Persian Immersion خوش آمدید: Latest Reads

The fall semester is more than half way over and I can't believe how much I've read since starting classes in August. When people ask me what I've been up to, my usual answers are either 'translating' or 'reading'. Aside from a couple of Zoroastrian texts, most of my readings are Middle Eastern/Central Asian ethnographies or about Islam. Here's the full list! :

Orientalism (Said)

The Ethical Soundscape: Cassette Sermons and Islamic Counterpublics (Hirschkind)

Arab Women in the Field: Studying your own Society (ed. Altorki)

Islam in Post-Soviet Uzbekistan: The Morality of Experience (Rasanayagam)

Everyday Islam in Post-Soviet Central Asia (Louw)

Princeton Readings in Islamist Thought: Texts and Contexts from al-Banna to Bin Laden (ed. Euben)

Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History (Barfield)

Bartered Brides: Politics, Gender and Marriage in an Afghan Tribal Society (Tapper)

Before Taliban : Genealogies of the Afghan Jihad (Edwards)

Local Politics in Afghanistan: A Century of Intervention in Social Order (ed. Schetter)

The Politics of Muslim Cultural Reform: Jadidism in Central Asia (Khalid)

The New Woman in Uzbekistan: Islam, Modernity, and Unveiling Under Communism (Kamp)

Veiled Empire: Gender and Power in Stalinist Central Asia (Northrop)

Living Islam: Women, Religion, and the Politicization of Culture in Turkey (Saktanber)

The New Crusade: Constructing the Muslim Enemy (ed. Qureshi)

Select Counsels of the Ancient Sages, also known as 'The Book of Counsel of Zartosht' (Middle Persian)

The Bundahishn ("Creation"), or Knowledge from the Zand (Middle Persian)

Portrait of a Painter: 15th century, 'Persian Painting on Facebook'

I think one of the tricks to keep your self motivated in graduate school is finding inspiration --things that get you excited and make you feel connected to the field. I always find inspiration in art and art history, so here are a couple of my favorite sites:

Facebook: Persian Painting (great collection of miniatures)...thanks to my mom for finding this one!

https://www.facebook.com/persian.paintings?fref=ts

Facebook: Cult of the Ancient Gods (lots of ancient Persian art from Fars Province)

https://www.facebook.com/cultoftheancientGods?fref=ts

Tumblr: That Bohemian Girl (a beautiful style/fashion blog with Orientalist flare)

http://thatbohemiangirl.tumblr.com/

Homa Delvaray (graphic designer from Iran)

http://www.homadelvaray.com/