Shows
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesYann Damizen: Songs from Beyond the GraveIn the 90th episode of Parse, dive into the poetic retelling of Nizami Ganjavi’s timeless love poem, Leyli u Majnun, by the award-winning poet and illustrator, Yann Damizen. In this book launch, you will hear from Aqsa Ijaz and Thomas Harrison who recently have translated Damizen’s work from French to English.
Dive into the poetic retelling of Nizami Ganjavi’s timeless love poem, Leyli u Majnun, by the award-winning poet and illustrator, Yann Damizen.
Majnun and Layla: Songs from Beyond the Grave
Translated from French by Aqsa Ijaz and Thomas Harrison.
Why d...2024-05-0316 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesCarlo Cereti: Eschatology and Apocalyptic Literature in the Zoroastrian ContextIn the 89th episode of Parse, Professor Carlo Cereti will present and discuss several passages taken from the Avesta and from Pahlavi literature, highlighting the chronological development of Zoroastrian thought about the end of times. The earliest texts to be discussed date to the early Achaemenid or immediately pre-Achaemenid period, while the later ones reflect Zoroastrian speculation in late Sasanian and early Islamic times.
Carlo G. Cereti has newly joined the University of California as Endowed Ferdowsi Chair in Zoroastrian Studies and Professor of Classics and Religions, having served since 2000 as Full Professor of Ir...2024-05-0314 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesNicholas Sims-Williams: Bactrian Documents and ArchivesThe 88th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a presentation given by Professor Nicolas Sims-Williams on surviving documents in the ancient Bactrian language, an Eastern Iranian language that has long been extinct. Numerous documents in Bactrian dating from the 4th-8th century CE have emerged since the early 1990s. They include letters, legal contracts and economic documents, mostly written on parchment; some of the latest documents are associated with a group of Arabic legal documents and tax receipts. Although there is no reliable information about where the documents were found, the majority can be shown from internal evidence...2024-05-0317 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesShiva Ahmad: Apocalyptic PlaylandIn the 87th episode of Parse, Learn more about the carefully illustrated worlds of celebrated artist Shiva Ahmadi, one of the featured artists in the exhibition Being & Belonging: Contemporary Women Artists from the Islamic World and Beyond, which took place in the ROM July2023 to January 2024. In this illustrated talk, Ahmadi shares deep insight into her personal and professional histories, and how they filter through and are expressed in her creative work.
Shiva Ahmadi‘s works cover a broad diversity of media, including watercolour painting, sculpture, and video animation. Having come of age in the tumultuous years fol...2024-05-0311 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesJenny Rose: "A Nice Morality", Early Meetings between Zoroastrians and AmericansThe 86th episode of Parse, is an except of Jenny Rose’s illustrated talk, based on research for her most recent book – Between Boston and Bombay: Cultural and Commercial Encounters of Yankees and Parsis 1771-1865 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019). Her book focuses on the early contact of Americans with Zoroastrians and their religion from the late 18th to the mid-19th century. American interest in the “Persian Religion” was informed initially through secondhand reports, but once direct trade with India was established close links were formed with Parsi merchants in Mumbai, which are documented in personal letters, journals, and logbooks now held in...2024-04-2017 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesLeila Pourtavaf: Gender in the Qajar ArchivesThe 85th episode of Parse provides some reflections on the archival traces of the Gulistan harem and its residents during Nasir al-Din Shah’s reign (1848-1896). The Gulistan harem was a woman-dominated homosocial space, housed in a unique domestic institution wherein tradition, modernity, piety, cosmopolitanism, gender, class and racial differences were negotiated by a host of local and transnational residents and visitors. Leila Pourtavaf examines the complex social and physical structure of this institution and the everyday life of its residents—at various points estimated to be between 700 and 2000 wives and female relatives, as well as different classes of empl...2024-04-2017 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesSupriya Gandhi: Munshis and their “Successors”The 84th episode of Parse is on Aziz Ahmad’s observations on “Hindu historiography,” in his book, Studies in Islamic Culture in the Indian Environment. The speaker in this talk, Supriya Gandhi, examines select Persian writings by eighteenth and nineteenth-century Hindu scribes and ask how they might illuminate the complex genealogies of modern Hindu thought.
Dr. Gandhi is a historian of South Asian religions who teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at Yale University. Her current book project draws on a corpus of neglected Persian and Urdu works to explore histories of religious universalism and secu...2024-04-2013 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesParisa Vaziri: Racial Blackness and Indian Ocean SlaveryBringing together cinema studies, Middle East studies, Black studies, and postcolonial theory, Parisa Vaziri’s new book, Racial Blackness and Indian Ocean Slavery explores African enslavement in the Indian Ocean through the little-known history of Iranian cinema. It shows that Iranian film reveals a resistance to facticity representative of the history of African enslavement in the Indian Ocean and preserves the legacy of African slavery in ways that resist its overpowering erasure in the popular and historical imagination.
Parisa Vaziri is an assistant professor of comparative literature at Cornell University. Her research and teaching interests explore critiques of...2024-04-2017 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesJairan Gahan: Sex and the Subject of Law in the National Archives of IranIn the historiography of modern Iran, legal archives are under-explored. Yet they are extremely rich sources that offer insight into the lifeworlds of marginal subjects, who exist at the threshold of the legitimate space of citizenship. In the 82nd episode of Parse, Dr. Jairan Gahan centers the constructed archival category of “sex-related crimes” to raise questions about the processes of producing archives – in particular legal archives – and what a critical approach to archives can offer scholars.
Jairan Gahan is the Executive Director of the Canadian Society for Iranian and Persian Studies. She is also an assistan...2024-04-2016 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesDomenico Ingenito: Lo parlo dai confini della notte/ I Speak from the Edges of the NightThe 81st episode of Parse is an excerpt of a talk given by Domenico Ingenito on his new book, من از نهایت شب حرف میزنم / Io parlo dai confini della notte/ I Speak from the Edges of the Night provides a critical edition and Italian translation of Forough Farrokhzad’s entire poetic production. The book features the Persian text of all the original collections of poetry published by Farrokhzad during her lifetime, along with pieces published posthumously, and a literary biography of Farrokhzad’s life and works.
Domenico Ingenito is an Associate Professor of Iranian Studies and premodern Persian Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles...2024-04-2015 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesEva Orthmann: Bilingual Texts from India & the Combining Arabic and Persian with Indic LanguagesThe 80th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a lecture given by Dr. Eva Orthmann titled, “Bilingual Texts from India: Combining Arabic and Persian with Indic Languages”.
Eva Orthmann is Professor of Iranian Studies at the University of Göttingen. She obtained her MA degree in Islamic and Iranian Studies at the University of Tübingen in 1995, followed by a PhD in 2000 at the University of Halle-Wittenberg. She has afterwards worked as assistant professor in Zurich and spent two years as research fellow in Yale. In 2007, Orthmann has been appointed professor of Islamic studies in Bonn wh...2024-02-1514 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesDr. Daniel Sheffield: Pragmatic Zoroastrian Theology & Mulla Firuz against the Anti-Vaxxers, Bombay, 1806The 79th of Parse is an excerpt of a talk given by Dr. Daniel Sheffield titled “Pragmatic Zoroastrian Theology: Mulla Firuz against the Anti-Vaxxers, Bombay, 1806”. The talk deals with how in the early 19th century when the smallpox vaccine first arrived in India, many Parsis were strongly against getting vaccinated because Zoroastrian priest Dastur Barjorji Khurshedji Darab Pahlanna issued a decree declaring vaccination to be impermissible for Zoroastrians, on account of what he viewed as a violation of Zoroastrian ritual purity laws concerning dead matter. Concerned with the potential failure of the Bombay government’s campaign to promote vaccination in the h...2024-02-1513 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesPouneh Shahbani-Jadidi: A Psycholinguistic Approach to Teaching Persian as a Second LanguageThe 78th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a talk given by Pouneh Shahbani-Jadidi titled “A Psycholinguistic Approach to Teaching Persian as a Second Language”.
Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi is an Instructional Professor of Persian at the University of Chicago. She was awarded a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Ottawa in 2012 and another Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from Tehran Azad University in 2004. Her research focuses on second language acquisition and pedagogy, as well as psycholinguistics and Persian literary translation. She is the author of Processing Compound Verbs in Persian: A Psycholinguistic Approach to Comp...2024-02-1512 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesPeyman Nojoumian: Using Virtual Reality in Task-Based Language TeachingThe 77th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a talk given by Dr. Peyman Nojoumian titled “Innovative Technology in the Language Classroom: Using Virtual Reality in Task-Based Language Teaching”.
Nojoumian is an Associate Professor (Teaching) of Persian at the University of Southern California. He holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Ottawa, Canada and two masters: one in Speech & Language Technology from KU Leuven, Belgium and one in Teaching Persian as a Foreign Language from Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran. He has published the Persian Learner Series and developed the Persian Learner’s Dictionary, a smartphon...2024-02-1514 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesZahra Khosrowshahi: Iranian Women Filmmakers & A Cinema of ResistanceThe 76th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a talk given by Zahra Khosrowshahi titled “Iranian Women Filmmakers: A Cinema of Resistance”. In this presentation, Zahra Khosroshahi discusses her current book project on the works of Iranian women filmmakers both inside and outside the country. She explores how women’s filmmaking confronts gender and representation, challenges the male gaze, and speaks from a position of agency.
Zahra Khosroshahi was an SSHRC postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto working on Iranian cinema. Currently, she is a Lecturer in Film and Television Studies at the University of Glasgow...2024-02-1513 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesErik Anonby & Jaffer Sheyholislami: Mapping Iranian Languages, using Kurdish as a Case StudyThe 75th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a talk given by Dr. Erik Anonby and Dr. Jaffer Sheyholislami on Mapping Iranian Languages, using Kurdish as the case study.
Erik Anonby is Professor of Linguistics and French at Carleton University. His research focuses on the documentation and mapping of Iran’s languages. Currently, he works with an international research team as editor of the Atlas of the Languages of Iran (ALI). Jaffer Sheyholislami is Professor in Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies at Carleton University as well. A world-renowned expert in the sociolinguistics of Iranian languages, with a f...2024-02-1512 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesMahbod Ghaffari: Grammaticalization of “Dāshtan”The 74th episode of Parse is an excerpt from talk a given by Dr. Mahbod Ghaffari titled the “Grammaticalization of “Dāshtan”.
Mahbod Ghaffari is an Associate in Persian Language and Culture at the University of Cambridge. He received his Ph.D. in linguistics in Iran and a certificate in “Leadership in Higher Education” from the University of Oxford. He has taught Persian language and culture, Iranian cinema, linguistics, methodology, and translation, at different universities since 1998. He has published Fārsi Biyāmuzim/Let’s Learn Persian series in 5 levels, Persian for Dummies in 2018 and developed www.persianlanguageonli...2024-02-1513 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesAli R. Abasi: Discourse Markers in PersianThe 73rd episode of Parse is an excerpt of a talk given by Dr. Ali R. Abasi titled “Discourse Markers in Persian: Description and Instructional Implications for Learners of Persian”.
Ali R. Abasi is an Associate Professor of Persian at the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Maryland. Trained as an applied linguist, his primary research interests include second language writing, discourse analysis, and teaching Persian to speakers of other languages. Some of his publications have appeared in such journals as Second Language Writing, English for Specific Purposes, Language and Politics, and the Internati...2024-02-1512 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesAzita H. Taleghani: Acquisition of Persian Differential Object Marker “râ”The 72nd episode of Parse is an excerpt from a talk given by Dr. Azita H. Taleghani titled “Acquisition of Persian Differential Object Marker “râ”: A Challenge for the Second Language Learners and Heritage Speakers.”
Taleghani is an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream in Persian language, literature, and linguistics at the University of Toronto. Her research has primarily focused on second-language learners and heritage speakers’ pedagogy, linguistic approaches in modern Persian literature, especially stylistic aspects in the poems of Persian women poets, Persian syntax, and morphology, as well as web-based and online language teaching.
To watch t...2024-02-1512 minParse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesKarine Megerdoomian: Linguistic Data Driven Approach to Persian PedagogyThe 71st episode of Parse is an excerpt a talk given by Karine Megerdoomian titled Linguistic Data Driven Approach to Persian Pedagogy: Practical Application to Compound Verbs. Megerdoomian is the Principal Artificial Intelligence Engineer at the MITRE Corporation. She is a theoretical and computational linguist specializing in less commonly taught languages, with emphasis on Persian and Armenian. Her computational experience has been mainly in morphological analysis, machine translation, information extraction, and lexical semantics.
To watch the full talk, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN9VSV7y7ZY&t=459s
2024-02-1513 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesNahal Akbari: Towards Critically Engaged Practice in Teaching Persian as an Additional LanguageThe 70th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a talk given by Nahal Akbari on the challenges that Persian language instructors might face in their commitment to inclusive and equitable teaching to a diverse group of heritage, non-heritage, and underrepresented students in their classrooms. Particular attention will be given to gender inclusiveness, linguistic diversity, and attitudes and identities from the theoretical perspective of critical language pedagogy. Nahal Akbari is a Clinical Assistant Professor and the Director of the Persian Language Programs at the University of Maryland. She has a PhD in second language education from the...2024-02-1415 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesMasoud Jasbi: Leaky Grammars and Language PedagogyThe 69th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a talk given by Masoud Jasbi on Persian language pedagogy, focusing on definiteness and pluralization in Persian and presenting several “leaky generalizations” that may have affected Persian language pedagogy. Jasbi suggests that a closer dialogue between theoretical linguistics and language pedagogy would reduce errors introduced by leaky generalizations and likely improve language learning in the classroom. Masoud Jasbi is an Assistant Professor of linguistics at UC Davis. His main areas of research include language acquisition, semantics, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, computational and experimental methods in linguistics.
To watch the ful...2024-02-1415 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesMaziyar Faridi: Notes on Politics of Friendship in Férydoun Rahnéma’s ModernismThe 68th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a talk given by Maziyar Faridi on Férydoun Rahnéma’s cinematic works. Faridi theorizes a notion of friendship-as-haunting at the understudied nexus between Rahnéma’s poetry, his theoretical writings on cinema, and his films.
Fereydoun Rahnema was an Iranian film director and poet. He is most known for his 1960 short film, Takht-e Jamshid (Persepolis), and his feature film, Siavash dar Takht-e Jamshid (Siavash in Persepolis) in 1965. Although none of his films saw a theatrical release, they were highly influential within the Iranian New Wave movement.
Maz...2024-02-1414 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesFarzaneh Hemmasi & Hannah Darabi: Sounds, Images and Archives of TehrangelesThe 67th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a multimedia presentation, panel discussion and double book launch focused on the post-revolutionary Iranian popular culture in “Tehrangeles” (a portmanteau deriving from a combination of Tehran and Los Angeles) -- a geographic area in Southern California between Los Angeles and Orange Country which is home to the largest concentration of Iranians outside of Iran. This event features the book Tehrangeles Dreaming: Intimacy and Imagination in Southern California’s Iranian Pop Music (published in 2020) by Dr. Farzaneh Hemmasi and Soleil of Persian Square (published in 2021) by Hannah Darabi. Hemmasi is an Associ...2024-02-1415 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesAsghar Seyed-Gohrab: Zhale Qa’em-Maqami and the Function of PoetryThe 66th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a talk given by Asghar Seyed-Gohrab titled “Depicting the Others: Zhale Qa’em-Maqami and the Function of Poetry”.
Professor Seyed-Gohrab is the new chair of Iranian and Persian studies at Utrecht University. Central to Seyed-Gohrab’s research is the study of medieval Persian poetry (both secular and religious) and its reception in the modern world, examining how medieval poetry, mystical concepts, and philosophical notions are deployed in modern Iranian politics, in popular culture, in visual representations, and in social media.
To watch the full talk, click...2024-02-1414 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesMaryam Ghorbankarimi: Rakhshan Banietemad’s Social RealismThe 65th episode of Parse is an excerpt of talk given by Maryam Ghorbankarimi titled “Rakshan Banietemad’s Social Realism”.
Maryam Ghorbankarimi is a lecturer in film practice at Lancaster University. She completed her Ph.D. in film studies at the University of Edinburgh in 2012 and her dissertation was published as a book entitled A Colourful Presence; The Evolution of Women’s Representation in Iranian Cinema in 2015. Her edited volume ReFocus: The Works of Rakshan Banietemad was published in 2021. Ghorbankarimi is also a filmmaker; she has made some award-winning short films in both short documentary and fiction...2024-02-1314 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesGeoffrey Haig: Corpus-based Approaches to the Typology of Iranian LanguagesThe 64th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a talk given by Geoffrey Haig titled “Corpus-based Approaches to the Typology of Iranian Languages”.
Geoffrey Haig is professor of linguistics in the Institute of Oriental Studies, University of Bamberg in Germany. His research is empirically oriented, with a focus on corpus-based approaches to language typology, and language contact in the Western Asian Transition Zone. He has also published widely on the diachronic syntax of Iranian languages, and been actively involved in language documentation in Western Iran.
To watch the full clip, click here: https...2024-02-1314 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesHamed Goharipour: Urban Transformations, Characters, and Conflicts in Iranian CinemaThe 63rd episode is an excerpt of a talk by Hamed Goharipour titled A Metropolis on the Screen: Urban Transformations, Characters, and Conflicts in Iranian Cinema.
Hamed Goharipour is an Assistant Professor of Urban Studies at the College of Wooster in Ohio. He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Design and Planning at Kansas State University. Goharipour’s research interests include the relationship between city and cinema, urban life and satisfaction, social justice and the city, and mega-events’ urban impacts. As a professional urbanist, he has a few years of experience working on different urban...2024-02-1312 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesMasoumeh Hashemi: The State Monopolization of Video-on-Demand Platforms in IranThe 62nd episode of Parse is an excerpt of talk given by Masoumeh Hashemi titled Control, Digital Censorship and Totalitarianism: The State Monopolization of Video-on-Demand Platforms in Iran.
Masoumeh Hashemi has an MA in film studies from the University of Concordia and is a researcher at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema there. She is currently working as a translator and researcher at Black Screen Office.
To watch the full talk, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKaO3hWuVrY&t=701s
2024-01-2016 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesBehrooz Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari: The Onomastics of Cinema Halls in TehranThe 61st episode of Parse is an excerpt of talk given by Behrooz Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari titled From Golden City to Felestin: The Onomastics of Cinema Halls in Tehran.
Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari received his Ph.D. in Linguistics from Allameh Tabatabaee University in Tehran (2003), and is currently an associate professor in the Department of Performing Arts, University of Tehran. He has published extensively in the areas of Iranian dramatic literature and the discourse analysis of drama.
To watch the full talk, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV3YHy57UdA&t=747s
2024-01-2012 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesAmir Ganjavie: Iranian Films in International Film FestivalsThe 60th episode of Parse is a lecture given by Amir Ganjavie on Iranian movies in international film festivals and the intersection of politics and arts surrounding their inclusion at these festivals.
Amir Ganjavi, who has a Ph.D. in communication and culture from York University, is a Toronto-based writer, cultural critic, festival director, community activist, and filmmaker.
To watch the full talk, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK_4EtuT4mo&t=457s
2024-01-2009 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesRazak Khan: Desire, Poetry, & Subjectivity in Persianate Literary Culture of South AsiaThe 59th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a lecture given by Razak Khan. Razak’s thesis revisits the question of desire and the making of poetic subjectivity in the Persianate literary archives of South Asia. It examines the nom de plume, life and poetry of Dagh Dehlvi, Munni Bai Hijab and Mir Yar Ali Khan Jan Sahib in the Persianate milieu of nineteenth-century Delhi, Rampur, Calcutta and Hyderabad. The paper attempts to read poetry as an affective archive of forbidden desires and emotions. Following Lacanian psychoanalytical approach, Khan proposes reading the desire for the “Other” in poetry to ret...2024-01-2014 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesFarshid Kazemi: The Emerging Horror Genre in Iranian CinemaThe 58th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a talk given by Farshid Kazemi the new and emerging horror genre in Iranian cienma.
Farshid Kazemi is Sessional Lecturer at the School for the Contemporary Arts, Simon Fraser University. He holds a PhD in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Edinburgh with a thesis on Iranian Cinema and Psychoanalysis. His research interests combine an interdisciplinary and theoretical approach to Film and Media Studies, Iranian Studies, and Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. His work has appeared in academic journals such as Camera Obscura, Journal of Mi...2024-01-2015 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesKhatereh Sheibani: Pioneer Female Directors, Writers, & Producers in Iranian CinemaThe 57th episode of Parse is an excerpt of talk given by Khatereh Sheibani on pioneer female directors, writers, and producers in Iranian cinema.
Khatereh Sheibani is a researcher of Iranian cinema and Persian literature. She has established Persian studies at York University, Canada, where she is currently teaching courses on Persian literature and culture, Iranian cinema, and Middle Eastern cinemas. Khatereh completed her doctorate degree in Comparative Literature and Film Studies at the University of Alberta, Canada in 2007. She has written articles on modern Persian literature, Iranian cinema and Middle Eastern cinemas in literary and film an...2024-01-2011 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesClaudia Yaghoobi on Sonia Balassanian: Writing the ImpossibleThe 56th episode of Parse is an excerpt of talk given by Claudia Yaghoobi which focuses on the Iranian-Armenian poet and artist Sonia Balassanian’s works, Yaghoobi argues that Balassanian treats writing (and art generally) as a medium which allows her to write the impossible, namely the 1915 Armenian Genocide.
Claudia Yaghoobi is a Roshan Institute Associate Professor in Persian Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She is the author of Transnational Culture in the Iranian Armenian Diaspora published in 2023, Temporary Marriage in Iran: Gender and Body Politics in Modern Iranian Literature and Film...2024-01-2015 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesFatemeh Keshavarz: The Gender of Persian PoetryThe 55th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a talk given by Fatemeh Keshavarz the potentially undesirable implications of the category “women poets.” in light of the ongoing and extensive current research on Iranian women poets. In this presentation, Kehsavarz discusses the poems of Parvin Etesami, Ahmad Shamlou, Forough Farrokhzad and Simin Behbahani in order to explore the pros and cons of gendering their work.
Fatemeh Keshavarz-Karamustafa, born and raised in the city of Shiraz, completed her studies in Shiraz University, and University of London. She taught at Washington University in St. Louis for over tw...2024-01-1209 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesKaveh Askari: Relaying Cinema in Midcentury IranThe 54th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a lecture given by Kaveh Askari on his 2022 book, Relaying Cinema in Midcentury Iran which offers a transcultural history of cinema’s circulation. It draws from multi-sited archives of films, distributor memos, licensing contracts, advertising programs, and audio recordings. The talk specifically focuses on the second chapter of the book, “Circulation Worries,” which tracks the work of those who worried over films, those who operated technologies of sound and image (especially dubbing technologies), and those engaged in the practical management of copyright. Focusing on a few high-profile moments of blockage, unprofi...2024-01-1215 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesRoshanak Kheshti: The Soundscape in Diasporic Iranian CinemaThe 53rd episode of Parse is an excerpt of a lecture given by Roshanak Kheshti. This talk explores the question of diegetic film sound in diasporic Iranian cinema through Ana Lily Amirpour’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Mitra Tabrizian’s Gholam and Bahman, and Ghobadi’s No One Knows About Persian Cats.
Roshanak Kheshti is Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies and affiliate faculty in the Critical Gender Studies Program at the University of California, San Diego and Associate Editor of the Journal of Popular Music Studies. She is the author of Modernity’s Ear: Lis...2024-01-1217 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesAhoo Najafian: On Feminine Voice in Classical Persian PoetryThe 52nd episode of Parse is an excerpt of a lecture given by Ahoo Najafian on the feminine voice in classical Persian poetry in the complicated network of contexts, including looking at the past through the lens of present, knowing the poets through the gaze of male authors, and composing poetry through the seemingly fixed structure of classical Persian poetics. Najafian focuses on three poets, namely, Mahsati Ganjavi (12th century), Padshah Khatun (13th century), and Jahan Malek Khatun (14th century), as they are represented in poetry anthologies and juxtapose some of their works with those of their male counterparts. ...2024-01-1212 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesGeoffrey Khan: Arabic Documents of Early Islamic KhorasanJoin host, Yasamin Jameh, in learning about the Arabic documents from early Islamic Khurasan. These documents demonstrate that Khorasan, located in the east of the Abbasid Empire, was the center of innovation in documentary practice and administration.
The 51st episode of Parse is an excerpt of a lecture given by Professor Geoffrey Khan where he describes the Arabic documents from early Islamic Khurasan or around the 8th century AD. Khan published this research in 2007 and in this lecture, he will discuss the importance of these documents for the understanding of the development of Arabic documentary culture. These do...2024-01-1214 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesRamiyar Parvez Karanjia: Functions of the Zoroastrian Fire TempleJoin host, Yasamin Jameh, in learning about the role of the fire temple in the Zoroastrian religion.
The 50th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a lecture given by Ervad Dr. Ramiyar Parvez Karanjia where he argues how the veneration of fire in the Zoroastrian fire temples is definitely not a direct worship of fire. Zoroastrians worship god in fire temples through the medium of fire. Hence it is wrong when some people regard Zoroastrians as fire-worshippers. Karanjia argues that he fire temple building is consecrated and made sacred trhough a special process. This lecture provides a...2024-01-1212 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesSamra Azarnouche: Earthquakes & Natural Disasters in ZoroastrianismJoin host, Yasamin Jameh, in learning about how the ancient Zoroastrian religion interpreted earthquakes.
The 49th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a lecture given by Samra E. Azarnouche on how the religion of ancient Iran, Zoroastrianism, addressed the phenomenon of earthquakes. Zoroastrianism was developed in a geographical area heavily affected by earthquakes and addressed this phenomenon in a very different way from other religions. Rather than being a manifestation of divine wrath or punishment, earthquakes for Zoroastrians of late antiquity were seen a phase in the process of cosmogony, or as a movement within a c...2024-01-1216 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesLaudan Nooshin: Sounds of TehranJoin host, Yasamin Jameh, in learning about the role of the fire temple in the Zoroastrian religion.
The 48th episode of Parse is an excerpt by a lecture given by Laudan Nooshin. In this presentation, Nooshin will draw on current research on the sounds of Tehran to explore this entanglement and in particular the nature of historical soundspaces with their layered sonic archaeology. Where do such sounds go and might it be possible to discover their reverberations today? How do we understand sound’s materiality as it enters spaces, bodies, buildings—impacting, shaping and changing them? And what...2024-01-1216 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesShabnam Golkhandan: An Intimate Lunch with Abu Torāb GhaffariThe 47th episode of Parse is a lecture given by Shabnam Golkhandan on the works of three prolific Iranian painters of the Qajar period, Sanī al-Mulk Ghaffārī Kāshānī, Abu Torāb Ghaffari Kāshānī and Mirzā Mehdī Khan Dzulfaqārī.
Shabnam Golkhandan is an Art historian and archivist, currently in charge of the Tavakoli Archives in Toronto. Golkhandan is also a doctoral candidate at the Department of History of Art at Yale University. Previously, Golkhandan held research fellowships both at the Yale University Art Gallery and before that in the Freer|Sackler Archive at the Smithsonia...2024-01-1215 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesNima Jamali: Inheritance in the Zoroastrian Legal TraditionThe 46th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a presentation given by Nima Jamali on inheritance in the Zoroastrian legal tradition. This lecture was part of the Zoroastrian Studies Symposium in honour of Ervard Dr. Jehan Bagli which took place at U of T on September 9th, 2023.
Nima Jamali is a former post-doctoral fellow at Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies where he worked on his monograph, “Thousands of Judgments: Dynamics of Legal Thinking in Sasanian Iran.”
He received his Ph.D. in 2021 from the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations (NMC), Univer...2024-01-1116 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesTed Good: Curiosity and Identity in the DenkardThe 45th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a presentation given by Ted Good on curiosity and identity in the Denkard. This lecture was part of the Zoroastrian Studies Symposium in honour of Ervard Dr. Jehan Bagli which took place at U of T on September 9th, 2023.
Ted Good received his BA in 2010 from the University of North Texas, where he studied philosophy, religion, and anthropology. From there, he focused on Zoroastrianism at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and the University of Chicago, earning MAs in religion in 2011 and 2014, respectively. Good completed h...2024-01-1112 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesJamsheed K. Choksy: Forgiveness and Mercy in Zoroastrian SocietiesIn this episode, join host, Yasamin Jameh, in learning about forgiveness and mercy in Zoroastrian societies.
The 44th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a presentation given by Dr. Jamsheed K. Choksy on forgiveness and mercy in Zoroastrian societies. This lecture was part of the Zoroastrian Studies Symposium in honour of Ervard Dr. Jehan Bagli which took place at U of T on September 9th, 2023.
Choksy is a Distinguished Professor and Director of the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center, and Interim Chairperson of the Department of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University, Blo...2024-01-1116 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesMiguel Ángel Andrés-Toledo: Avestan FootnotesJoin the host, Yasamin Jameh, for an exciting episode, a lecture given by Dr. Miguel Ángel Andrés-Toledo on Avestan Footnotes.
The 43rd episode of Parse is an excerpt of a presentation given by Dr. Andrés-Toledo as part of the Zoroastrian Studies Symposium in honour of Ervard Dr. Jehan Bagli which took place at U of T on September 9th, 2023.
Miguel Ángel Andrés-Toledo is the FEZANA Professor of Zoroastrian Languages & Literatures in the Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations. He received his PhD at the University of Salamanca, Spain. Before joining the University of Toront...2024-01-1114 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesEnrico Raffaelli: Zoroastrianism and Judaism in DialogueJoin the host, Yasamin Jameh, for an exciting episode, a lecture given by Dr. Enrico Raffaelli on the dialogue between Zoroastrianism and Judaism.
The 42nd episode of Parse is an excerpt of a presentation given by Dr, Raffaelli as part of the Zoroastrian Studies Symposium in honour of Ervard Dr. Jehan Bagli which took place at U of T on September 9th 2023.
Enrico Raffaelli is Associate Professor of History of Zoroastrianism at the University of Toronto’s Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations. His main areas of research include astrology in pre-Islamic Iran and Avesta...2024-01-1117 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesJesse Palsetia: The Parsis and Zoroastrianism in India
Welcome back to the 5th season Parse! Join the host, Yasamin Jameh, for an exciting episode, a lecture given by Dr. Jesse Palsetia on the Parsis of India.
Palsetia gave this lecture as part of the Zoroastrian Studies Symposium in honour of Ervard Dr. Jehan Bagli which took place at U of T on September 9th, 2023. Palsetia gives a brief history of the Parsis, an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism who are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of the Persian Empire t...2023-11-0817 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesPegah Shahbaz: Tracing Zoroaster in Ralph Waldo Emerson's Philosophy of Transcendentalism
Join host, Yasamin Jameh, on how Persian literature and Zoroastrianism influenced the preeminent 19th century American poet and philospher, Ralph Waldo Emerson.
The 40th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a presentation given by Dr. Pegah Shahbaz on how Persian literature and Zoroastrianism influenced Ralph Waldo Emerson’s philosophy of Transcendentalism, a highly popular movement in early 19th century United States. Transcendentalism believed in the inherent goodness of people and nature. It held that while society and its institutions have corrupted the purity of the individual, people are at their best when truly self-reliant and in...2023-11-0816 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesParvaneh Pourshariati: The Mazdakites, the Mithraists and later KhurramdinsJoin host, Yasamin Jameh, in learning about the Mazadakite Uprising of the late 5th century and early 6th century AD in the Sassanian Empire.
The 39th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a presentation given by Parvaneh Pourshariati in the Zoroastrian Studies Symposium in honour of Ervard Dr. Jehan Bagli which took place at U of T on September 9th, 2023. Professor Pourshariati expounds on her research on the Mazdakite Revolution in late antique Iran and its relation to later Mithraist and Khurramite movements. For context, Mazdak was a Zoroastrian priest and Prophet who sought to reform t...2023-11-0817 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesSaid Reza Huseini: Slavery in Eastern Iranian WorldJoin host, Yasamin Jameh, in learning about slavery in the Bactria, an ancient Iranian civilization in Central Asia centred in areas that comprise most of modern-day Afghanistan, parts of Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The 38th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a presentation given by Said Reza Huseini which addresses Bactrian documents and their importance for understanding the socio-political history of late antique Bactria. The documents were written in Bactrian, the only Middle Iranian language written in the Greek alphabet. They were found in the northern part of the Hindukush in modern Afghanistan, a region that roughly covere...2023-11-0817 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesClaudia Yaghoobi: Transnational Culture in the Iranian Armenian DiasporaJoin host, Yasamin Jameh, in learning about Claudia Yaghoobi’s new book, Transnational Culture in the Iranian Armenian Diaspora (2023).
The 37th episode of Parse is an excerpt from Professor Claudia Yaghoobi’s book launch at the Institute, titled Transnational Culture in the Iranian Armenian Diaspora. Her book studies the ways diasporic Iranian Armenian authors and artists negotiate their identities as a minoritized population within a liminal space that includes religious, ethnic, national, cultural, and gender factors.
Yaghoobi argues that this liminal state of fluidity allow Iranian Armenians to move beyond national boundaries yet simultaneously display the co...2023-11-0812 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesMichael Craig Hillman: Reading Forough Farrokhzad's Poems PoeticallyJoin host, Yasamin Jameh, in learning about the work of Craig Hillman, one of the foremost American scholars of Persian poetry and literary history.
The 36th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a lecture given by Michael Craig Hillman where does a close reading of Forugh Farrokhzad’s poems and analyzes them through the lens of American Formalism.
Hillman is a professor of Persian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He specializes in lyric Persian verse, Persian prose fiction from the 1920s through the 1970s, and literary autobiography. Since the late 1990s, he has...2023-11-0814 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesLeila Rahimi Bahmany: Forugh Farrokhzad, Modernity, and MadnessJoin host, Yasamin, in exploring and analyzing the modernist features of Forugh Farrokhzad's poetry, particularly the topic of female madness.
The 35th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a lecture given by Leila Rahimi Bahmany on Iranian poet, Forough Farrokhzad’s poetics of modernity. It will delineate the characteristic features of literary modernity that place Farrokhzad among the modernist poets of the 20th century. Among these modernist features is the topic of female madness. Dr. Bahmany is a research fellow and lecturer of Persian language at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. Her field of research is...2023-08-2715 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesSaad Eskander & Sara Farhan: The Looting and Repatriation of Iraq’s Archives (Part 2)Join host, Yasamin Jameh, in learning about the important role of Iraq's National Archives in helping Iraqis to rebuild and heal from their tumultuous recent history.
The 34th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a discussion between Saad Eskander and Sara Farhan. This interview is part of a more extensive seminar organized by the Iranian Studies Institute at U of T titled “The Looting and Repatriation of Iraq’s Archives”, which sheds light on how the US-led occupation of Iraq contributed to the looting and displacement of the vast holdings of Iraq’s Archives...2023-08-2617 minParse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesThabit AJ Abdullah: The Looting and Repatriation of Iraq's Archives (Part 1)Join host, Yasamin Jameh, in learning about the important role of Iraq's National Archives in helping Iraqis to rebuild and heal from their tumultuous recent history.
The 33rd episode of Parse is an excerpt from a lecture given by Thabit AJ Abdullah on the struggle to save the Iraq Archives from destruction in the many wars and conflicts that Iraq has experienced in the past decades. Abdullah’s speech is the first part of a more extensive seminar organized by the Iranian Studies Institute at U of T titled “The Looting and Repatriation of Iraq’s Archives: A Conv...2023-08-2614 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesAzerou Azad: The Bamiyan Papers aka. the Afghan GenizaIn this episode, join host Yasamin Jameh, in learning about the Bamiyan Papers which contain some of the oldest writings in New Persian ever recorded.
The 32nd episode of Parse is an excerpt from a lecture given by Arezou Azad on the Bamiyan Papers, a series of unpublished documents from the Bamiyan area in central Afghanistan made publicly available only in the last decade. Dr. Azad’s team at the University of Oxford, named the Invisible East, has been using these documents to provide a completely new discourse about the eastern Islamic and Iranian wor...2023-08-1313 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesJennifer Jenkins: The Iran Archives in the German Foreign OfficeIn the 31st episode of Parse, join host, Yasamin Jameh, in exploring the little-known role of Germany in Iran's internal and international affairs in the first half of the twentieth century.
This episode is an excerpt from a presentation given by Dr. Jennifer Jenkins on the enormous archive on Iran in the German Foreign Office in Berlin. Jenkin’s research into this little-known archive reveals how Iran’s modern history can be re-examined by emphasizing Germany’s major, but often forgotten, role in Iran’s geopolitical upheavals in the first half of the 20th century –...2023-08-1218 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesJamsheed K. Choksy: Happiness in the Zoroastrian Traditions of Iran & IndiaIn this episode, join host, Yasamin Jameh, in deciphering ancient notions of joy and happiness in the Zoroastrian traditions of Iran and India.
Welcome to the Season 3 finale of Parse! The 30th of Parse is an excerpt from a talk given by Dr. Jamsheed K. Choksy on Happiness in the Zoroastrian Traditions of Iran and India.
Choksy is a Distinguished Professor and Director of the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center, and Interim Chairperson of the Department of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. Choksy is considered one of t...2023-08-1216 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesSunil Sharma: Anthologies of Persianate Poetry by Women
In this episode, join host Yasamin Jameh, in uncovering the dozens of anthologies featuring female Persian poets that appeared in the 19th and early 20th century in Iran and Northern India. These anthologies shed much-needed light on the role of women in the male-dominated field of Persian poetry.
The 29th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a lecture given by Sunil Sharma on almost a dozen anthologies featuring female Persian (including Turkish and Urdu) poets that appeared in the nineteenth and early twentieth century in Iran and North India. Sharma explores th...2023-08-1115 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesNiki Akhavan: Iran-Iraq War Cinema in the New MillenniumIn this episode, join host, Yasamin, in exploring “Sacred Defense Cinema”, a niche genre in Iranian cinema which deals with topics related to the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988).
The 28th of Parse is a snippet of a talk given by Niki Akhavan on the large body of popular and officially supported Iranian cinematic works centered on the Iran-Iraq war or what is otherwise known as “Sacred Defense Cinema”. Throughout these decades, the representations of the war and themes related to it have shifted in accordance to the political exigencies of any particular moment. This talk focuses o...2023-08-0613 minParse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesSaeed Zeydabadi-Nejad: Multilinguality and Iranian Cinema
In this episode, join host, Yasamin Jameh, in exploring the representation of non-Persian Iranian languages in Iranian Cinema.
The 27th episode of Parse is an excerpt on a talk given by Saeed Zeydabadi-Nejad titled “Multilinguality and Iranian Cinema” where delves into the representation of non-Persian languages in Iranian movies and how these portrayals of “otherness” subvert the mask of linguist homogeneity in Iran.
Zeydabadi-Nejad is a research associate at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). His publications have focused on Iranian cinema and media. His monograph, The Politics o...2023-08-0610 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesMichelle Langford: Allegory in Iranian CinemaIn this episode, join host, Yasamin Jameh, in exploring how Iranian filmmakers use their culture's profound heritage in the field of hermeneutics to incorporate allegory in their cinematic works.
The 26th of Parse is a snippet of a talk given by Michelle Langford on the importance of allegory in many Iranian films, and how its use has become an indispensable tool for Iranian filmmakers to express forbidden topics and issues in their movies while also bypassing strict state censorship policies. By drawing on a long history of allegorical expression in Persian poetry and the...2023-06-2417 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesSimin Karimi: Current Research & Prospects in Iranian LinguisticsIn this episode, join host Yasamin Jameh, in unearthing the history of the Indo-European language family and how it emerged as a language category in the onset of British imperial domination of India during the 18th century. Furthermore, learn about the latest research taking place in the field of Iranian linguistics today.
The 25th episode of Parse is an excerpt of a talk given by Dr. Simin Karimi where she discusses the history of the Indo-European language family and more specifically, Iranian languages, starting in the 16th century. Furthermore, she discusses current trends and prosp...2023-06-1611 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesAlberto Cantera: Conception & Representation of the Zoroastrian Rituals
In this episode, join host Yasamin Jameh, in exploring the latest research on ancient Zoroastrian rituals contained in the Avesta.
The 24th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a talk given by Dr. Alberto Cantera on the Zoroastrian rituals contained in the Avesta, the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism. He focuses on the best-known ritual still performed by Zoroastrian communities: the long liturgy, commonly known as the Yasna. In this lecture, Cantera uses his vast knowledge and familiarity with Zoroastrian texts as the founder of the Avestan Digital Archive, an online platform for the pub...2023-06-1611 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesMona Tajali: Women's Political Representation in Iran & Turkey
The 23rd episode of Parse is an excerpt from a talk given by Mona Tajali on her new book, Women’s Political Representation in Iran and Turkey: Demanding a Seat at the Table. Her book explores how religious and cultural norms, attitudes, institutional structures, and voter behaviour affect the representation of women and the quality of democracy in Muslim contexts, with a comparative focus on Iran and Turkey.
Dr. Mona Tajali is an associate professor of international relations and women's, gender, and sexuality studies at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia. Tajali’s research and teaching interests fall i...2023-06-1611 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesSivan Balslev: Masculinity in Late Qajar and Early Pahlavi Iran
In this episode, join host Yasamin Jameh, in exploring the topic of Iranian Masculinities at the turn of the 20th century when Iran was experiencing tumultuous social, political, and economic transformations which destabilized long-held traditional power structures and cultural mores.
The 22nd episode of Parse is an excerpt from a presentation given by Dr. Sivan Balslev on her 2019 book, Iranian Masculinities: Gender and Sexuality in Late Qajar and Early Pahlavi Iran. Her book interweaves ideas and perceptions, laws, political movements, and men's practices to spotlight the role of men as gendered subjects in Iranian history. It shows...2023-06-1612 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesAlmut Hintze: On the Transmission of Zoroastrian TextsWelcome back to Parse! Thank you for tuning in to listen to the premiere of our third season!
In this episode, join host Yasamin Jameh, in uncovering the role of the Zoroastrian laity in preserving their ancient sacred texts like the Avesta despite intense adversity and persecution.
The 21st episode of Parse is an excerpt from a presentation given by Dr. Almut Hintze on the complex process of transmitting millennia-old Zoroastrian traditions, particularly religious texts like the Avesta, among the Zoroastrian community after the Arab conquest of Iran in 656 AD when Zoroastrians...2023-06-1611 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesFarangis Ghaderi: The Unsung Poetry of Kurdish WomenWelcome to the Season 2 finale of Parse! The 20th of Parse is an excerpt from a talk given by Farangis Ghaderi where she speaks on the rich, ancient, and varied tradition of Kurdish poetry, which has unfortunately been portrayed as a genre dominated by male poets when in reality many Kurdish women have equally contributed to developing and preserving it despite many hurdles Kurdish people have had to face during their history.
Ghaderi is a research fellow at the Centre for Kurdish Studies at the University of Exeter and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Jagiellonian Uni...2023-03-1913 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesPegah Shahbaz: Zib al-Nisa, the Hidden Poetess at the Mughal CourtThe 19th episode of Parse is a lecture given by Pegah Shahbaz where she speaks about the extensive cultural and literary contribution of the princesses of the Mughal Empire, a vast Persianate Empire that ruled much of the Indian subcontinent from the 16th century till the mid-19th centuries. Common misconceptions about Mughal princesses are that they lived idle lives in the Zenana, the women’s quarters of the imperial household, but Shahbaz reveals that it was quite the contrary since they yielded immense cultural, artistic, and even political power. Shahbaz describes this phenomenon through the life of Zib al...2023-03-1912 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesDominic Brookshaw: Early Qajar Women & their Engagement with the Bazgasht-i adabiThe 18th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a lecture given by Dominic Parviz Brookshaw where he explores the little-known involvement of women poets in the trajectory of the neoclassical Bazgasht-i adabi (“literary return movement”) in early Qajar Iran. Overlooked in the scholarship or dismissed as marginal, the evidence presented in this lecture will show that, that women poets were very active in the Bazgasht-i adabi, thus shattering certain preconceptions we have about women’s lives in early nineteenth-century Iran.
Brookshaw is an Associate Professor of Persian Literature at the University of Oxford, and a Senior Researc...2023-03-1911 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesFatemeh Shams: Gendered Personhood & DisplacementThe 17th episode of Parse is a lecture given by Fatemeh Shams where she explores the problematic categorization and labelling of poetry written by Iranian women in the last several centuries of the history of Iranian literature.
Fatemeh Shams is a specialist in Persian literature. She earned her Ph.D. in Oriental Studies from the University of Oxford, Wadham College. Currently, she is an assistant professor of Persian Literature at the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining Penn, she taught Persian language and literature in various academic institutions including the University of Oxford, the University of...2023-03-1911 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesZuzanna Olszewska: Afghan Women Poets in the Digital AgeThe 16th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a lecture given by Zuzanna Olszewska where she explores the poetry produced by Afghan women poets. She contends that Afghan women poets have benefited from educational opportunities and improved access to the public sphere in their countries of exile (like in neighbouring Iran and Pakistan, as well as Western countries) and in post-Taliban Afghanistan itself, therefore they are more active than ever before. This seminar is based on over 15 years of ethnographic research with Afghan poets in Iran and other countries, and it explores the themes, stylistic developments and modes...2023-03-1914 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesBlake Atwood: The Labor of Underground Video Dealers in IranThe 15th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a talk given by Blake Atwood where he discusses the vibrant video-based underground movie culture that developed in Iran through the 1980s and 1990s when videocassettes were officially banned in Iran. Atwood argues that post-revolutionary Iranian video dealers were cultural labourers, even as they worked informally outside the bounds of state and corporate regulation.
Atwood is an Associate Professor of Media Studies and Chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Media Studies at the American University of Beirut. His research explores the intersection of culture, pol...2023-03-1711 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesPedram Partovi: Subaltern Consciousness in Asghar Farhadi's The SalesmanThe 14th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a presentation given by Pedram Partovi where he argues that Iranian director, Asghar Farhadi draws on at least two different cinematic universes in his 2016 movie The Salesman to address the aesthetic and social values of Western critics and Iranian audiences. In doing so, the filmmakers and characters model a subaltern consciousness, adapted from Antonio Gramsci's analysis of "subaltern" social groups’ mediating role between the dominant and dominated, that has especially characterized the Iranian middle classes in their relationship with the hegemonic West since at least World War II.
Partovi...2023-03-1712 minParse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesAnne Démy-Geroe: The International Reception of Iranian Cinema 2000-2013The 13th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a presentation given by Dr. Anne Démy-Geroe on how Iran became a cinematic “hotspot” in the 1990s and Iranian films became an indispensable part of many international film festivals. Demy-Geroe’s presentation is based on her experience as a festival director and focuses on tracing a politically contextualized history of the reception of Iranian cinema in the West from 2000 to 2013, and will also briefly examine the response from the Iranian government.
Démy-Geroe teaches Asia Pacific cinema at Griffith University. An inaugural member of the Nominations Council for the As...2023-03-1712 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesSimran Bhalla: Film Production & Cultural Exchange at the Kanoon: 1965-1989The 12th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a talk given by Simran Bhalla where she discusses the founding of Kanoon, or the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults which was established in the 1960s as one of the several governmental organizations established to grow Iran’s cultural productions. Her presentation discusses how technocratic national development agendas resulted in a flourishing of modernist and experimental cinema at the Kanoon. Hence, Bhalla demonstrates the instrumental role of the Kanoon in laying the foundations for Iran’s renowned humanist film tradition.
Bhalla is a Po...2023-03-1714 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesFarzaneh Milani: The Poetics of ThresholdsWelcome back to Parse! Thank you for tuning in to listen to the premiere of our second season!
In this episode of Parse we have an excerpt from a talk given by Dr. Farzaneh Milani where she expounds on her theory of “Thresholds” and their importance in Iranian women’s literary tradition. According to Milani, “Thresholds” are an in-between space where binary modes of thought are disrupted. Standing at the intersection of East and West, inside and outside, local and global, Iranian women writers and poets are reorganizing the literary, political, cultural, and discursive landscapes...2023-03-0711 minParse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesAta Hoodashtian: Modernity Beyond the WestWelcome to the Season 1 Finale of Parse!
The 10th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a lecture given by Ata Hoodashtian titled “Modernity Beyond the West” where he discusses the history of Western European Modernity, and its interactions with non-Western cultures like Iran, during the processes of colonization, industrialization, and globalization.
Dr. Ata Hoodashtian received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Paris (St.Denis) in 1998 and received his MA and DEA in Philosophy from Sorbonne University in France. He has taught at the University of Paris for 10 years...2023-03-0615 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesSholeh Wolpé: Shame, Stigma, & Sin in Works of Persian Female PoetsThe 9th episode Parse is an excerpt from a talk given by Sholeh Wolpe, where she discusses aspects of the political and social consequences of the works of two distinct Iranian female poets from different time periods, Tahirih (who lived in the 19th century), and Forough Farrorkhzad (who lived in the mid-20th century). Wolpe analyzes how Tahirih and Farrokhzad’s physical, spiritual, and emotional expressions of intimacy in their poetry have had a far-reaching influence on the subsequent generations of female Iranian poets, including herself.
Wolpe is an Iranian-born poet, playwright, and librettist. Wol...2023-03-0512 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesFarzaneh Milani: A Literary Journey with Forough FarrokhzadThe 8th episode of Parse is an excerpt from a talk given by Farzaneh Milani in which she describes the profound influence the works of the Persian poet and filmmaker, Forough Farrokhzad, has had on her intellectual and career development. Milani recounts the challenges she has faced as a scholar of Farrokhzad’s life and works, and what can be done to bring Iranian female poets to the forefront of studies in Persian literature and poetry.
Farzaneh Milani is the Raymond J. Nelson Professor of Iranian literature and Gender Studies at the University of Vi...2023-03-0514 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesRivanne Sandler: Context and Concept, Early 20th Century Women PoetsDr. Rivanne Sandler is the Associate Professor Emerita of Iranian Women’s Literature in the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations at the University of Toronto. Her publications include studies of poets Parvin E’tesami, Simin Behbahani, and Forough Farrokhzad.
The seventh episode of Parse is an excerpt from a lecture given by Rivanne Sandler, “Context and Concept: Early 20th Century Women Poets” where she discusses how 19th-century and early 20th-century Iranian intellectuals advocated for female public participation in society as an essential part of their vision for a revitalized Iranian nation. These intellectuals were aided in their...2023-03-0412 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesHamid Naficy: Iranian Internet Cinema, A Cinema of Embodied ProtestDr. Hamid Naficy is a leading authority in the cultural studies of Iranian and Middle Eastern diaspora, exile, and postcolonial cinemas and media. Naficy is a Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University School of Communication, and has published nearly a dozen award-winning books and journal articles that have been cited, reprinted, and translated extensively. Additionally, he is a prolific filmmaker and curator, and has initiated Iranian film festivals in Los Angeles and Houston.
The sixth episode of Parse is an excerpt from a lecture given by Hamid Naficy titled “Iranian Internet Cinema: A Cinema of Embodied Protest” where he d...2023-03-0412 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesRowena Abdul Razak: "Occupation and Sovereignty", Britain and Iran’s Road to the UN, 1941-1946Dr. Rowena Abdul Razak received her DPhil in Oriental Studies from the University of Oxford where she looked at the Tudeh Party in British policy during the Second World War and early Cold War. She is currently a Guest Teacher at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
The Fifth Episode of Parse is an excerpt from a lecture given by Rowena Abdul Razak titled “Occupation and Sovereignty: Britain and Iran’s Road to the United Nations, 1941-1946". In this lecture, Razak explores the ironic and uncomfortable position Britain was in as a key...2023-03-0413 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesClaire Cooley: "Salaam Mumbai, Salaam Tehran!" Collaboration between Iranian and Indian CinemasDr. Claire Cooley is a postdoctoral fellow at Tufts University. Her research and teaching focus on film and media industries in the Global South, South-South media flows, Sound Studies, and Critical Infrastructure Studies. Her work has appeared in a range of publications including Film History, Jump Cut, and Spectator. Her current book project tells the interconnected history of cinema in the Middle East and South Asia from the turn of the 20th century to the 1960s.
The fourth episode of Parse is an excerpt from a lecture given by Claire Cooley titled “Salam Mumbai, Salam Tehran: Pasts an...2023-03-0411 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesAqsa Ijaz: The Influence of Nizāmī Ganjavi's Khusrau u Shīrīn in HindustanDr. Aqsa Ijaz is a specialist in classical Persian poetry and studies its reception in medieval and early modern India. As an essayist and translator, she has written for various international publications such as The World Literature Today and the Los Angeles Review of Books. Ijaz currently teaches Urdu at the University of Toronto Mississauga and is the co-manager of the Global Past Research Initiative there.
Nizāmī Ganjavi’s Persian love poem, Khusrau u Shīrīn is one of the most widely circulated romances in the Islamic world. Yet, modern scholars have surpri...2023-03-0411 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesAfsaneh Najmabadi: Familial UndercurrentsDr. Afsaneh Najmabadi is the Francis Lee Higginson Professor Emeritus of History and of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Harvard University.
In Familial Undercurrents, Najmabadi uncovers her family’s complex experiences of polygamous marriage to tell a larger story of the transformations of notions of love, marriage, and family life in mid-twentieth-century Iran. She traces how the idea of “marrying for love” and the desire for companionate, monogamous marriage acquired dominance in Tehran’s emerging urban middle class. Considering the role played in that process by late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century romance novels, r...2023-03-0410 min
Parse: An Exploration of Critical Topics in Iranian StudiesMahnaz Afkhami: The Other Side of SilenceWelcome to Season 1 of Parse, the official podcast of the Elaheh Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies at the University of Toronto.
The first episode of Parse is an excerpt from Mahnaz Afkhami's launch of her new book The Other Side of Silence: A Memoir of Exile, Iran, and the Global Women’s Movement.
Mahnaz Afkhami is a women's rights activist and the founder and president of the Women’s Learning Partnership and the Executive Director of the Foundation for Iranian Studies. Previously, between 1976 and 1978, she was the Minister of Wo...2023-03-0409 min
Middle East CentreCentres, Peripheries and New Histories of the Left in IranHow historians can gain new insights from global history, and how historians and histories of Iran can contribute Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Annual Lecture - Centres, Peripheries and New Histories of the Left in Iran
What can historians working on Iran gain from new insights generated in sprawling fields associated with global history such as global urban history and global intellectual history; and what can historians and histories of Iran contribute to these fields? With examples from recent and ongoing work on the history of the Iranian Left, and in particular, the revolutionary organization Sazman-e Charik-ha-ye Fada’i-ye Khalq or Fadais, Ras...2022-12-231h 07Middle East CentreAir Pollution, Toxicity, and Environmental Politics in the History of Iranian Oil NationalisationThis is a recording of a live webinar held on Friday 12th November 2021 for the MEC. Dr Mattin Biglari (SOAS, University of London) presents “Air Pollution, Toxicity, and Environmental Politics in the History of Iranian Oil Nationalisation”. Dr Stephanie Cronin (Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford) chairs this webinar.
As we witness the increasingly visible effects of the global climate emergency, it is paramount that the study of the environment is better integrated into the social sciences and humanities. This is especially so in the case of Iran, where the recent drying up of rivers in the province of Khuz...2021-12-0150 minMiddle East CentreAir Pollution, Toxicity, and Environmental Politics in the History of Iranian Oil NationalisationThis is a recording of a live webinar held on Friday 12th November 2021 for the MEC. Dr Mattin Biglari (SOAS, University of London) presents “Air Pollution, Toxicity, and Environmental Politics in the History of Iranian Oil Nationalisation”. Dr Stephanie Cronin (Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford) chairs this webinar.
As we witness the increasingly visible effects of the global climate emergency, it is paramount that the study of the environment is better integrated into the social sciences and humanities. This is especially so in the case of Iran, where the recent drying up of rivers in the province of Khuz...2021-12-0158 minMiddle East CentreElahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Annual Lecture - Iran and the Arab Uprisings: Opportunity Grasped or Squandered?Sponsored in association with Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali, Founder and Chair, Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute. With Professor Anoush Ehteshami (Professor of International Relations in the School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University) The event is chaired by Dr Stephanie Cronin (St Antony's College, Oxford), Q and A moderated by Professor Eugene Rogan (St Antony's College, Oxford). Part of the MEC Friday Seminar series
The Arab uprisings of a decade ago threatened to redraw the political map of the Middle East and North Africa region, and set in motion forces that as first sight appeared to be out of the control o...2021-03-1958 minMiddle East CentreElahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Annual Lecture - Iran and the Arab Uprisings: Opportunity Grasped or Squandered?Sponsored in association with Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali, Founder and Chair, Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute. With Professor Anoush Ehteshami (Professor of International Relations in the School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University) The event is chaired by Dr Stephanie Cronin (St Antony's College, Oxford), Q and A moderated by Professor Eugene Rogan (St Antony's College, Oxford). Part of the MEC Friday Seminar series
The Arab uprisings of a decade ago threatened to redraw the political map of the Middle East and North Africa region, and set in motion forces that as first sight appeared to be out of the control o...2021-03-191h 02