ASPS Newsletter

The Second Biennial Convention on Iranian Studies of the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies, held in Yerevan, Armenia, on April 2-5, 2004, proved to be a worthy successor to the first gathering in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, two years ago. This meeting was filled with intellectual excitement; and, by bringing together participants from nineteen countries in three continents, it lived up to the purpose of the Association of building bridges and strengthening academic contacts across the Persian-speaking world. It reminded us all that ASPS is a vibrant organization with a unique identity that merits our continued commitment and creative input. Thanks to the hospitality of the spirited Armenian people, the various excursions following the afternoon panels, and an ample supply of food and drink on all occasions, the meeting also turned into an event filled with human warmth and excitement. The only thing cold about our time in Armenia was the weather.

I would like to thank the following individuals and institutions for making the Yerevan convention a great success. Without the generous financial support of the Open Society Institute of New York and the commitment of its Eurasia director Anthony Richter, the meeting would not have been possible. I also thank Dr Mehdi Sana’i of the mo’asasse-ye motâle‘ât-e Irân, Rusiye va keshvarhâ-ye moshtarek ol-manâfe‘ for enabling a number of Iranians to come to Armenia. Lida Haseli deserves great credit for the hard work she put into co-ordinating the travel plans of our Iranian colleagues and friends. In Armenia, our greatest debt goes to Garnik Asatrian, the local organizer, and his wonderful staff of volunteers for managing the conference with great efficiency and panache. I am grateful to Dr Gurgen Melikian, Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Yerevan University, for offering us the wonderful picnic at Garni, as well as to “ARAZ,” the Iranian-Armenian Educational Foundation, Mrs. Zorik Malek and Vanakan Melkonian, and to the Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies, which published the conference program and other material.

On a more somber note, I am sad to report that two Iranian members of the audience, Mrs. Kamel Sheykhanlu Milani and Ali Akbar Zareh, lost their lives, while Mr. Eynollahzadeh was injured, during a funicular accident in Yerevan on the day before the conference. I extend my sincere condolences to their families and loved ones. Some of those who had been invited were unable to attend. This includes our three Afghan panelists, who had political work to do in their own country, and most of the Indian participants, who for reasons that remain obscure were denied visas. Dr. Hossein Abadian of Iran was unfortunately not allowed to enter Armenia, since his passport was deemed deficient by the Armenian authorities.

We are meanwhile, looking forward to our next convention. Dr Kourosh Kamali, the director of the Fars-shenasi Foundation in Shiraz, has graciously proposed to organize the Third Biennial ASPS Convention in Shiraz in the spring of 2006. Let’s hope we will all see each other again in the city of Sa‘di and Hafez in two years.
Rudi Matthee

The Association’s Second Biennial Convention on Iranian Studies, “Society, History and Culture in the Persianate World,” took place in Yerevan from 2­5 April. With 98 participants in 24 panels running (mainly in concurrent pairs) over four days, this was a challenge to our hosts at the Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies and the Department of Iranian Studies, Yerevan State University, which they met with aplomb. Scholars from Iran, Russia, Turkey, Israel, Georgia, seven countries of the European Union (including newly-admitted Poland), Central Asia, India, and North America were met at Zvartnots Airport at whatever hour they arrived, and whisked off to the comfort of the University Guesthouse, only a short walk from the famous Matenadaran Library. At the conference site the visitors were joined by Armenian colleagues, and all delivered their papers (mostly in English, but also in Persian, Russian, or French) in one of two adjacent lecture halls. During coffee breaks and after hours, contacts between old and new friends and a lively exchange of information and views supplemented the formal proceedings. The unveiling of a bust of Omar Khayyam by an Iranian sculptor preceded the opening ceremony. Photographs can be seen at:
http://persiansocieties.uchicago.edu/IASPS-Yerevan2004.html
A diner dansant concluded the opening day and a reception with dinner marked the end of the convention. Excursions were also arranged outside of Yerevan to the medieval monastery of Geghard and the Hellenistic temple at Garni, and to a Yezidi spring camp and the home of the local Yezidi shaykh; each of these trips was accompanied by a reception with generous supplies of food and drink. A regional councils meeting was held on the third day. The panelists and other conference participants owe a hearty vote of thanks, first, to the Convention Organizers, Rudi Matthee, Said Amir Arjomand, Jo-Ann Gross, Alice Hunsberger, and Manouchehr Kasheff, for putting together such a valuable set of panels; next, to the Local Committee, led by Garnik Asatrian (Chair of the Dept. of Iranian Studies, YSU), who anticipated all our needs and adroitly coped with the unexpected. For many of the participants this was their first visit to Armenia. They were undoubtedly impressed by the hospitality and other manifestly Persianate qualities of this small but culturally important country.

As a result of the elections for the Board held last September, Alice Hunsberger was elected Secretary-Treasurer, and Janet Afary and Jo-Ann Gross joined the ASPS Board of Directors. Our congratulations to the successful candidates, and thanks to the tellers, Anne Betteridge and Carrie Brown.

A branch office of ASPS was opened in Shiraz last October, under the directorship of Dr. Kourosh Kamali. Photographs of the event may be found at
http://persiansocieties.uchicago.edu/IASPS-societynews.html

The Association’s annual collection of original articles and book surveys covering interdisciplinary research in our field has finally emerged in its first issue, Studies on Persianiate Societies I (2003/1382), and is being distributed to members by airmail from Tehran. If you have not received your copy by May 1st, please contact the ASPS Secretary-Treasurer: alicehunsberger@hotmail.com. Published by Kavir Publishers, Tehran, in 1500 copies of 319 pages, this issue contains eleven articles in English or Persian (each one with a summary in the other language) and surveys of recently published books, as follows:

Preface: Saïd Amir Arjomand

History, Politics and Society
Medieval Persianate Political Ethic: S. A. Arjomand
New Ropes for Royal Tents: Shaykh Bahâ’i and the Imperial Order of Shah ‘Abbâs (996/1587-1038/1629): R. J. Abisaab
Modernity and Rural Resistance in Iran: Southern Tribal Uprisings of 1929: Stephanie Cronin
Popular Movements in 14th-Century Samarqand: V.V. Barthol’d (Persian trans. by Bahriddin Aliev)
Contribution of the Afghan Cameleers to the Development of Australia: Hossein Adibi
Iranian Women: Rising Expectations: Jaleh Shaditalab
Recent Economic and Social Developments in Iran: Shahindokht Kharazmi

Language, Culture and Society
Aspects of Verb Formation in Middle Persian Lexicology: Dodikhudo Saymiddinov
Sekandar, Skordion, and Darab’s Queen’s Bad Breath: Dick Davis
The Mazandarani Kanz al-Asâr (Divân of Amir Pâzvâri): Gity Shokri
The Land of Darkness: Images of India in the Works of Some Safavid Poets: Sunil Sharma
Filmic Judgment and Cultural Critique in Iranian Cinema: Michael Fischer

Book Surveys
India and Pakistan: Ishtiyaq Ahmad Zilli
Russia: Alexei A. Khismatulin
Iran: Farrokh Amir-Faryar

Travel Fellowship Program

The Association for the Study of Persianate Societies is pleased to announce the continuation of our Travel Fellowship Program, through the generosity of the Open Society Institute. Travel Fellowships are available for scholars and researchers from Iran to take part in academic and cultural conferences and conventions in the United States. Each Travel Fellowship covers all travel and lodging expenses of the recipient subject to a limit of $3000. The conditions for eligibility are engagement in teaching or research in the humanities or social sciences and an invitation or acceptance of a paper from the sponsors of the conference. No special application form is required. Applications must be received as far ahead of the time of travel as possible, and no later than three months before the conference to be attended. Those interested should submit a letter of application, together with a curriculum vitae and the letter of acceptance from the appropriate convention, to:

Alice C. Hunsberger
545 West 111th St. 9D
New York, NY 10025
Tel. 212 666-9663; Fax 212 316-7830
alicehunsberger@hotmail.com

Conference sponsors may also apply on behalf of participants by submitting the same documentation.

Member News and Announcements

Conferences
The 37th International Congress for Asian and North African Studies (ICANAS; Proposal submission deadline March 31, 2004) will be held from August 16 to 21, 2004 in Moscow. It is sponsored jointly by the International Union of Oriental and Asian Studies, the Society of Russian Orientalists of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Working languages: English, French, and Russian. Submission forms and full information on the program, accommodations, registration fees, etc. may be found at:
http://www.orientalistica.ru/icanas (Russian or English pages).

The Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS) invites panel and paper proposals for the Fifth CESS Annual Conference, October 14-17, 2004, at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The deadline for submission of panel/paper proposals is April 2, 2004. Submissions of pre-organized panels are strongly encouraged and will be given some preference in the selection process.
Full information about CESS 2004 in Bloomington may be found on the conference Web pages:
http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Conference.html
Program (available in June 2004):
http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/CESS_Program.html
Hosting and location at Indiana University:
http://www.iub.edu/~cess2004

The Co-chairs of the Conference Committee are:
Dr. Laura Adams (Georgetown University):
lladams2@earthlink.net
Dr. Edward J. Lazzerini (Indiana University):
elazzeri@indiana.edu
Dr. Scott Levi (University of Louisville):
sclevi9@earthlink.net

The Fifth Biennial Conference on Iranian Studies, organized by The International Society for Iranian Studies (ISIS), co-sponsored by The Association for the Study of Persianate Societies (ASPS), will take place Friday, May 28 through Sunday, May 30, 2004 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Bethesda, MD.

In connection with this occasion ASPS members are invited to attend a reception in honor of the ASPS Travel Fellows, with special guest Ms. Shirin Ebadi
The Textile Museum
2320 S Street NW
Washington DC 20008
Friday, May 28, 2004 6:30-7:30 pm
Refreshments will be served.
Arrangements have been made for reduced rates for conference participants. Please mention "Iranian Studies Conference" to benefit from the special rates. To make hotel reservations, contact the Hyatt Regency Hotel directly at 1-800-233-1234 or the conference site at the following address:
Bethesda Hyatt Regency
One Bethesda Metro Center
Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
Tel: (301) 657-1234/ Fax: -6478
For further information and to download the pre-registration and membership forms, please visit the ISIS site:
www.iranian-studies.com.
Pre-registration forms must be received by May 1st.

Publications
The first book in the ASPS Monograph Series, Sadriddin Aini’s Târikh-e Enqelâb-e Fekri-e Bokhârâ (Soroush Press, Tehran), may be ordered from Mazda Publishers (Costa Mesa, CA), at a cost of $12.95 (20% discount for ASPS members): see under New Titles at http://www.mazdapublishers.com.

ASPS member Behrooz Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari (Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia, Tehran) informs us that the long-awaited Persian translation of Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum (ed. Rudiger Schmitt, originally written in English, French, and German) is finally available in Tehran. It appears in two volumes, respectively devoed to Old and Middle Iranian languages, and New Iranian languages and dialects.
Congratulations to the team of translators: Dr.Hasan Rezai Baghbidi (also the editor), Mr.Askar Bahrami, Mr. Arman Bakhtiari, and Ms. Salehinia.

Oneworld Publications announce that the classic and prize-winning Rumi Past and Present, East and West, by Franklin Lewis, is now in paperback. The New York Times Book Review called it “a standard reference for Rumi devotees for some time to come.” Author Franklin Lewis of Emory University goes beyond biography to provide a complete guide to the life, times, and work of the great mystic, poet, and preacher, Jalal al-Din Rumi, the best-selling poet in the U.S.
New from Oneworld comes Spirituality in the Land of the Noble: How Iran Shaped the World’s Religions, by Richard C. Foltz (University of Florida). The book has been acclaimed as a balanced, absorbing, and informative survey of the vast landscape of Iranian religion and spirituality, from the Indo-Iranians who settled on the Iranian plateau over 3000 years ago up to the Islamic Republic.
Further details on these and other books pertinent to Persianate societies can be found on the Publisher’s website: http://www.oneworld-publications.com/books

Mardumgiyoh, the periodical devoted to folklore and popular culture of Tajikistan and the Iranian world, has resumed publication after a hiatus of several years. Vol. 6/1-2 (1998-2002), has articles and transcriptions of oral materials in both Tajik (Cyrillic, 105 pp.) and Persian (82 pp.). Prospective subscribers and contributors should contact the Editor:
Ravshan Rahmoni
P.O. Box 58, Dushanbe — 25
7340025 Tajikistan
E-mail: rahmoni@ac.tajik.net

John R. Perry
Editor, ASPS Newsletter
The University of Chicago
Center for Middle Eastern Studies
5828 S. University Avenue
Chicago IL 60637, USA
Fax: 773 702-2587
e-mail: j-perry@uchicago.edu

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