Iran and Persian Studies

Iran and Persian Studies and the Persian Program enable students to explore Persian language and literature and the history, religions, art history, and architecture of Iran and other Persianate cultures. The PARSA Community Foundation Endowment created the PARSA visiting lectureship, which has funded courses on modern Iran. Associate Professor of Comparative Literature and Middle East/South Asia Studies Amy Motlagh joined the faculty as the inaugural Bita Daryabari Presidential Chair in Persian Language and Literature; she also coordinates a series of public lectures and podcasts on Iranian Studies supported by this endowment. Professor Motlagh is one of a number of faculty members in Iran and Persian Studies, including historian Ali Anooshahr, art historian Talinn Grigor, and anthropologist Fatima Mojaddedi, and the first faculty member to be hired in the Middle East/South Asia Studies Program.