Color Through Light

Stained Glass from Nasir al-Mulk Mosque (Shiraz) 

& Khaneh Tabatabaei-ha (Kashan)

Central Eurasian Studies & CEUS Pride

Since I've started graduate school at IUB, many people have asked me-- "why did you pick Indiana?" and "what's Central Asia?". I'd like to share some information regarding my department's program and highlight the unique opportunities at Indiana University when compared to other academic programs in the United States:

The Central Eurasian Studies Department, abbreviated as CEUS at Indiana University-Bloomington, is the premier program for the study of Central Asia in the United States. It is the only department that offers specialized M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Central Asian Studies in the U.S. and offers training in a number of less-commonly taught languages that are not taught anywhere else in the country. For example, this fall semester includes: Persian, Middle Persian/Pahlavi, Pashto, Dari, Turkish, Old Turkic, Tibetan, Old Tibetan, Mongolian, Classical Mongolian, Uzbek, Uyghur, Kazakh, Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian.
Since a number of these languages suffer from a lack of textbooks, the CeLCAR (Center for Languages for the Central Asian Languages) at IU develops their own. For example, CeLCAR has written textbooks for Pashto, Dari, Uzbek, Uyghur, and Tajik.

While there are other departments in the US and in Europe which offer classes on "Central Asia" and a select number of Eurasian/Near Eastern languages, Indiana University's program is premier because of its consistency to offer multiple levels of less commonly taught languages regardless of enrollment size. At many universities "Central Asia" does not warrant its own department as "Near Eastern Studies","East Asian Studies", and "South Asian Studies" so often does in the U.S..

As far as I can tell, IU is the only American university currently teaching Pahlavi/Middle Persian alongside the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. Additionally, CEUS balances rigorous language training with requiring their students to to become specialists in regional history, literature, and politics. Graduates from CEUS are well-equipped to continue in academia or pursue careers in government and consulting.

To become a specialist in Iranian/Afghan Studies takes years of training and I'm proud to be a student at IU. While CEUS is a small department, our mission is huge-- which is to maintain scholastic inquiry and to contribute to improving cross-cultural understanding of a region too often neglected.

Pahlavi Begins!

Classes started today at IUB and Pahlavi (Middle Persian) with Dr. Choksy already looks terrific. Pahlavi is an older form of modern Persian (or Farsi) and was officially used from 224-651 AD. It's largely associated with the Sasanian Dynasty and Zoroastrian texts. The Pahlavi writing system uses a modified Aramaic script with a few variants such as "Book Pahlavi" vs. "Inscriptional Pahlavi" which was used on coins and seals. It's written from right to left:

There's not really a 'textbook' for Middle Persian--just a handful of dictionaries from what I can tell.  Here's what we have lined up for the semester:
1) The Kārnāmag-ī Ardaxšīr-ī Pābagān or Book of the Deeds of Ardashir: The book narrates the epic adventures of King Ardashir, the founder of the forth Iranian dynasty, and the second Persian Empire. The story relates how Ardashir's father Papag, dreamed that his father Sasan would be reborn as Ardashir.
(In other words, a mythical genealogy story).

Ardashir's Coin

2)The Shahpur I Inscription: Shahpur I was the son of Ardashir and this is text describes the religious and political condition of the Sansanian Dynasty-- reminiscent of Behistun inscription of Darius I.

Shahpur's Coin

3) A selection of Zoroastrian texts--perhaps something like this: a page from the Pahlavi Denkard (a ninth century encyclopedia of the Zoroastrian religion)

4) The Bundahishn-- the Zoroastrian "creation story" and a source of Zoroastrian cosmogony/cosmology. 

Here's the intro page:

Vacation time! تعطیل

I just finished the Summer Workshop at IU-- and obtained a year's worth of language training in 8 weeks! Now I have some time off before starting fall classes-- which include Intermediate Persian, Urdu, and Middle Persian (Pahlavi).  This summer has felt like a full Persian immersion and I've learned so much. One of my favorite parts about this class has been the exposure to Iranian Cinema. Here are some of my favorite films:  (just a warning-- none of them have particularly happy endings, but I'm learning to appreciate the contemplative quality of Persian movies!). Enjoy :)

A Separation:

A married couple are faced with a difficult decision, to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimers.

http://www.movie2k.to/movie-953983-A%2bSeparation%2b*subtitled*.html
(ignore the advertisement placed in front of the screen)

Marmoulak (The Lizard):

Although a comedy, the film makes serious points about the clergy, religion, society in Iran, and life in general. Due to the film's perceived attacks towards clerics, the movie was banned from theatres in Iran after only being on screen for one month.

The Pear Tree:

This is the story of a serious man in the face of his intellectual black out as he finds more meaning to his life while rummaging through his childhood memory. 

http://youtu.be/2Sox1XbZqAo

Iftar in Mashhad

These are a series of photos from Fars News Agency by Meysam Dehghani taken in Mashhad, Iran.  Muslims gather at the Shrine of Imam Reza at sundown to break their fast--which is called "Iftar" during the month of Ramadan.  Traditionally, a date is eaten first alongside a cup of tea.  "Ramadan Mubarak" to my Persian friends!

For more information about Ramadan in Iran:

Imagining Iran: The Art of Samira Abbassy

The artist Samira Abbassy barely had a chance to know Iran, the country where she was born in 1965; she emigrated to London at the age of 2. As a Middle Eastern woman living first in Britain and then in the United States — she moved to New York in 1998 — Ms. Abbassy has described often feeling alone, isolated and displaced; she recalled little of her native country. Her paintings try to bridge this divide, depicting an imaginary space, a place of inclusion, in which she explores ideas of identity and her somewhat ambivalent relationship to Iranian culture. Ms. Abbassy is one of an Arab-Iranian minority of Arabic speakers in Iran, where the dominant language is Persian.
Inspired by Persian & Indian miniature painting tradition, as well as outsider art. Visually, Abbassys work reflects her cross-cultural heritage in a number of ways. She draws on the visual traditions of both Middle Eastern and Western art in a manner that is neither superficial nor eclectic, but rooted firmly in her belonging to both cultures. The recurring themes in her work aim toward a shared mythology and iconography that underlies both societies. She excavates through layers of often-contradictory cultural identity towards an understanding of her own background. Here's the link to her personal website:
http://www.samiraabbassy.com/index.html

Persian Bazaars بازارها ایران

Persian class has been feeling like a full immersion these past two weeks! We've had a heavy workload, but the material is interesting. Since we recently finished reading a chapter about Tehran's historic bazaar, I've collected a number of photos of it along with a few from Isfahan. Tehran's Grand Bazaar (located in the south of the city) was developed during the Safavid era and remains a popular tourist destination today.