NELC Alumni at the University of Washington

08/12/2022

With the support of Peyvand, IACA, SISCA, Alefba, and the Persian Poetry and Music Workshop, NELC will hold a memorial for Iraj Khademi on Thursday, August 18 at 7:00 PM at Kane Hall 130.

Iraj Khademi, a loving and beloved pillar of the Seattle Iranian community, passed away on August 6 in Bellevue, Washington. Affectionately called Amoo Iraj by many, Dr. Khademi was a longtime supporter of the University of Washington's NELC Department and was instrumental in creating a strong c***e...

06/11/2022

NELC Class of 2022 got the cake along with those from Class of 2020 and 2021. After a two year hiatus, it is so good to organize an in person to celebrate our graduating major.

Congratulations, NELC graduates.

06/02/2022

Shahnameh: A Contemporary Reading
Thursday, June 2, 2022, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
HUB Room 332, University of Washington
Map: http://www.washington.edu/maps/?HUB

A performative recitation of the Legend of Siavash followed by a panel discussion on reading the Shahnameh today. Event in Persian.

Performers:
Mahmood Behrouzian
Nazanin Ghaziari
Dr. Rana Salimi
Dadyar Vakili
Reza Khabazian

Panelists:
Mahmood Behrouzian
Dr. Naghmeh Samini
Dr. Rana Salimi
UW Near & Middle East PhD Program UW Humanities First Simpson Center for the Humanities at UW
Middle East Center University of Washington
University of Washington College of Arts & Sciences
Asian Languages and Literature - University of Washington
UW Translation Studies Hub
UW Cinema and Media Studies
UW English Department
UW Textual Studies Program

04/07/2022

Giving Day Powered by ScaleFunder

04/07/2022

Today is - Please considering offering a small donation to NELC and / or sharing this post. Thank you for being a part of our community and for the positive impacts you provide.

The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization (NELC) is devoted to the study of the principal cultures and languages of the Near and Middle East, including Central Eurasia. By contributing to the Friends of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Fund you enable our students to experience these cultures more immediately by allowing the department to support student-focused research, lectures, and symposiums.

Giving Day Powered by ScaleFunder

01/07/2022

Coming up today at 12:30 PST.

"Battle of the Gods: The Prophet Elijah and the Origins of Biblical Monotheism"
Dr. Michael Stahl, New York University
Friday, January 7, 2022, 12:30p.m. (PST)

Register: https://washington.zoom.us/s/92755103139

The biblical books of Kings present the figure of Elijah as God’s lone prophet in the wilderness, an anti-establishment critic zealously devoted to the exclusive worship of the Israelite deity YHWH. Most dramatically, Elijah participates in a public life-or-death contest with the prophets of the Phoenician storm-god Baal on Mount Carmel to see who is truly the one God—Israelite YHWH or Phoenician Baal (1 Kings 18)? Two deities enter, but only one may leave.

While scholars often accept the Elijah story’s claim that YHWH and Baal were ideological foes in ancient Israel, the historical evidence suggests another picture: that the biblical text’s monotheistic attack on Phoenician Baal comes from a much later time and place, one of empire and exile. Using biblical and archaeological evidence, Dr. Stahl explores YHWH and Baal’s relationship in early Israel and why the later biblical authors of the Elijah story imagined a time when Baal’s worship once threatened YHWH’s status as the only God.

09/22/2021

Animal Mummies, What’s Not To Love?

Dr. Salima Ikram
Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, 1PM Pacific Time
Register:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpc-2spz8pEtXU9Cbg1W4rBaRTNKmwXRey

LIVE FROM EGYPT: Dr. Ikram will be treating us to whatever she wants to talk about regarding Animal Mummies. As there is much to love about animal mummies, we can look forward to hearing from one of the top experts in the word on the subject. So….be ready for anything!

Salima Ikram is a Distinguished University Professor of Egyptology at The American University in Cairo and has worked as an archaeologist in Turkey, Sudan, Greece and the United States. After double majoring in history and classical and Near Eastern Archaeology at Bryn Mawr College, United States, she received her MPhil in museology and Egyptian archaeology and PhD in Egyptian archaeology from Cambridge University. She previously directed the Animal Mummy Project, the North Kharga Darb Ain Amur Survey, Valley of the Kings KV10/KV63 Mission co-directed the Predynastic Gallery project and the North Kharga Oasis Survey. She has also participated in several other archaeological missions throughout Egypt. She has lectured on her work internationally and publishes in both scholarly and popular journals. She also has an active media presence.

05/04/2021

TODAY

NELC Persian and Iranian Studies Program’s
16th Afrassiabi Distinguished Lecture

Please join us Tuesday, May 4th at 1:30 PM PST for the 16th Afrassiabi Distinguished Lecture in Persian and Iranian Series:

"A Conversation with Fatemeh Shams".

Register for the conversation here: https://washington.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qonwrjOeSd-88lmgNDCbgg

Focusing on one of the core arguments of her newly published book, A Revolution in Rhyme: Poetic Co-Option Under the Islamic Republic (Oxford University Press, 2021), Shams explores the ways in which poetry has been deployed by both poets and politicians in post-revolutionary Iran to articulate and sustain the collective memory of a nation grappling with insurmountable change. Shams sheds light on this blurring between the materials of the past and the political priorities of the present to uncover the key role played by poetry in romanticizing political thought and governance in the post-revolutionary period.

Fatemeh Shams is assistant professor of Modern Persian at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of A Revolution in Rhyme.

Afrassiabi Distinguished Lecture Series was established in 1999 for the memory of Hooshang Afrassiabi who passed away on February 14, 1998. For more information about the series and a list of previous lectures see: https://nelc.washington.edu/afrassiabi-distinguished-lectures-persian-and-iranian-studies

University of Washington College of Arts & Sciences
UW English Department
UW Humanities First

04/08/2021

Please join us Tuesday, May 4th at 1:30 PM PST for the 16th Afrassiabi Distinguished Lecture in Persian and Iranian Series:

"A Conversation with Fatemeh Shams".

Register for the conversation here: https://washington.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qonwrjOeSd-88lmgNDCbgg

Focusing on one of the core arguments of her newly published book, A Revolution in Rhyme: Poetic Co-Option Under the Islamic Republic (Oxford University Press, 2021), Shams explores the ways in which poetry has been deployed by both poets and politicians in post-revolutionary Iran to articulate and sustain the collective memory of a nation grappling with insurmountable change. Shams sheds light on this blurring between the materials of the past and the political priorities of the present to uncover the key role played by poetry in romanticizing political thought and governance in the post-revolutionary period.

Fatemeh Shams is assistant professor of Modern Persian at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of A Revolution in Rhyme.

Afrassiabi Distinguished Lecture Series was established in 1999 for the memory of Hooshang Afrassiabi who passed away on February 14, 1998. For more information about the series and a list of previous lectures see: https://nelc.washington.edu/afrassiabi-distinguished-lectures-persian-and-iranian-studies

University of Washington College of Arts & Sciences
UW English Department
UW Humanities First

03/31/2021

Tomorrow: A Talk by Sinan Antoon, "Rescuing the Dead" 3:30 PM PST.

Register at:
http://bit.ly/SawyerSem-Apr1

03/20/2021

Dear Colleagues, Friends, and Supporters of Persian Studies,

In celebration of 2021/1400 Nowruz, the University of Washington is proud to announce the launch of:

Ancient Iran: A Digital Platform

http://www.ancientirannelc.org

Created over a three-year period, Ancient Iran: A Digital Platform offers a thematic introduction to the history and archaeology of Ancient Iran from ca. 3000 BC to the early Islamic era. Inspired by the success of Ancient Iran Day —a public humanities event that brought more than five hundred participants to our campus on December 1, 2018 —the website invites visitors to explore the richness and diversity of Ancient Iran. The project foregrounds Iran's cultural complexity, exploring how the major civilizations of Ancient Iran, from the Elamites to the Sasanians, drew upon and integrated diverse cultural traditions.

Key features include educational resources, such as downloadable posters that integrate art and textual sources, an extensive photo gallery of artifacts and archaeological sites, and classroom activities that make the material dimensions of Ancient Iran tangible. Topics range from the Achaemenid army to Zoroastrian views of the afterlife, providing ample room to explore.

The website includes a survey for your feedback, suggestions, and corrections.

The project was collaborative and multidisciplinary from start to finish, with four directors shaping its content and design: Jeffrey Haines (History), Ryan Robinson (Anthropology), Stephanie Selover (Near Eastern Languages and Civilization), and Joel Walker (History). On their behalf and on behalf of the Persian and Iranian Studies Program, we wish you a happy Nowruz and look forward to the coming days of celebration.

Nowruz Piruz,

Aria Fani
Élahe Omidyar Mir-Jalali Professor of Persian and Iranian Studies
Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization