece written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi in which he narrates the mythical story of the Persian Empire. Mr. Tabibnia will bring this national Iranian epic to life through readings, slide presentations and discussions. The lectures will take place at the Martin Luther King Library of SJSU from September to December.

RRoshan Cultural Heritage Institute is pleased to announce that Sahba Shayani is the recipient of Roshan Institute Fellowship for Excellence in Persian Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, for 2013-2014. Mr. Shayani is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, working on Persian literature and in particular, 19th century Persian poetess Fatemeh Zarrin-Taj Baraghani.

Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute would like to congratulate former fellow, Kristian Peterson, on his new position as tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. Dr. Peterson successfully completed his Ph.D. degree in 2012 with a dissertation on “The Great Transformation: Contours of the Sino-Islamic Tradition.” Current Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute fellow, Jipar Duishembieva, continues to make progress on her dissertation on “Central Asian Intellectuals of Semirech’e Oblast of Russian Turkestan, 1905-1924.”

Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute is delighted to report that nine students received Roshan Institute Fellowships for Persian and Iranian Studies during academic year 2012-2013 at the University of Arizona. Fellowship recipients: Jason Watson, Marie Donovan, Mojtaba Ebrahimian, Zahra Karimi, Ana Ghoreishian, Farrah Jafari, Isra Yaghoubi, Kian Gordon Alavy, and Mehrak Kamalisarvestani carried out research projects on a variety of subjects ranging from Persian language and literature to music and humor. Roshan Institute Fellowships for Excellence in Persian Studies was established in 2003 in the School of Middle Eastern & North African Studies (formerly Department of Near Eastern Studies) and has distributed more than 40 awards since 2005.

Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute would like to commend the recipients of Roshan Institute Scholarship for Excellence in Persian Studies at California State University, Fresno. Mayaprimaver Flores, Jagmeet Singh, Alison Natneil, Shayan Zoghi and Yufei Wang received awards for the academic year 2012-2013. This scholarship program was established in 2007 and supports outstanding undergraduate students taking Persian language and culture courses at CSU Fresno.

The University of Arizona is hosting its Spring 2014 Film Series between February and May. Featured in this selection are two Iranian films: “About 111 Girls” (2012) by Nahid Ghobadi and Bijan Zmanpira; and “My Tehran for Sale” (2009) by Granaz Moussavi.

Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute would like to congratulate Dr. Afsaneh Najmabadi, Francis Lee Higginson Professor of History and Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University, for the publication of her latest book, Professing Selves: Transsexuality and Same-Sex Desire in Contemporary Iran (Duke University Press, December 2013). Dr. Najmabadi is the author of several other books; teaches in Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies; and leads the Women’s Worlds in Qajar Iran project, which received support from Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute.

The Musée de la Castre in Cannes has embarked on a major project to study, document and restore 150 paintings, miniatures and objects from its collection of Qajar artworks. The Museum has an exceptional holding of 350 Qajar-era pieces gifted by the Baron Lycklama at the end of the 19th century, many of which have been damaged during the Second World War. Following this initiative, carried out in partnership with the Department of Islamic Art of the Louvre Museum and the Institut national du patrimoine, the Musée de la Castre will display the restored works in a new gallery. A select number of pieces are currently on view in a special exhibition.