Persiphony 2006

PERSIPHONY Newsletter of The Center for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park No.1: Spring 2006/Nowruz 1385

NOWRUZ A New Day for Humanity

Nowruz, literally meaning “new day,” has through the ages lived up to its name in wondrous ways.

It has provided the supreme occasion for renewal and rejuvenation, for new resolves and novel beginnings. Its inexhaustible appeal to the human mind resides in a simple truth: by holding nature up to us, it connotes a celebration, not of this or that nation or people, but of our common humanity. It invites us to contemplate nature as it dons a magnificent cloak at springtime and to revisit the relationships we build in the human community and between ourselves and our world. Showing us nature’s ability to renew itself every year, Nowruz has through the millennia fostered much human yearning. Continued on page 3

A Message from the Dean

I am very pleased to see the publication of the first issue of Persiphony, the annual Newsletter of the Center for Persian Studies (CPS) at the UMCP’s College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU). The CPS was established in the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (SLLC) in September 2004, thus becoming the first full-fledged academic Center in the US to focus on Persian language and literature and Persian-speaking cultures in Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia, as well as the diaspora communities worldwide. It reflects our University’s historical commitment to develop in international studies in general and Middle Eastern Studies in particular. And CPS has occurred because of the presence and leadership of the internationally recognized Professor Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak. It would not have been possible without him.

The vision that governs the CPS ensures the flourishing of a world-class academic program in Persian language and literature and Iranian culture and civilization on the our campus; it has also provided a model for other similar academic units on other US campuses, especially in partnerships between universities and the sizeable and significant Iranian-American community around the country.

Our Center has certainly benefited substantially from such partnerships and stands to gain even more in the future.

We highly value the wonderful connections to the IranianAmerican community in Washington and nationally – their support means a great deal to us and we reciprocate by making lectures and events open to the public as much as possible.

Since its inception, the Center has become an integral part of ARHU and a visible presence on our campus; it has made quite a difference in allowing our students to learn the Persian language and study the culture of Iran and the Iranian world in ways not possible previously. I myself have developed a new and increased appreciation for the part that Persia has played in the development of human history and in witnessing firsthand the vitality and vibrancy of Iran’s living culture.

The academic program offered by the Center is designed to fill a void not only in the nation’s capital, but in the broader region and through our increasingly interconnected world as well. In August 2005, CPS was awarded the Persian Flagship Program (PFP), which will allow it to serve our country’s needs in the area of language and culture expertise in this important region. As the CPS continues to fulfill its promise and expand its programs to meet the needs of local, national, and international students and scholars, it will doubtless become a magnet for attracting superior undergraduate and graduate students to our campus.

The publication of the first issue of Persiphony coincides with the arrival of Nowruz and the start of the Iranian New Year 1385. For myself and on behalf of the faculty, staff and students of ARHU, I wish you all a wonderful new year, marked by health and happiness for all and peace and prosperity throughout the world.

James F. Harris, Dean College of Arts and Humanities

PERSIPHONY

No.1: Spring 2006/Nowruz 1385

Newsletter of The Center for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park

enthusiastic applause, Dr. Mote conferred an honorary doctorate degree in Public Service on her.

On the following day, May 13, 2004, Dr. One of the most exciting developments Ebadi first held an informal discussion sesin my first three years as Director of the sion with Iranian students on campus in School of Languages, Literatures, and Culthe Prince George room of the University’s tures (SLLC) has been the establishment Stamp Student Union as requested by within the School of the Center for Persian members of two UMCP student organizaStudies (CPS), made administratively and tions, the Iranian Students’ Foundation financially possible by support from Presi[http://www.isf-maryland.org] and the dent Dan Mote, Provost Bill Destler, and Iranian Graduate Student Foundation [www.

ARHU Dean Jim Harris, and intellectually studentorg.umd.edu/igsf].

The meeting gave viable by the move of Professor Ahmad Mike Long the students gathered a unique chance to Karimi-Hakkak to Maryland to serve as its Professor of Second Language Acquisition ask the newest of the world’s Nobel Peace Founding Director and Professor of Persian Director, SLLC Laureates to address their questions and Studies. comments and to explore her CPS has enormous acaideas; there was also a lot of picdemic potential, and in time ture-taking. will probably become a Following the meeting with model for such centers on UMCP students, President Mote US campuses. Persian hishosted a luncheon for more tory, literature and culture than fifty University officials and are immensely rich, and the leaders of the Iranian-American language is much in demand, community.

On hand were top due primarily to the extensive University administrators includPersian heritage community ing Dean James F. Harris and on and off the College Park SLLC Director Professor Micampus, but also to current chael Long, as well as prominent geopolitical circumstances.

Middle East specialists like ProProfessor Karimi is widely fessor Shibley Telhami. UMCP recognized as the leading Dean of the School of EngiFrom left: President C. D. Mote, CPS Director Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, expert on contemporary Perneering Dr. Nariman Farvardin Nasrin Karimi-Hakkak, Dr. Shirin Ebadi, Mrs. Catherine Harris, Dean sian literature outside Iran, and Senior Associate Dean of James F. Harris. and some say inside Iran, too. the Robert H. Smith School of Would-be doctoral students Business Dr. Arjang Assad, both Iranianhave been asking to study with him from Lady of Peace at the UMCP American academics of world renown, were the day he arrived. In addition to ProfesAt the invitation of President C. D. Mote, also present.

Many prominent members of sor Karimi, CPS has a full-time lecturer Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian-American community were also teaching Persian language courses, as well 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, visited among the invited guests, including Profesas occasional visiting faculty members. The the University of Maryland on May 12 and sor Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in plan is to launch a minor and major in Per13, 2004. On May 12, following a reception Tehran, Mahnaz Afkhami, Executive Direcsian just as soon as possible, with graduate at President Mote’s campus residence, Ms. tor of the Foundation for Iranian Studies, degree work to follow through other SLLC Ebadi gave a lecture on “Islam, Democracy, and Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, Middle East programs and proposed new programs in and Human Rights” at Comcast Center, Program Director at the Woodrow Wilson Middle East Studies. where an audience of over 5000 people had Center for International Scholars, and Dr. In Fall, 2005, following a national compe- gathered to listen to her. In his introducElahe Mir-Djalali, President of the Roshan tition, SLLC was awarded a federally funded tory remarks UMCP President Dr. C. D. Cultural Heritage Institute.

National Flagship Program in Persian, the Mote reiterated the University’s historic only one of its kind in the nation. Its role decision to establish the Center for Persian is to develop sophisticated new courses and Studies. The full text of the event’s speeches programs for advanced students of Persian, can be found at the following links: [www. incorporating the latest insights from secumd.edu/umnews/ebadilecture.pdf] and ond language acquisition research. With the [www.umd.edu/umnews/ebadilecture.html]. funding provided by the government for the At the end of the Nobel laureate’s speech, Flagship program, three more highly qualiwhich was interrupted numerous times by

Message of Professor Michael Long, SLLC Director

fied full-time lecturers have joined the CPS staff this Spring, along with two Graduate Assistants. Materials development is currently under way, and will be complete by the time the first cohort of Flagship students arrives in August.

These are exciting times for Persian at Maryland. I will do everything in my power to support the Center and its faculty and wish them the very best for what I am confident will be a long and distinguished future.

Nowruz Major BOOK DONATions to CPS

continued from page 1

The roots of Nowruz are scattered in myth and in history; they go deep into the earth beneath our steps, all the way to the time when the settlement of the first peoples on the Iranian plateau signaled a new phase in human civilization. They pass through various historical layers, from the formation of the first Persian Empire over twenty-five centuries ago to the later formations of the Persian civilization before Christianity and Islam. Its historical function over the millennia has been to forge and foster evernewer senses of collective identity in an ever-changing world. When Iran lost much of its ancient civilization and its identity was threatened, several generations of Iranians worked to restore that sense of identity through the creation of marvelous documents and monuments, spheres and spaces that still impress the world with their beauty, their artistry, and their relevance to our world. From Ferdowsi’s Book of Kings and Rumi’s Spiritual Couplets to the rose gardens of Shiraz and blue-tiled domes of Esfahan the landscape of Iran’s civilization is strewn with such marvels.

In recent centuries, as the vast Iranian Empire gave way to the modern country of Iran, Nowruz has spread its branches over the neighboring countries, and increasingly all over the world. It still invites us to contemplate nature as it blossoms in new and wonderful colors as a site for renewal and rejuvenation. Today, for the two million Iranians living abroad, as for the seventy million living in the homeland, Nowruz holds out the promise of transcending political divisions and moving toward new beginnings. To the world, it offers the potential of the human community, where a race of all races is emerging to create a new global culture beyond all nationhood and nationality. It aspires to a globalized humanity as beautiful and colorful as nature on the first day of spring.

We at the Center for Persian Studies offer our best wishes for a merry Nowruz and a truly new day to all of you.

Since its inception, the Center has received four significant collections of books in Persian or related to the Persian-speaking cultures, as well as several smaller donations. All have been acknowledged officially and are being kept at the CPS until the University of Maryland Library System is prepared to house them. The first, a collection of 277 volumes, inclusive of books, journals and others, came from Mr. Reza Rashidi of Great Falls, Virginia.

Dr. Gholamreza Tajbakhsh, a career diplomat, offered approximately 252 volumes of books, journals and other items to the CPS. The Center has also received a substantive donation of books, consisting of 649 books and 268 journal issues, from the widow of Dr. Mahmoud Goudarzi, a leading Iranian-American journalist. Finally, long time CPS friend and supporter Mr. Fred Korangy has concluded an agreement with the International Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia in Iran whereby his purchase of $10,000 worth of books published in Iran would be shipped to the CPS over time. We at the CPS look forward to receiving this important shipment of much needed resource for teaching and research into the Iranian world.

Depending on the donor’s wishes, all book donations, which are fully tax-deductible, are further acknowledged through stickers placed inside the front cover of the books, specifying the donor by name.

Excerpt from the official UMCP Press Release on the establishment of the CPS The School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, the College of Arts and Humanities, and the University of Maryland are pleased to announce the establishment of the Center for Persian Studies. November 5th, 2004; UMD President and CPS Director mark the official opening of the The Center offers courses Center for Persian Studies in Jimenez Hall in Persian language, literature, and culture, and should quickly emerge as a magnet for study and research into languages and cultures of the Middle East, given the strength of the Iranian-American and Persianspeaking communities in the greater Washington, D.C. area.

PERSIPHONY

No.1: Spring 2006/Nowruz 1385

Newsletter of The Center for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park

The People at the Heart of the CPS Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak Founding Director Professor Karimi-Hakkak is a specialist in Persian literature. In addition to his undergraduate training at Tehran University, Dr. Karimi holds no fewer than four graduate degrees from the U.S., including an M.A. in English literature and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Rutgers University. Before coming the UMCP, for nineteen years he was director of the Persian Studies Program at the University of Washington. He has also taught English and comparative literature and translation studies, as well as classical and modern Persian literature at the University of Tehran, Rutgers University, Columbia University, and the University of Texas. Professor Karimi-Hakkak is the author of more than twenty books and over one hundred major scholarly articles. He has contributed articles on Iran and Persian literature to The Encyclopedia Britannica, The Encyclopaedia Iranica, and The Encyclopedia of Translation Studies.

Ali R. Abasi, Administrator, Persian Flagship Ali R. Abasi has been a teacher of English and Persian to speakers of other languages in Western Asia and North America for over a decade. Currently he teaches Persian and collaborates in curriculum development for the Persian Flagship Program.

His research interests include the development of academic literacies in a second language, sociocultural theories of learning applied to second language education, and adult basic education. Some of his recent publications are soon to appear in such scholarly journals as Journal of Second Language Writing, Adult Basic Education, and New Horizons in Adult Education.

Nahal Akbari Lecturer, Persian Language Since 1996, Nahal has been teaching ESL, ESP and Academic Writing courses at different academic institutions including Tehran University, the University of Ottawa and La Cite Collegiale in Ottawa , Canada. She finished her BA in English Language and Literature, and completed her MA in Applied Linguistics at Tehran University. She is currently a PhD candidate in Second Language Teaching and Learning at the Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa. Her research interests include teacher education, contrastive rhetoric, and second language academic literacy.

Farkhondeh Shayesteh Lecturer, Persian Language Farkhondeh is a native speaker of Persian. Her academic background includes a focus on applied linguistics and second language acquisition. She is currently developing instructional materials for teaching Persian at the university level. Farkhondeh has taught Persian at Ohio State University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Washington, and University of Chicago. Her research interests include language pedagogy and language acquisition, particularly early stages of second/foreign language acquisition, vocabulary development, and word formation. In addition, she has published literary translations, most recently two stories in Black Parrot, Green Crow, an anthology published by Mage Publishers.

Bryan Averbuch Lecturer, Persian Flagship Program Bryan Averbuch received his M.A. in Near Eastern Languages and Civiliza-

tion from the University of Washington in Seattle in 2005, with a focus on Persian and Arabic languages, and Islamic studies. He taught elementary and intermediate Persian courses at the same university as a graduate assistant. His language studies and research interests have taken him to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, the Levant, and Spain. His research interests within Persian studies include the cultural history of the Silk Road, heterodoxy in preIslamic and Islamic Iran, 18th and 19th century Russo-Persian relations, and Tajikistan since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Anousha Shahsavari Research Assistant Anousha is a Ph.D. student in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) at the UMD’s School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (SLLC), and a research assistant at the Center for Persian Studies (CPS). She received her M.A. in teaching Persian from Shiraz University, Iran. She has administered various Persianteaching programs at Shiraz University and has completed an advanced program on Persian literacy. Her choice of materials is based on the needs analysis of the learners of Persian. Her areas of interest include learner needs analysis, task-based language teaching, Persian for specific purposes, social functions of language and Persian syntax. She brings her expertise in Persian literature to bear on her teaching and research.

S. M. Ahmadabadi Graduate Assistant Mohammad is an MBA student at UMD’s School of Business. He has had extensive experience in publishing and web design in Iran. He joined the CPS in Fall 2005 and is responsible for the design and maintenance of the CPS website as well as this Newsletter.

Iranian American Technology Council (IATC) Throws Nowruz Party for CPS

The IAAB Conference at the UMCP Ably assisted by the UMD’s Iranian Students’ Foundation (ISF), the CPS sponsored the Second International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora, organized by Iranian Alliances Across Borders (IAAB), held at the Stamp Student Union April 23-24 2005. The Conference provided a unique opportunity for the younger generation of Iranians and Iranian-Americans to exchange views and discuss issues related to them at an academic forum in order to shape a better understanding of their place in history and the challenges they face collectively, now and into the future. The two-day gathering featured a rich menu of events ranging from academic deliberations to cultural programs and entertaining events, all relating to the theme of the Iranian Diaspora and emergence of a global community anchored in Iranian culture and the Persian language. In his opening remarks, CPS Director welcomed the audience of about 220 young scholars, writers and artists, as well as advanced students of Iranian origin to the University of Maryland. “The personal friendships and professional alliances you forge here,” he said, “will cross all political borders and bring you closer to playing your rightful part in the global world of the future.” For more information about IAAB and its upcoming projects and events, please visit [www. iranianalliances.org].

As this Newsletter goes to print, efforts are underway to finalize pledges of support made at IATC’s 2005 Nowruz party to secure the funds necessary for the expansion of CPS. Over a year ago, Mr. Fred Korangy, an Iranian-American businessman and a founding member of the Iranian American Technology Council, envisioned a Nowruz gala with the express purpose of raising funds for the CPS ad worked very hard for it. Over 300 guests attended the feast at Washington’s Four Seasons Hotel, among them UMCP’s President and Mrs. Mote and ambassadors of the Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Elegant catering was provided

by Ms Najmieh Batmanglij, the best-known chef and Persian cuisine specialist in the US and Dariush Winery in Nappa Valley, CA, donated the wine. Playing Master of Ceremony, renowned actor and comedian Maziar Jobrani provided much laughter and levity through the evening.

The Yarshater lecture

As host, Mr. Korangy announced that the proceeds from the gala will be donated to the CPS and that the IATC would launch an effort to raise $1,000,000 to support the CPS in its mission. For his part, President Mote stated that, should the effort come to fruition, he would match it by earmarking an equal amount from the UMCP Foundation for the expansion of the CPS. While some progress has been made in collecting the pledges, more work remains to be done.

Mr. Korangy and the University are hopeful that the effort will succeed, as it will lend significantly help in fulfilling all aspects of the Center’s mission.

CPS would like to give special thanks to Mr. Fred Korangy for his vision and his many efforts in garnering support in the Iranian-American community to guarantee the expansion of the Center as stated in its mission statement.

On Friday November 18, the Center for Persian Studies hosted a first-ever lecture and reception event at the Howard Frank Auditorium in Van Munching Hall’s beautiful Howard Frank Auditorium, made available through the generosity of the UMCP’s H. R. Smith School of Business and through the good offices of CPS’s long-time friend and supporter Dr. Arjang Assad, the School’s Senior Associate Dean. An enthusiastic audience of about 300 interested individuals, including about 100 UMCP students, were in attendance.

Professor Ehsan Yarshater, the leading scholar of Iranian Studies in the US and Editor-in-Chief of the monumental Encyclpaedia Iranica, delivered this illuminating lecture, titled “Ventures and Adventures of the Persian Language.” The reception that followed provided a much coveted occasion for socialization between leading community members and several UMCP officials, including Dean Nariman Farvardin of the A. James Clark School of Engineering, Dean James Harris of the College of Arts and Humanities, and Professor Joseph Brami Chairman of the Department of French.

You can view and/or download the text of this important speech by the most prominent living scholar of Iranian Studies from CPS’s web site. All reference to it must include appropriate attribution, including the author’s name, lecture title, and the venue.

PERSIPHONY

No.1: Spring 2006/Nowruz 1385

Newsletter of The Center for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park

Courses on Modern Iranian History and Popular Culture

Excerpt from UMD President’s Message The University of Maryland is proud to be the home of the Center for Persian Studies, the first of its kind in the Northeast dedicated to outstanding research in the rich tradition of the Persian culture from ancient times to the modern day. We are delighted that Professor Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, one of the world’s most distinguished Persian scholars, has joined the university faculty to serve as the Founding Director of this major center. We are confident of a bright future for the new center under his leadership. The center, which trains scholars in Persian history, language, literature, and culture, sponsors a range of cultural events, and we welcome the involvement of the large Persian community on and off campus in these activities.

Daniel C. Mote, President

The CPS was lucky to be able to secure the services of Professor Negin Nabavi as a Visiting Assistant Professor in fall 2005. Professor Nabavi offered two courses for our students, Modern Iran and Iranian Cinema; both were immensely successful and very popular with our students. For this Newsletter Professor Nabavi kindly agreed to write the following piece on the experience: In fall 2005, I had the opportunity to teach two courses on Iranian culture and history at the University of Maryland under the auspices of the University of Maryland’s Center for Persian Studies. These were “Modern Iran” (PERS 251), and “Iranian Cinema” (PERS 283). While “Modern Iran” was a history course, charting the course of events from the late 18th century to the present day, it also tried to serve as an introduction to the major trends and controversies in the historiography of modern Iran. “Iranian Cinema,” for its part, took an interdisciplinary approach, so that while serving primarily as an introduction to Iranian cinema, its aim was also to explore cinema as an avenue into contemporary Iranian society and culture.

As any professor can attest, the greatest challenge in teaching is to keep the students engaged and interested in the matter discussed. I am happy to say that my experience teaching these two courses proved not only positive but also enjoyable.

That each of the courses drew some thirty students from a range of disciplines and backgrounds, is what made the experience rewarding and enriching. Even though there were no prerequisites for the courses, and most students had little prior knowledge of the subjects, they soon found the material stimulating enough to express their diverse perspectives and contribute to the class discussions that at times became quite heated.

In view of the interest of the student body at Maryland, the Center for Persian Studies is in a unique position to offer many more courses on different aspects of Iranian history and culture in the future.

The Center for Persian Studies is a wholly necessary and very welcome addition to the University of Maryland.

The mission of the Center transcends a simplistic characterization as an area studies program, maintaining a commitment to sharing an intellectual, cultural, linguistic, and civilizational tradition that itself transcends an East-West dichotomy.

Maryland is dually blessed to have the support and guidance of a scholar of Dr. Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak’s caliber to coordinate the development of the Center. I, myself, am a second-year doctoral student in the department of Government and Politics at Maryland, where my regional focus of study is the Middle East in general and Iran in particular, while I am topically interested in democratic theory and democratization.

The rigorous linguistic instruction necessary for my field research in Iran will, no doubt, be fulfilled at the Center for Persian Studies.

Samir Fayyaz GVPT graduate student University of Maryland

Ahoora Foundation Contributions The Center for Persian Studies is pleased to acknowledge the major support it has received from Mr. Jamshid Ansari as part of the pledge drive spearheaded by the Iranian American Technology Council (IATC) and as partial contribution to the Conference on Iranian Constitutional Movement and the Conference on the Persian poet Rumi, envisioned for September 2007.

Conference on Iranian Constitutional Movement Supported by The Iranian American Bar Association (IABA) and Ahoora Foundation, the Center for Persian Studies is working hard to finalize plans for the International Conference on the Constitutional Movement in Iran, due to be held on UMCP campus September 21-24, 2006.

The constitutional movement in late 19th and early 20th century Iran, crystallized by the adoption of a written constitution in 1906, is a prime example of how seemingly local socio-political and cultural moments epitomize and foretell deeper emerging regional and global trends. The Constitutional Revolution is widely considered to have been a defining political event. Inspired by intellectual currents emanating from different cultures, it shaped 20th century political movements not just in Iran, but throughout the region. Its legacy lives with us to this day.

Despite its broader regional and global context and significance, studies of Iran’s constitutional movement have focused principally on the political and diplomatic events surrounding the Constitutional Revolution and its immediate aftermath. Thus, the intellectual and cultural movement that led to the Revolution and continues to this day has not received the attention it deserves, particularly from interdisciplinary or comparative perspectives; nor has its broader legacy with respect to local and regional issues been properly assessed. The conference will focus on these dimensions to spur further research in these directions. It will also address areas that have received less attention through the 20th century, such as law, literature, and socio-economic history.

The timing of the conference is particularly propitious, as democracy and the rule of law have emerged as subjects of intense interest in the Middle East and around the world. In a world where transmission of political ideas such as liberty, equality, due process, separation of powers, and limited government invariably involves translation of abstract ideas into different cultural vocabularies, a better understanding of how these ideas have been treated historically by local political cultures seems imperative to a greater appreciation of the ways in which they will likely continue to evolve.

The conference will bring together 15 leading scholars of Iran’s constitutional movement and its transnational and global connections in disciplines such as history, politics, law, and literature. In addition to the highest possible quality of presentations, a hallmark of the conference’s deliberations would be the provision of ample time for scholarly exchanges, dialogues, and debates across various disciplines and professions.

Scholars and academics will interact with professionals and policy-makers and other interested members of the audience to nurture a memorable arena fore cross-pollination of ideas.

CPS Co-sponsors an International Conference at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum

As part of the month-long celebration of Abbas Kiarostami’s artistic achievements, the University of Maryland’s Center for Persian Studies (CPS), along with Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF), Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute (RCHI), and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) cosponsored an international conference on the Iranian artist’s various arts. Titled “Abbas Kiarostami: Image, Voice and Vision,” this conference was held April 29-May 1, 2005 and brought together 12 prominent scholars from leading universities in Europe and the United States. The central theme of the conference, chosen in light of the burgeoning scholarship on the artist, had been selected with a view to relating the Iranian filmmaker’s various arts to one another, rather than viewing them as separate works conceived and executed independently.

Convened by CPS Director Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak of the University of Maryland, the conference featured a total of twelve presentations ranging in focus from explication of individual scenes in the artist’s films and poems to sweeping overviews of his work through the four decades of active artistic production. The consensus that emerged from the research presented indicated that Kiarostami has managed to formulate a new and higher approach to visual sophistication and subtlety through simplicity and sincerity, thus remaining artistically significant and widely popular.

A prime feature of the conference was the ample time allotted to exchange of views about the artist and his various works, and this proved crucial to the impressive success of the endeavor. Dialogues among the presenters and interactions between them and the audience brought to the surface rather large and hitherto unexplored areas for future scholarship on Kiarostami.

The conference culminated in an In-Conversation session between the convener and the artist held in the afternoon of May 1, following the formal presentations. Attended by a full house of three hundred intensely interested individuals, the session featured first a Ta`ziya (Iranian religious passion plays that dramatize a defining moment in the history of Shi`a Islam) which Kiarostami had filmed in the provincial town of Khansar, Iran. After the film presentation, the convener engaged the artist in a freeflowing yet pointed dialogue concerning the work and its social and historical contexts.

The session did much to reveal the power of the artist to bestow significance on the most widely popular art form in Iran, thus bringing to the fore the reasons for the universal appeal of Kiarostami’s seemingly improvised approach to artistic creativity.

Abbas Kiarostami has formulated a new and higher approach to visual sophistication and subtlety through simplicity and sincerity.

PERSIPHONY

No.1: Spring 2006/Nowruz 1385

Newsletter of The Center for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park

H. Amirsaleh Award in Persian Studies

An undergraduate student award consisting of a citation and a monetary prize of $1,000, has been established in the UMCP’s College of Arts and Humanities in the name of Mr. Hossein Amirsaleh, an IranianAmerican industrialist and philanthropist.

It will be given annually to an essay written by a UMCP undergraduate student for a regular undergraduate course offered at the UMCP. The essay must be in English and be nominated by the instructor to whom it was submitted in partial fulfillment of a regular course requirement. All submissions must include the essay as commented upon by the instructor as well as the instructor’s letter of nomination; they must be received at the Center for Persian Studies (CPS) by May 31 each year.

The award will be given annually in June, beginning in 2007. To be eligible, the essays submitted should relate, wholly or in substantial part, to Persian Studies broadly defined, inclusive of topics in Persian language and literature, and humanistic or social science studies directed at the modern countries of Iran, Afghanistan, and PersianSpeaking Central Asia as well as Iranian and Persian-speaking diaspora communities. Each year, in consultation with the CPS Director, the Director of the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (SLLC) will appoint a faculty committee for the purpose; the committee will evaluate the submissions and confer the award.

The College of Arts and Humanities encouragers all undergraduate students to participate in this campus-wide competition and requests all UMCP faculty to bring this opportunity to the attention of their students.

The Center for Persian Studies would like to express immense gratitude to Mr. Hassanali Mehran for his constant support and hard work in support of the CPS, and most especially for his part in securing this endowment.

Khayami Donation

During its first semester on the UMCP campus, the CPS received a $30,000 donation from Mr. Mahmoud Khayami, an Iranian businessman living in London, in support

of its Persian language instruction program.

In addition to the specified purpose the funds were used in part to make the Yarshater Lecture possible. Dr. Ahmad Ghoreishi, President of the Khayami Foundation, subsequently contacted CPS Director to inform him that a second Khayami donation, this one in the amount of $50,000, will be forthcoming. This second annual donation is to be allocated for CPS’s expansion activities, at the Director’s discretion. We are grateful to Mr. Khayami for his generous early support and thank Dr. Ghoreishi and Ms. Mahanz Afkhami, President of Women’s Leaning Partnership [see www. learningpartnership.org] for helping to secure this donation.

Expanding our Academic Mission

As an academic unit located in the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures the CPS is charged primarily, but not exclusively, with the mission of teaching the Persian language at all levels and of fostering a better understanding of the Persian-speaking countries and cultures around the world, both contemporary and historical. As such, it is ideally positioned to expand in diverse ways. First, it is mandated not just to study the modern countries of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and the vast Persian-speaking regions of Central Asia, but also pre-colonial India, medieval and pre-modern Caucasus and Anatolia, and the emerging Persianspeaking diaspora the world over.

As part of its mission, the CPS is also mandated to enhance area studies focused on the Persian world in other departments on the UMCP campus. To that end, it has in the past and will in the future hire part-time instructors, lecturers and visiting scholars to teach courses and conduct research at the Center. In fall 2005, for example, visiting assistant professor Negin Nabavi taught two courses (Modern Iran and Iranian Cinema) and Professor Ahmad Kazemi-Moussavi, a distinguished scholar of Shi`a Islam, is scheduled to teach Islam in Iran and Modern Iran in fall 2006. Other courses in this category will be planned as outside funding may permit.

Ever since its foundation, the Center for Persian Studies, in the person of its director Prof. Karimi-Hakkak, has been of immense help to me in my research on the Middle East and North Africa.

The center was launched while I was working on my M.A. thesis about the political implications of sainthood in Morocco. My discussions with Prof.

Karimi about the rich saintly tradition in Iran and its comparison with the saintly tradition in Morocco brought to my attention new dimensions for the investigation of the topic. Since then, I have also benefited from comparing the leading experience of Iranian feminists with that of North African feminists for my current research on the feminist and fundamentalist discourses in North Africa.

I think that CPS will prove a valuable resource not only for students interested in Persian Studies, but also for those who are working on the Middle East and North Africa in general. In the current international context, fostering appreciation for Persian culture and ultimately enhancing intercultural dialogue on the basis of serious academic scholarship is a very laudable act, to say the least.

Fatima Ghoulaichi Ph.D. student, Comparative Literature Program University of Maryland

The CPS will prove a valuable resource not only for students interested in Persian Studies, but also for those who are working on the Middle East and North Africa in general.

I came to Maryland in 2002 to help develop and assist in teaching an international online Master’s in Ethnomusicology for Spanish speaking students from all around the world that, if not discontinued, would have alowed many people to obtain research experience in a field which is not easily available in Spain or Latin America. I have been since pursuing my Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology and developing a deeper appreciation of the world’s musical traditions, in particular of Iranian and Central Asian musics. For me, Persian traditional music (Musiqi-ye Assil) is the music of life. Perhaps not many are aware that it has very deep and ancient shamanic roots, that as a musical system it works on complex, dynamic principles similar to those found in all living organisms.

It would be great if Persian music and its related traditions could be present on campus at the University of Maryland, College Park, not only in ocasional concerts and events.

Carles Pitarch Ph.D. Candidate, Ethnomusicology School of Music, University of Maryland

Persian Flagship Program at CPS In light of the ever growing awareness of the importance of learning the languages and cultures of the world and the rising number of heritage speakers of Persian in the American society, the Center for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland is pleased to announce the inauguration of a unique Persian language learning opportunity. Through a state-of-the-art approach to language teaching, this program helps students achieve advanced proficiency in Persian language and gain an intimate knowledge of different aspects of life such as culture, economy, politics, literature, and film in the contemporary Persian-speaking countries of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.

Applicants to this program can enroll in either the Graduate Certificate of Professional Studies in Persian or Masters of Professional Studies in Persian. Full funding for admission into the program is available through the Academy for Educational Development (AED).

Centers in the Making In 2005, the University of California, Irvine, established the Samuel S. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, named after a visionary American educator who devoted his life to the development of modern education in Iran – see [www.humanities.uci. edu/persianstudies]. Funded principally by Dr. Fariborz Maseeh, an Iranian-American philanthropist, this will be the second center of this kind in a major state university.

As part of the deliberations leading to the establishment of the Center, UC Irvine invited CPS Director and several other leading specialists in this area for a day of consultations in June 2005. At its full capacity, the Irvine Center will have several faculty positions, including one for a Persian language specialist and a full-time position in the performing arts. Professor Karen Lawrence, Irvine’s Dean of Humanities, anticipates having a director at the helm by September 2006. Consultations between the CPS and the Irvine Center are ongoing and there is every reason to anticipate close cooperation between the two centers on several programs of mutual interest, including exchange of scholars and artistes with Iran and the Persian-speaking world as well as the development of a digital archive related to Iranian diaspora communities.

More recently, the UC Davis has begun to explore ways of incorporating a program in Persian/Iranian Studies into its undergraduate curriculum, either through a Center or as part of a larger Department with a focus on the Middle East – see [mesa.ucdavis.edu].

In January 2006, the CPS Director was invited to give a talk at UC Davis and share his vision of the CPS. There, he and Professor Joseph Suad, a senior Davis faculty and an anthropologist working on the Levant region, held extensive talks on the merits of the various options. Like the UMCP, Davis has a large and active contingent of heritage students as well as others who are eager to take what courses may be offered on this important cluster of cultures anchored in the Persian language.

We wish UC Irvine and UC Davis the best in their endeavor and encourage the Iranian-American community in California to do all in their power to put more UC system universities on the map of Iranian/ Persian Studies.

Message from The Provost The University of Maryland’s Center for Persian Studies, under the direction of Dr. Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, is already the primary source of cultural and educational programming in the area of Persian studies at our University. As the Center develops, it will increasingly serve the broader Maryland/ DC/Virginia population through its varied programs and will contribute greatly to a better understanding and appreciation of the rich and wonderful contributions of Persians and Persian-Americans to the United States and to the rest of the world. We are especially proud that the university was able to attract Dr. Karimi to lead this effort.

William W. Destler, Provost

PERSIPHONY

No.1: Spring 2006/Nowruz 1385

Newsletter of The Center for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park

As the first full-fledged academic center focused on the Persian-speaking cultures, the Center for Persian Studies (CPS) pursues three objectives:

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o establish an outstanding academic program in Persian language and literature, from elementary language instruction to various graduate degrees;

Ehsan Yarshater Lecture Series

o enhance the capacity of the University of Maryland System to examine various facets of the Persian-speaking cultures, both contemporary and historical;

The Center proudly announces the establishment of The Ehsan o strengthen the relations between the UM and the surrounding communities, in Yarshater Lecture Series Enthe state of Maryland and the nation’s capital, as well as around the world. dowment in the University of Maryland’s College of Arts and The Center for Persian Studies would like to thank the fol- Humanirties. As stipulated in the lowing patrons, supporters and friends for their generous Memorandum of Understanding signed between the University of support, and their donations, contributions, or pledges: Maryland College Park Foundation Iranian American Technology Council, Washington, DC and the Persian Heritage FoundaThe Foundation for Iranian Studies, Bethesda, MD tion of New York, the purpose of The Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, Washington, DC this endowment is “to provide a Dr. Gholamreza and Ms. Mahnaz Afkhami, Chevy Chase, MD biennial lecture series on Iranian Dr. and Mrs. Hamid Ahmadi, CPO, IBM Communications, San Diego, CA Mr. and Mrs. Michael Akbar, Bethesda, MD Studies and/or support the subMr. Sean Amini, President, C5i, Ashburn, Virginia, and Mrs. Amini sequent publication of the lecture Mr. Cyrus Amir-Mokri, Esq., Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, LLP, New York proceedings in the Center for PerMr. Jamshid Ansari, Ahoora Foundation, Houston, Texas sian Studies.”

Mr. Abol Ardalan, Vienna, Virginia Professor Arjang Assad, Robert H. Smith School of Business, UMD Mr. and Mrs. Mohammad and Najmieh Batmanglij, Mage Publishers, Washington, DC Mr. and Mrs. Saeed and Fereshteh Darya, Potomac, MD Prof. Olga M. Davidson and Prof. Gregory Nagy, Harvard University Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington, DC Mr. Fred Farshay, Stanley Martin Commercial, Bethesda, MD Dean Nariman and Mrs. Hoveida Farvardin, Clark School of Engineering, UMD Dr. Akbar Ghahary, President of Safascorp and the PCF, Garfield, NJ Ms. Noosheen Hashemi, The H.A.N.D. Foundation, Menlo Park,CA Mr. Babak, Hoghooghi, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, LLP, Washington, DC Dr. Shaygan Kheradpir, CIO, Verizon, New York Mr. Fred Korangy, President, logicTree, College Park, MD Dr. Habib and Mrs. Farah Lajevardi, Iranian Oral History Project, Harvard University Mr. Hassanali Mehran, Potomac, MD Dr. Elahe Mir-Djalali, President, Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute, Washington, DC Mr. Kourosh Moshir, Scottsdale, AZ Mr. Majid Naderkhani, Excel Com, Bethesda, MD Dr. Mehrdad Nadooshan, CEO, Emerj Inc., New York Professor Azar Nafisi, Washington, DC Dr. Bahar Najd, Bethesda, MD Mr. Farhad Nourbakhsh, Bethesda, MD Ms. Yasmine Raffii, Y-ART works, Seattle, WA Mr. and Mrs. Reza Rashidi, Great Falls, VA Dr. Raheleh Rezai, Washington, DC Dr. Soheila Rostami, M. D., Washington, DC Ms. Susan Shekarchi, CEO, SUSAN International Design, Dubai, UAE Dr. and Mrs. Gholamreza Tajbakhsh, Vienna, VA Mr. and Mrs. Masood Tayebi, Chairman, WFI, Inc., San Diego, CA Professor Ehsan Yarshater, Editor-in-Chief, The Encycopaeida Iranica, New York Mr. Japeh Youssefi, Chairman and founder of ISMART, LLC, Scottsdale, AZ

We are further pleased to announce that Dr. Ali Banuazizi, Porfessor of Social psychology at Boston College has accepted the Center’s invitation to be our first Ehsan Yarshater lecturer. Professor Banuzazizi will visit our campus March 5-9, 2007 and will deliver the first lectures on the topic of Martyrdom and Jihad in Iranian political culture. The exact title, time and place of the lectures, as well as other details of this important academic event are being developed at this time and will be posted on the CPS web site in April 2006.

ZAL and SIAVASH

in Jimenez Hall

BIJAN and MANIJEH at the Center for Hellenic Studies As you enter the CPS suite in Jimenez Hall, you can’t help but be drawn to two stunning tableaux, one on each side, depicting two defining moments from The Shahnameh. One of the masterpieces of world literature and by far the most important epic work in the Persian language, The Shahnameh recounts Iran’s mythical and ancient history in over 50,000 verse couplets and is cherished most dearly

by Iranians and other Persian speakers. Composed by the tenth century poet Abolqasem Ferdowsi (935-1020), the work has always been considered an eminently important text, and is credited by and large for playing a crucial part in establishing Persian as the language of Islamic Iran, India and Central Asia.

The exquisite tableaux, mixed-media works of painting, tapestry and calligraphy, are the work of Amineh Mahallati, an Iranian artist living in Princeton NJ; they were given as a gift to the CPS by Dr. Olga M. Davidson, President of the ILEX Foundation [www.ilexfoundation.org], Professor of Persian Literature at Brandeis and Harvard Universities, and a long-time friend of Iran and Persian Studies in the US. One depicts the reconciliation between a famed father and son from the House of Sistani heroes; the other shows the scene where, centuries later, Prince Siavash, having been accused of designs on his stepmother, proves his innocence by passing through the ordeal of fire, in this case literally riding on horseback through a mile-long swath of raging flames.

On Decemeber 17, 2004, Professor Davidson and her husband, celebrated Harvard Classics Professor Dr. Gregory Nagy, also gave a party for over 70 invited guests on the occasion of the Iranian feast of winter solstice known as Yalda and in celebration of the establishment of the CPS. As observed since ancient times, the evening of Yalda is spent in storytelling and poetry reading. To give the observance its fullest ancient color, expatriate Iranian actor and Shahnameh reciter Mr. Iraj Anvar had been invited to recite the love story of Bijan and Manijeh from the Persian epic.

In their welcoming remarks, Professors Nagy and Davidson mentioned that the venue, Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington DC [www.chs.harvard.edu], which was originally donated by a Greek-American family to Harvard University, was the perfect setting to demonstrate the potential of the Iranian-American community to provide support for the growth of the University of Maryland’s CPS.

Vintage Cluster at the Language House As a language unit, the CPS has enjoyed a most collegial relationship with the University of Maryland’s Language House in St. Mary’s Hall (next door to Jimenez) and its capable Director, Dr. Phoenix Liu. With her help we succeeded in establishing the Persian Cluster, a speech community made up of five Persian-speaking students.

For this Newsletter, we asked Dr. Liu to write a brief piece on the newest language cluster at the UMD. Here’s her essay: The Persian Cluster in the Language House was created in Fall 2005 by the joint efforts of the Language House and the Center of Persian Studies. The cluster consists of five students. The mentor is an

The Center for Persian Studies 1220 Jimenez Hall University of Maryland College Park, MD, 20742 USA 301.405.1891 TEL 301.314.9752 FAX Persianstudies@umd.edu www.languages.umd.edu/persian

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extremely mature junior and the remaining four students are either sophomores or transfer students.

The new cluster was welcomed with extraordinary warmth by the rest of the House.

In the “Around the World Dinner” in October 2005, an annual Language House event open to faculty and parents, the cluster won first prize in the food category by demonstrating its culinary talent with three various dishes. Members also prepared a film to outline daily life in the House, which was hilarious and extremely well done technically.

The students in the Persian Cluster integrated effortlessly into the House last fall. Now, in their second semester, the cluster members are

Members of the Persian Cluster From left:Kusha Karimi,Behrad Behbahani,William Shekarian, Rouzbeh Shams and Amir Farhangi.

striving to reach their academic potential and become more involved in the community. They are studying hard by helping and encouraging one another and are contributing their time and skills to the House clubs. In conclusion, the new Persian cluster is a welcome and valuable addition to the Language House.

For more on the Language House visit: [www.languages.umd.edu/lh].