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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260422T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260422T180000
DTSTAMP:20260430T123920
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SUMMARY:Pourdavoud Lecture Series: Jake Nabel
DESCRIPTION:Misunderstanding in Ancient Interstate Relations\nThe Arsacid Princes of the Roman Empire\nJake Nabel (Pennsylvania State University)\nWednesday\, April 22\, 2026 at 4:00 pm Pacific Time\nRoyce Hall 306 and Via Zoom\n  \nRegistration Link: https://forms.gle/ZFb7yBFBeEs2VfMt6 \nZoom: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/92060104969 \n\nIn the first century CE\, several Arsacid princes from the Iranian empire of Parthia were sent to live at the court of the Roman emperor. While Roman authors called these figures “hostages” and scholars have studied them as such\, this talk will employ Iranian and Armenian sources to argue that the Parthians would have seen them as the emperor’s foster-children. These divergent perspectives allowed each empire to perceive itself as superior to the other\, since the two sides interpreted the transfer of royal children through conflicting cultural frameworks. Moving beyond the paradigms of anarchy and hierarchy\, this focus advances a new vision of interstate relations with misunderstanding at its center. The talk is based on the book The Arsacids of Rome\, which was recently published by the University of California Press in the Pourdavoud Institute’s Iran and the Ancient World series. \n\nAbout the Speaker\nJake Nabel is the Tombros Early Career Professor of Classical Studies and an Assistant Professor of Classics & Ancient Mediterranean Studies at Penn State. He is a historian of ancient Rome\, pre-Islamic Iran\, and the points of contact between the two. Jake has published on Roman-Parthian relations\, Latin and Iranian literature\, ancient political thought\, and the Hellenistic east. His current book project is on the concept of freedom in late antique Iran. \nAbout the Book\nA free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos\, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. \nAt the beginning of the common era\, the two major imperial powers of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East were Rome and Parthia. In this book\, Jake Nabel analyzes Roman-Parthian interstate politics by focusing on a group of princes from the Arsacid family—the ruling dynasty of Parthia—who were sent to live at the Roman court. Although Roman authors called these figures “hostages” and scholars have studied them as such\, Nabel draws on Iranian and Armenian sources to argue that the Parthians would have seen them as the emperor’s foster-children. These divergent perspectives allowed each empire to perceive itself as superior to the other\, since the two sides interpreted the exchange of royal children through conflicting cultural frameworks. Moving beyond the paradigm of great powers in conflict\, The Arsacids of Rome advances a new vision of interstate relations with misunderstanding at its center.
URL:https://humanities.ucla.edu/event/pourdavoud-lecture-series-jake-nabel/
LOCATION:Royce 306
CATEGORIES:Iranian,Near Eastern Languages and Cultures,Pourdavoud Institute
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END:VEVENT
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260316T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260316T160000
DTSTAMP:20260430T123920
CREATED:20260108T205619Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260316T234802Z
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SUMMARY:Bilingual Lecture Series: Pamela Karimi
DESCRIPTION:Women\, Art\, Freedom: Artists and Street Politics in Iran\nPamela Karimi (Cornell University)\nMonday March 16\, 2026\, at 2:00pm\nOnline via Zoom\nRegistration Required\nhttps://ucla.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mvqHL0u4QFGuYqFdFbiikg\nDownload the event flyer here\n  \nThis talk\, based on Pamela Karimi’s 2024 book Women\, Art\, Freedom: Artists and Street Politics in Iran\, traces the 2022 Woman\, Life\, Freedom uprising catalyzed by the tragic death of Jina Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the “morality police.” Beyond its feminist core and the extraordinary courage of young protesters\, Karimi emphasizes that what truly distinguishes this movement is the scale and diversity of its art. Rather than focusing solely on viral images\, the talk foregrounds grassroots artistic practices that reshaped local public life. Drawing on interviews with Iran-based artists\, it highlights how creative work fueled guerrilla interventions\, street occupations\, and nonviolent civil disobedience. Set against a wide historical and theoretical backdrop\, the presentation maps the genealogies of Iranian protest art and examines the entanglement of public space\, women’s bodies\, and para-feminist imaginaries. Ultimately\, Karimi argues that artists are not merely witnesses to upheaval but rather architects of collective action and essential agents in broader struggles for justice and equality. \nPamela Karimi is an architect and historian of modern and contemporary art and architecture of the Middle East. She earned her Ph.D. from MIT in 2009 and is currently Associate Professor at Cornell University. Her interdisciplinary research bridges architecture\, art\, environmental studies\, and socio-political dynamics. Karimi is the author of Domesticity and Consumer Culture in Iran (2013; translation into Persian in 2021)\, Alternative Iran: Contemporary Art and Critical Spatial Practice (Stanford University Press\, 2022)\, Women\, Art\, Freedom: Artists and Street Politics in Iran (Leuven/Cornell University Press)\, and is completing Survival by Design: Desert Architecture at the End of the World\, a study of architecture and environmental transformations in arid regions. Her most recent book\, upon which this talk is based and which was supported by the Persian Heritage Foundation\, examines grassroots artistic movements in the 2022 Woman\, Life\, Freedom uprising. Karimi’s work also extends globally\, from coediting The Destruction of Cultural Heritage: From Napoleon to ISIS to curating the traveling exhibition Black Spaces Matter. Widely recognized by outlets such as NPR\, the BBC\, and The Washington Post\, her scholarship highlights the intersections of design\, politics\, and ecology across diverse contexts.
URL:https://humanities.ucla.edu/event/bilingual-lecture-series-pamela-karimi/
LOCATION:Online Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Iranian,Near Eastern Languages and Cultures
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ORGANIZER;CN="UCLA Iranian Studies":MAILTO:iranianstudies@humnet.ucla.edu
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260304T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260304T180000
DTSTAMP:20260430T123920
CREATED:20260211T223320Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260304T233250Z
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SUMMARY:Biennial Yarshater Lecture Series: Frantz Grenet
DESCRIPTION:Ancient Iran and Central Asia: Interactions and Shifting Identities\nMarch 4–11\, 2026 \nA Series of Four Lectures at 4:00 pm \nRoyce Hall 314 \nRSVP Link: https://forms.gle/fiCSCpULf7H3nJ6H8 \nThe Pourdavoud Institute and Yarshater Center welcome Frantz Grenet (Collège de France) in March to deliver the four-part Biennial Yarshater Lecture Series on the theme\, “Ancient Iran and Central Asia: Interactions and Shifting Identities.” \nLecture 1: Wednesday\, March 4\, 4:00 pm PST\nA World between Worlds: Geography\, History\, and Identity of the Early Kušāns (First Century CE) \nThis geographic and historical introduction to the Kušāns focuses on the multiple cultural affiliations and identities of the Kušān rulers and their empire\, emphasizing the impact their neighbors had on identity formation and development. \nSeveral vectors may have contributed to the development of Kušān identity. First\, the historical heritage of the steppes prompts the question of the original language of the Yuezhi confederation\, the cradle of the Kušān dynasty. This question is now being informed by the so-called “unknown script\,” which has been deciphered and proven to be an early notation of the Bactrian language. Cultural interactions with their steppe neighbor to the north\, the Kangju empire\, certainly affected the Kušān worldview. This influence may be reflected in evidence such as their self-representation in the Khalchayan reliefs depicting a frontier war with the Kangju\, whose own markedly bellicose identity is expressed on the Orlat bone plaque. \nSecond\, the Hellenistic background of the Kušāns cannot be overlooked. The Kušāns experienced a unique mixture of steppe heritage (as seen at Tillia Tepe) and western influences through contact with the Roman East via maritime trade (as seen on Kujula Kadphises’s Augustan-style coinage). \nThird\, Hindu cults left a lasting impact on the Kušāns\, which can be observed in the coinage of Vima Kadphises. Fourth\, the relationship with the Parthians can be defined as one of “peaceful coexistence\,” which was disrupted by the Sasanians’ rise to power\, leading to territorial and commercial expansion that\, however\, had only limited effects in the religious sphere. \nLecture 2: Friday\, March 6\, 4:00 pm PST\nKušān Rulers: In Search of an Imperial Narrative (Second to Fourth Centuries CE) \nEvidence such as coinage\, the Rabatak inscription\, the archaeological site of Surkh Kotal\, and Huviška’s cotton painting sheds light on the political discourse of the Kušāns. Kaniška’s (r. 126–c. 150) ideological program focused on the following: \n(1) abandoning the Greek script in diplomatic discourse\, favoring an “Aryan” (that is\, the Bactrian) language; and utilizing Indian titles (e.g.\, devaputra “son of god”) on the eastern side of the empire; \n(2) incorporating Achaemenid formulaic language into the self-presentation of the sources of his power; and \n(3) emphasizing a multicultural message rooted in religious plurality. \nThe latter point is evidenced by the observance of a specific iteration of Zoroastrianism\, the patronage of multiple Indian cults (including Buddhism\, though primarily at a local Indian level)\, and support for a more elaborate form of syncretism through the promotion of two specific religious figures: Wēš\, a version of the god Vayu addressing the Shivaites\, and Manāvagh\, a version of Vohu Manah addressing the Vishnuites. \nThese tendencies were further developed under the successor dynasty of the Kušāno-Sasanians (c. 280–400 CE). Such actions served to consolidate Kušān rule\, foster a shared cultural identity across the vast empire\, and facilitate the spread of ideas along the Silk Road. \nLecture 3: Monday\, March 9\, 4:00 pm PDT\nEastern Iranian Contributions to the Construction of the Šāhnāme: Kušāno-Sasanians\, Sīstānīs\, and Sogdians (Fourth to Eighth Centuries CE) \nDiplomatic discourse furthered the ideological construction of a (pan-)Iranian identity\, but literature\, particularly the mytho-epic traditions\, also contributed to this process. References to the Kayanids existed in Kušāno-Sasanian royal onomastics before they appeared in Sasanian royalty. Clusters of Kayanid toponyms are attested in eastern Bactria\, and may also date to the Kušāno-Sasanian period. Early literary evidence for the Šāhnāme includes references to a “proto-Šāhnāme” of which a Sogdian fragment containing an episode of Rostam bears witness. The first pictorial representation of a Šāhnāme episode anywhere in the Iranian world appears in a mural painting at Kuh-e Ḵvājah\, dating to the fifth or sixth century. In the later period\, four Šāhnāme or peri-Šāhnāme episodes have been identified\, some very recently\, in Sogdian paintings of the eighth century. Interestingly\, these paintings attest to a self-identification of the Sogdians as Iranians\, rather than Turanians\, during this early phase in the development of the Šāhnāme. \nLecture 4: Wednesday\, March 11\, 4:00 pm PDT\nPhilhellenism among the Hunnic Elites (Fifth to Seventh Centuries CE) \nAlthough the Kušāns construed a (pan-)Iranian identity as evinced by geography\, shared historical and cultural backgrounds\, imperial discourse\, language choice\, religious pluralism\, and literary culture\, some of the post-Kušānites (e.g.\, the Huns\, Hephthalites)\, however—both in reaction to this model and in order to forge a specific counter-identity—had recourse to Greek cultural practices (including imagery and possibly theatrical performances) to underscore their own identities vis-à-vis the Sasanian/Iranian world. Silverware\, the most prestigious and politically controlled artistic product of the period in Bactria-Gandhara (and eventually Sogdiana)\, offers a broad repertoire of Greek subjects but never any allusion to the Iranian heroic cycle then in the process of formation\, as may be seen in extant wall paintings. Some Jewish elites were also part of this cultural orientation. Images of the “Roman wolf” on coins and wall paintings in the seventh and eighth centuries bear witness to a “Philoroman” (in fact\, Philobyzantine) tendency\, consistent with the attested diplomatic contacts of the time. \nAfter the completion of the Muslim conquest in the second half of the eighth century\, the Bactrian and Sogdian languages ceased to be in use (with the exception of Sogdian in merchant colonies and in Christian and Manichaean communities). References to the Hellenistic culture were thereafter limited to the spheres of science and philosophy (as in other parts of the Islamic West). Iranian traditions carried forward by the milieu of the dehqāns were hardly able to retain eastern Iranian specificities: they merged into the al-‘Ajam\, Iranian culture lato-sensu\, whose literary languages were Arabic and later Persian. Emerging local dynasties forged Sasanian pedigree and did not claim links to earlier local polities (with the exception of Khorezm). \nAbout the Speaker\n\nFrantz Grenet has been Professor at the Collège de France since 2013 and currently holds the chair of History and Cultures of Pre-Islamic Central Asia (Histoire et cultures de l’Asie centrale préislamique). \nHe studied at the École Normale Supérieure\, Paris (1972–1977)\, focusing on the history and archaeology of Central Asia and the history of Zoroastrianism as his main fields of research. From 1977 to 1981\, he was deputy director of the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan (FADA) and participated in the excavations at Ai Khanum under the directorship of Paul Bernard. From 1981 to 2013\, he was a research fellow at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)\, Paris. \nProfessor Grenet serves as director of the French-Uzbek Archaeological Mission in Sogdiana (1989–2014\, and again since 2021)\, working mainly at Samarkand. Before taking up his position at the Collège de France\, he was professor at the École Pratique des Hautes Etudes (1999–2014)\, holding the chair of Religions of the Ancient Iranian World. Professor Grenet is a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (inducted 2022)\, a member of the American Philosophical Society (joined 2017)\, a fellow of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (member of the Advisory Board\, 2013–2017)\, and a board member of the Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum. He is also an honorary citizen of Samarkand (naturalized in 2018). Professor Grenet served as president of the scientific committee of the exhibition Splendeurs des oasis d’Ouzbékistan (Louvre\, November 23\, 2022 – March 6\, 2023). \nHis main publications include: Les pratiques funéraires dans l’Asie centrale sédentaire de la conquête grecque à l’islamisation (Paris\, 1984); A History of Zoroastrianism\, vol. 3\, Zoroastrianism under Macedonian and Roman Rule (Leiden\, 1991; with Mary Boyce); La geste d’Ardashir\, fils de Pâbak (Die\, 2003); and The Golden Journey to Samarkand (selected articles translated into Chinese; Guilin\, 2017). He has most recently collaborated with Nicholas Sims-Williams on The ‘Ancient Letters’ and Other Early Sogdian Documents and Inscriptions (2023)\, and Bactrian Documents IV (2025) as part of the Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum. He has produced seven edited or coedited collective volumes and approximately 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals\, published in French\, English\, Russian\, Persian\, Chinese\, and Japanese.
URL:https://humanities.ucla.edu/event/biennial-yarshater-lecture-series-frantz-grenet/
LOCATION:Royce Hall 314
CATEGORIES:Iranian,Near Eastern Languages and Cultures,Yarshater Center
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://humanities.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-03-04_Grenet-web-image-P6T1bB.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260225T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260225T180000
DTSTAMP:20260430T123920
CREATED:20260121T213348Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260225T231801Z
UID:2194720-1772035200-1772042400@humanities.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Pourdavoud Lecture Series: Verena Lepper
DESCRIPTION:Elephantine Goes Global: Island of the Millennia\nWednesday\, February 25\, 2026\n4:00pm\nRoyce Hall 306\n  \nAlternate Live Stream on Zoom: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/94774888079\nRSVP Link: https://forms.gle/uhWcmWsk8DDH1Rdv9\n  \nOver a period of ten years a research project funded by the European Research Council (ERC) was conducted at the National Museums in Berlin entitled “Localizing 4000 years of Cultural History. Texts and Scripts from Elephantine Island in Egypt.” Elephantine is an island on the Nile River in southern Egypt. Some of the research results are the digitalization\, transcription\, and translation of more than 10\,000 texts written on papyrus or clay shards in ten different languages and scripts\, including hieroglyphics\, Hieratic\, Aramaic\, Coptic\, and Arabic. Following this research\, an exhibition was carried out on Berlin’s Museum Island\, entitled: “Elephantine. Island of the Millennia.” The online version of this exhibition has been made available very recently and will be discussed here. The entire exhibition is trilingual\, carried out in Arabic\, English\, and German\, and was put together in close collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry for Tourism and Antiquities. Museums and research can function as soft power. The exhibition and this talk showcase the relevance of 4\,000 years of cultural history across several different ancient ethnic groups\, including contemporary art. Thus “Elephantine Goes Global” now. \n  \nVerena Lepper is the Head of the Department of Antiquities at the Getty Villa and joined the J. Paul Getty Museum in October 2025. A distinguished Egyptologist and curator\, she served for eighteen years as Curator of Egyptian and Oriental Papyri at the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection\, Berlin (National Museums Berlin). Lepper has led major international exhibitions and research projects in Germany and abroad\, including in Doha\, Abu Dhabi\, and at Harvard University. She also directed the Institute of Ancient Near Eastern and Hellenistic Religion at Humboldt University in Berlin. Her research focuses on Egyptian and Oriental papyri\, language and religion\, as well as literary and cultural history\, and the history of science and the arts. To strengthen cultural diplomacy between Germany and the Arab world\, she founded in 2013 the Arab German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA)\, which she continues to lead. She serves on several committees and supervisory boards focused on cultural and science policy. She was educated at Bonn\, Oxford and Harvard University and is the author of twenty books and numerous articles for which she received several awards.
URL:https://humanities.ucla.edu/event/pourdavoud-lecture-series-verena-lepper/
LOCATION:Royce 306
CATEGORIES:Iranian,Near Eastern Languages and Cultures,Pourdavoud Institute
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260222T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260222T180000
DTSTAMP:20260430T123920
CREATED:20260108T205617Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260205T221754Z
UID:2194313-1771776000-1771783200@humanities.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Bilingual Lecture Series: Hashem Pesaran
DESCRIPTION:Sanctions\, Economic Mismanagements\, and Reforms of the Iranian Economy\n  \nHashem Pesaran\nUniversity of Southern California and Cambridge University\n\nSunday\, February 22\, 2026\nRoyce Hall 314\nAlternate Live Stream: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/95091548778\n(no registration required for Zoom access)\n  \nDownload event flyer here\n  \nThis talk will start with an overview of the Iranian economy since the 1979 Revolution and discusses how a combination of sanctions with varying degrees of severity and economic mismanagements have resulted in low economic growth\, high unemployment\, and rising inflation. There are clear links between sanctions\, the need to circumvent their effects\, and economic mismanagements. If these sanctions are here to stay\, what is the appropriate response both nationally and globally? Should a path of economic resilience through state control or fundamental market reforms be considered? I will explore the pros and cons of alternative strategies of living with sanctions\, drawing lessons from the ill-faithed subsidy reform program launched in December 2010 under Ahmadinejad’s Presidency. I shall highlight the differential effects that economic reforms are likely to have across socioeconomic groups in short and medium terms\, that further complicate policy responses. \n  \nDr. M. Hashem Pesaran is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics at University of Southern California\, Emeritus Professor of Economics at Cambridge University\, and a Lifetime Fellow of Trinity College\, Cambridge. Previously\, he was head of the Economic Research Department of the Central Bank of Iran (1974-76) and the Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Education (1976-78)\, Iran. He has also been a Professor of Economics and the Director of the Applied Econometrics Program at UCLA (1989-93. Dr. Pesaran is a Fellow of the British Academy\, the Econometric Society\, and the Journal of Econometrics. He was awarded Honorary Doctorates by the University of Salford in 1993\, the University of Goethe\, Frankfurt in 2008\, the University of Maastricht in 2013 and the University of Economics in Prague in 2016. In September 2013 he was named as Thomson Reuters Citation Laureate in Economics. More recently he was named by Thomson Reuters as one of the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds for 2014 and 2015. He has served as consultant to the United Nations\, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Dr. Pesaran is the founding editor of the Journal of Applied Econometrics\, and a founding Board Member of the International Association for Applied Econometrics. He has published over 250 articles in academic journals and edited volumes\, and 19 books and edited volumes.
URL:https://humanities.ucla.edu/event/bilingual-lecture-series-hashem-pesaran/
LOCATION:Royce Hall 314
CATEGORIES:Iranian,Near Eastern Languages and Cultures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://humanities.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-02-22_Pesaran-web-image-4SLkQD.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="UCLA Iranian Studies":MAILTO:iranianstudies@humnet.ucla.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260126T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260126T130000
DTSTAMP:20260430T123920
CREATED:20251216T212957Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260126T214750Z
UID:2194041-1769425200-1769432400@humanities.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Bilingual Lecture Series: Ali Gheissari
DESCRIPTION:Hasan Pirnia and Constitutional Experience: Articulation of Public Law and the Prospects of Modern State in Iran\, 1905-1925\nAli Gheissari\nUniversity of San Diego\nMonday\, January 26\, 2026 \nLecture in English \nBunche Hall 10383\, 11:00am \nZoom link for hybrid online viewing both days: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/92182697630 \nThe topic of this presentation will be an assessment of the role of Hasan Pirnia (Moshir al-Dowleh) in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution and his contribution to articulating a theory of public law and the institutional requisites of the modern state in Iran. Given the limitations of time—and setting aside biographical details and the extensive accounts of the political events of the period—we shall focus specifically on two interrelated topics concerning the theoretical aspects of Pirnia’s political thought that also reflect the experience of the Constitutional Revolution in Iran. First\, the question of public law; and second\, the institutions necessary for the creation of a modern state. The Constitutional Revolution in Iran was not merely a political event but a transformation in the political mindset of Iranian society. A society that had lived for centuries under the notion of autocratic monarchy was\, at the beginning of the twentieth century\, attempting to experience the idea of a state governed by law and accountable to the nation. In this process\, there were a few statesmen—such as Hasan Pirnia—who\, under Iran’s circumstances at the time\, sought to open a challenging path between traditional structures and the creation of a modern state in Iran. \n  \n  \nAli Gheissari studied law and political science at Tehran University and history at Oxford and later taught at the University of San Diego. He has held visiting appointments at St. Antony’s College\, Oxford\, Brown University\, and the University of California\, Irvine\, and has written extensively in Persian and English on the intellectual history and politics of modern Iran and on modern philosophy and social theory. More recent publications include Iranian Studies: Selected Writings (Brill\, 2026); “Lost and found in translation: Kant in Persian Philosophical Prose” (Sophia Perennis\, Iranian Institute of Philosophy\, 2025); “Fruits of the Gardens: Ethics\, Metaphysics\, and Textual Pleasures in late Qajar Iran” (Journal of Persianate Studies\, 2024); and “Unequal Treaties and the Question of Sovereignty in Qajar and early Pahlavi Iran” (Ann Lambton Memorial Lecture\, 2023). Professor Gheissari has been the Editor-in-Chief of Iranian Studies; is on the Editorial Board of Iran Studies book series (published by Brill); and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Persian Heritage Foundation. His current research is on aspects of legal and constitutional history of modern Iran.
URL:https://humanities.ucla.edu/event/bilingual-lecture-series-ali-gheissari-2/
LOCATION:10383 Bunche Hall\, 11282 Portola Plaza\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iranian,Near Eastern Languages and Cultures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://humanities.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-01-25_Gheissari-web-image-PNVnDc.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="UCLA Iranian Studies":MAILTO:iranianstudies@humnet.ucla.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260125T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260125T180000
DTSTAMP:20260430T123920
CREATED:20251216T212954Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260125T214832Z
UID:2194039-1769356800-1769364000@humanities.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Bilingual Lecture Series: Ali Gheissari
DESCRIPTION:Hasan Pirnia and Constitutional Experience: Articulation of Public Law and the Prospects of Modern State in Iran\, 1905-1925\nAli Gheissari\nUniversity of San Diego\nSunday\, January 25\, 2026 \nLecture in Persian \nRoyce Hall 314\, 4:00pm \nZoom link for hybrid online viewing both days: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/92182697630 \nThe topic of this presentation will be an assessment of the role of Hasan Pirnia (Moshir al-Dowleh) in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution and his contribution to articulating a theory of public law and the institutional requisites of the modern state in Iran. Given the limitations of time—and setting aside biographical details and the extensive accounts of the political events of the period—we shall focus specifically on two interrelated topics concerning the theoretical aspects of Pirnia’s political thought that also reflect the experience of the Constitutional Revolution in Iran. First\, the question of public law; and second\, the institutions necessary for the creation of a modern state. The Constitutional Revolution in Iran was not merely a political event but a transformation in the political mindset of Iranian society. A society that had lived for centuries under the notion of autocratic monarchy was\, at the beginning of the twentieth century\, attempting to experience the idea of a state governed by law and accountable to the nation. In this process\, there were a few statesmen—such as Hasan Pirnia—who\, under Iran’s circumstances at the time\, sought to open a challenging path between traditional structures and the creation of a modern state in Iran. \n  \n  \nAli Gheissari studied law and political science at Tehran University and history at Oxford and later taught at the University of San Diego. He has held visiting appointments at St. Antony’s College\, Oxford\, Brown University\, and the University of California\, Irvine\, and has written extensively in Persian and English on the intellectual history and politics of modern Iran and on modern philosophy and social theory. More recent publications include Iranian Studies: Selected Writings (Brill\, 2026); “Lost and found in translation: Kant in Persian Philosophical Prose” (Sophia Perennis\, Iranian Institute of Philosophy\, 2025); “Fruits of the Gardens: Ethics\, Metaphysics\, and Textual Pleasures in late Qajar Iran” (Journal of Persianate Studies\, 2024); and “Unequal Treaties and the Question of Sovereignty in Qajar and early Pahlavi Iran” (Ann Lambton Memorial Lecture\, 2023). Professor Gheissari has been the Editor-in-Chief of Iranian Studies; is on the Editorial Board of Iran Studies book series (published by Brill); and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Persian Heritage Foundation. His current research is on aspects of legal and constitutional history of modern Iran.
URL:https://humanities.ucla.edu/event/bilingual-lecture-series-ali-gheissari/
LOCATION:314 Royce Hall\, 10745 Dickson Ct\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States
CATEGORIES:Iranian,Near Eastern Languages and Cultures
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ORGANIZER;CN="UCLA Iranian Studies":MAILTO:iranianstudies@humnet.ucla.edu
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260112T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260112T130000
DTSTAMP:20260430T123920
CREATED:20251216T212951Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260112T205611Z
UID:2194037-1768215600-1768222800@humanities.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Bilingual Lecture Series: Panel on Afghan Refugees in Iran
DESCRIPTION:Panel on Afghan Refugees in Iran\nJanuary 12\, 2026\n11:00am Pacific Time\nOnline via Zoom\nIn Persian and English\nRegistration Required\nRegistration Link: https://ucla.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hcYEa8i_QB6EIvQRBb9YEw \nMunazza Ebtikar\nPANEL MODERATOR \nDr. Munazza Ebtikar recently completed her PhD (2025) in Politics\, History\, and Anthropology at the University of Oxford. She was a 2024-2025 Peace Fellow at Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs and currently serves as Co-Principal Investigator of Stanford’s Sonic Resistance Archive\, documenting Afghan cultural production. She holds an MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies from Oxford and completed her undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley with degrees in Peace and Conflict\, Middle Eastern Politics\, and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures. Dr. Ebtikar is co-editing “Civil Resistance in Afghanistan” and brings multilingual research capabilities in Persian\, Arabic\, and Pashto to her work on Afghanistan’s contemporary political and cultural transformations. \n  \n  \nAshraf Haidari\nAfghan Refugees in Iran: Precarious Protection\, Forced Returns\, and Pathways Forward \nAmbassador Ashraf Haidari is a distinguished diplomat and humanitarian leader\, serving as the Founder and President of Displaced International (DI). From 2018 to 2022\, he was Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Director-General of the South Asia Cooperative Environment Program (SACEP)\, leading initiatives on regional security\, economic cooperation\, climate resilience\, and sustainable development. At Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs\, he held key roles\, including Director-General of Policy and Strategy and Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the Afghan Embassies in Delhi and Washington\, D.C. His leadership is deeply shaped by his personal journey as a former refugee. He earned a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from Wabash College\, followed by a Master’s in Security Studies at Georgetown University and a graduate certificate in Refugees\, Migration\, and Humanitarian Emergencies. \n  \n  \nMejgan Massoumi\nLives in Transit: Afghan Cultural Producers Navigating Precarity and Policing in Iran \nMejgan Massoumi is an Assistant Professor of History at Carnegie Mellon University. Her current book project examines the history of radio in Afghanistan\, revealing how music and sound shaped politics\, culture\, and everyday life at the crossroads of Asia and the Middle East. Her research has been supported by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)\, the Social Science Research Council (SSRC)\, and the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies (AIAS)\, and her dissertation received the World History Association’s 2023–24 Best Dissertation Prize. Dr. Massoumi earned her PhD in History from Stanford University in 2021. She also holds degrees in Architecture (B.A.) and City Planning (M.C.P.) from the University of California\, Berkeley\, grounding her scholarship in a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary perspective. \n  \n  \nMitra Naseh\nIncreasingly Restrictive Migration Policies for Afghans in Iran \nMitra Naseh is a forced migration scholar\, currently serving as an Assistant Professor and the Founding Director of the Forced Migration Initiative (FMI) at the Brown School\, Washington University in St. Louis. Her research focuses on the multidimensional social and economic integration of forcibly displaced populations\, shaped by her interdisciplinary academic training\, lived experience as an immigrant\, and extensive fieldwork with non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies\, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia. She is the co-author of the widely recognized book Best Practices in Social Work with Refugees and Immigrants\, published by Columbia University Press in 2019. \n  \n  \nZuzanna Olszewska\nBeyond Dorr-e Dari: The Global Literary Ripples of a Pioneering Refugee Cultural Institution in Iran \nZuzanna Olszewska is Associate Professor in the Social Anthropology of the Middle East at the University of Oxford and a fellow of St. John’s College\, Oxford. She is an anthropologist with a particular interest in the literary and cultural production among the Afghan diaspora. She is author of award-winning monograph The Pearl of Dari: Poetry and Personhood among Young Afghans in Iran (Indiana University Press\, 2015) and numerous articles. She is also a translator of Persian-language poetry from Afghanistan.
URL:https://humanities.ucla.edu/event/bilingual-lecture-series-panel-on-afghan-refugees-in-iran/
LOCATION:Online Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Humanities,Iranian,Near Eastern Languages and Cultures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://humanities.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2026-01-12_Afghan-Refugees-Panel-web-image-Pa42j2.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="UCLA Iranian Studies":MAILTO:iranianstudies@humnet.ucla.edu
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251105T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251105T180000
DTSTAMP:20260430T123920
CREATED:20251014T173204Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251014T173204Z
UID:2193350-1762358400-1762365600@humanities.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Lucinda Dirven: Zoroastrianism in the Religious Context of the Arsacid Empire
DESCRIPTION:November 5\, 2025 \nRoyce Hall 306\, 4:00 p.m. \nDownload Event Flyer Here \nZoom link for online attendance: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/94920554065 \nRSVP link: https://forms.gle/2BmZz73crt582bJJ8 \nZoroastrianism in the Religious Context of the Arsacid Empire\nUnlike the tendency to emphasize the multifaceted and diverse aspects of religious life in the Parthian Empire\, this talk aims to identify shared characteristics by focusing on the religious preferences of the Arsacid rulers. Although Zoroastrianism was not yet clearly defined at this time\, evidence suggests that Zoroastrian ideas influenced the ideology of Arsacid kingship. Conversely\, the ideology of the King of Kings influenced the practices of families and rulers who reigned under their suzerainty\, including those who were otherwise unaffected by Zoroastrianism. Although such practices were rare\, they still had repercussions for the religious lives of the populace in the Arsacid Empire. \n\n\n\nLucinda Dirven\nUniversity of Nijmegen \n\n\n\nLucinda Dirven is a professor of ancient religions at the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands. She studied art history and theology (history of religions and comparative religion) at Leiden University\, where she obtained her PhD\, which was published in 1999. Following a postdoctoral fellowship in the archaeology department at the University of Amsterdam\, she taught in the history departments at the universities of Utrecht and Amsterdam. Since completing her PhD\, her research has focused on the Roman and Parthian Near East\, particularly Dura\, Hatra and Palmyra\, and the influence of these regions on the Roman West. Her research combines material culture and written sources\, primarily focusing on religion. One recent topic has been religious continuity and change in Syria and Mesopotamia\, particularly during the Roman and Parthian periods. She is currently a Getty Scholar working on a project focusing on the cult of Mithras in Dura-Europos.
URL:https://humanities.ucla.edu/event/lucinda-dirven-zoroastrianism-in-the-religious-context-of-the-arsacid-empire/
LOCATION:306 Royce Hall\, 340 Royce Drive\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States
CATEGORIES:Near Eastern Languages and Cultures,Pourdavoud Institute
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250309T113000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250309T133000
DTSTAMP:20260430T123920
CREATED:20250128T124806Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250227T162901Z
UID:2190234-1741519800-1741527000@humanities.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Bilingual Lecture Series: Women’s Rights and the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran
DESCRIPTION:زن در قانون اساسی ایران  \nWomen’s Rights and the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran\nSunday\, March 9\, 2025 | 11:30 am – 1:30 pm \nZoom Registration: \nhttps://ucla.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pM3LdrXXSriCfDMGfzVg8w \n\n\n\n \nThe Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran\, ratified after the 1979 Islamic Revolution\, stands as the country’s foundational legal framework\, requiring all subsequent laws to align with its principles. The revolution itself was propelled by widespread calls for social and political reform\, with significant factions advocating for democracy\, human rights\, and gender equality. Iranian women played a prominent role in this movement\, underscoring the aspirations for a more inclusive and equitable society. While the constitution reflects these revolutionary demands by enumerating freedoms and rights modeled after Western constitutions\, it also incorporates elements of Islamic jurisprudence. This duality emerged from the influence of conservative religious factions\, who\, after helping to overthrow the monarchy\, swiftly consolidated power post-revolution. In this talk\, I will examine the provisions within Iran’s constitution that pertain to women’s rights\, focusing on how these provisions intersect with religious and secular legal systems. I will also explore the real-world impact on women’s personal and professional lives\, highlighting the challenges of extreme gender-based oppression under the current system. Finally\, I will discuss pathways for reform and envision how future constitutional efforts can avoid the missteps that have perpetuated inequality for over forty years. \nAbout the Speaker \n\n\n\nPegah Banihashemi is currently a JSD candidate at the University of Chicago Law School\, where she also completed an LL.M. in 2022. Pegah is currently working on the history of the formation of the Iranian Constitution both before and after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. In this project\, she will explore the problems of implementing the constitution in Iran. Part of Pegah’s project is dedicated to the issue of comparing constitutions among different countries. Pegah began her undergraduate studies focusing on French literature in Iran where reading the works of French philosophers and thinkers piqued her interest in the field of law. She completed a second Bachelor’s of Law\, after which\, she earned a Master’s and LL.M. in International Commercial Law and Private Law at Shahid Beheshti University\, achieving a first rank and defending her thesis in international arbitration. In Britain\, she worked on human rights research\, commentary\, and advocacy\, focusing on death sentences\, immigration law\, and women’s and children’s rights in Middle Eastern and Sharia Law. She has worked extensively in the analysis of international law and international human rights and is a regular expert legal analyst with many global media outlets and non-profits. She has also taught several legal courses on topics including women\, economics\, and the law\, human rights advocacy\, and students’ and teachers’ rights.
URL:https://humanities.ucla.edu/event/bilingual-lecture-series-womens-rights-and-the-constitution-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran/
CATEGORIES:Bilingual Lecture Series,Iranian,Near Eastern Languages and Cultures
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://humanities.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/BLS-Flyer-Banihashemi-web-image-ZdJ3JA.tmp_.jpg
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250202T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250202T180000
DTSTAMP:20260430T123920
CREATED:20250108T103302Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250202T130323Z
UID:2189761-1738512000-1738519200@humanities.ucla.edu
SUMMARY:Bilingual Lecture Series: Film Screening and Director Q&A
DESCRIPTION:Bilingual Lecture Series: Film Screening and Director Q&A with Mohammad Ehsani\nAlternate live stream on Zoom: \nhttps://ucla.zoom.us/j/95549537236 \nThe Water Will Take Us (2022)\n(Persian with English subtitles) \n \nIn the spring of 2019 Iran experienced a near apocalypse event that went by almost unnoticed by the world. Widespread flash flooding affected large parts of the country over the course of one month\, leading to major damages countrywide and leaving the already impoverished population in utter disarray.  The film is a  look at how years of mismanagement\, poor spatial planning and climate change are impacting civil society in Iran. \nLady Urmia (2013)\n(Persian with English subtitles) \n \nThe film is a poetic documentary about Lake Urmia\, in the northwest of Iran\, which is drying up completely. The environmental catastrophe will affect also neighboring countries such as Iraq and Turkey. The film is narrated in the voice of the lake itself\, crying for help and trying to gain international attention to its suffering. \nAbout the Director \nMohammad Ehsani\, an Iranian independent filmmaker and a member of the Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association and IDA. He has made several award-winning documentary and fiction films\, such as The Lovers: The Victims\, Tabriz: Images from the Forgotten World\, Enamel Dome\, Lady Urmia\, Once Hamoun\, Karun\, When the Woodpeckers Leave\, and The Water Will Take Us. Ehsani’s films deal with historical drama and social environmental issues in Iran.
URL:https://humanities.ucla.edu/event/bilingual-lecture-series-film-screening-and-director-qa/
LOCATION:314 Royce Hall\, 10745 Dickson Ct\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States
CATEGORIES:Bilingual Lecture Series,Iranian,Near Eastern Languages and Cultures
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