EDUCATION
1985
Ph.D.
The School of Oriental & African Studies, London University
and Department of Library, Archive & Information Studies,
University College, London University.
Major: Near
Eastern and Persian Studies.
Minor: Library
Studies.
1981
MA
in Near Eastern and Library Studies.
1979
M.L.S.
in Library and information Science, Shiraz University, Iran.
1976
B. A.
in Persian Language and Literature, Shiraz University, Iran
DISSERTATIONS
Ph.D.
Thesis: "A Descriptive and
Analytical Catalog of [617] Persian Manuscripts at the
Library of the Wellcome Institute for the History of
Medicine." Advisors: Professor A.D.H. Bivar & Professor I.H.
McIlwaine.
M. A.
Thesis: "A Study of 150 Persian Manuscripts and 50
Early Printed Books at the Library of the Wellcome Institute
for the History of Medicine, London." Advisors: Professor T.
Gandjei & Professor I.H. McIlwaine.
B.A.
Thesis: "The Poetry of Parvin
I’tisami." Advisor: Professor Mansur Rastigar.
LANGUAGES
Persian (native tongue)
English (near native fluency in
all major skills)
Turkish (very good speaking,
reading and writing abilities)
Arabic (very good reading and
writing abilities)
Armenian (moderate speaking and
reading abilities)
French (reading ability)
TEACHING
POSITIONS
1997-
Associate
Professor of Persian and Comparative Literature, Department
of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures,
Washington University, St. Louis.
1991-97
Assistant
Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Department of
Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures, Washington
University, St. Louis.
1990-91
Visiting
Assistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature,
Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and
Literatures, Washington University, St. Louis.
1988-90
Lecturer in
Persian Language and Literature, Department of Asian and
Near Eastern Languages and Literatures, Washington
University, St. Louis.
1983-1987
Lecturer in
Persian Language and Literature and Islamic Thought,
Institute of Ismaili Studies, London (A research institute
devoted to Islamic Studies and affiliated with McGill
University in Canada which offers a joint M.A. program on
Islamic Studies with the Institute of Islamic Studies at
McGill).
ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS
2004-
Chair,
Department of Asian & Near Eastern Languages & Literatures.
Washington University, St. Louis.
2003-2005
Elected to the
University Faculty Senate. Washington University, St. Louis.
2000-2004
Director,
Graduate program in Jewish, Islamic and Near Eastern
Studies. Washington University, St.Louis.
2000-2004
Chair,
Mentoring Task Force, Association of Women Faculty (AWF).
1997-2000
Director,
Center for the Study of Islamic Societies and Civilizations,
Washington University, St.Louis.
1998-99
Director,
Washington University/Arabic Language Institute Semester
Abroad Program in Fez, Morocco.
1998-99
President,
Association of Women Faculty (A WF), Washington University
in St.Louis.
1993-99
Head, Near
Eastern Section, Department of Asian and Near Eastern
Languages and Literatures, Washington University in St.Louis.
OTHER
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1988-90
Washington
University in St. Louis, Islamic Studies Librarian, Olin
Library.
1982-87
Institute of
Ismaili Studies, London.
Chief
Cataloger in charge of a newly purchased and wholly
uncataloged collection of about 13,000 volumes in Persian,
Arabic, Turkish, and Western languages on Islamic subjects.
Training three
qualified librarians to catalog Islamic materials according
to the LC. cataloging and classification system. Selection
and acquisition of books.
1976-79
National
Iranian Radio & Television.
Position:
Writer, Producer and Moderator of a daily live program on
Persian literature and culture.
GRANTS AND
HONORS
2004
Awarded $21,000 by American Institute for Iranian Studies to
host an
Iranian
scholar at Washington University to carry out collaborative
research
and teaching
in the interdisciplinary area of Psychology and Literature
2004
“Sisterhood is
Global” Award granted by the Institute for Women’s and
Gender Studies, University of Missouri in St. Louis
20003-2004
Faculty
Research Grant, Washington University
2002
Appreciation
Award for Continued Support of St. Louis Community Colleges
granted by Meramec Community College.
2000-2001
Faculty
Mentoring Award.
2000
Association of
Women Faculty Appreciation Award.
1999-2000
Faculty
Research Grant, Washington University.
1997-98
Faculty
Research Grant, Washington University.
1992
Summer
Curriculum Development Grant, Department of Education.
1985
Dunne & Wilson
Award for the Ph.D. thesis selected as "a work of
distinction, II London University.
1981-84
Three years of
fellowship support from the Wellcome Trust towards research
on 617 Persian manuscripts preserved at the Wellcome
Institute for the History of Medicine, London.
1976-79
Full
scholarship from Shiraz University for the M.LS. degree.
1976
Departmental
honors in Persian Language and Literature, Shiraz
University.
PUBLICATIONS
Books
Recite in the Name of the Red Rose: Poetics of Sacred Making
in Twentieth Century Iran.
Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, under contract
due to appear in fall 2005
Reading Mystical Lyric: The Case of Jalal aI-Din Rumi.
Columbia: University of South
Carolina Press, 1998.
A
Descriptive and Analytical Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts
in the Library of the Wellcome Institute for the History of
Medicine. London: The Wellcome
Institute for the History of Medicine, 1986.
Winner, the Dunne & Wilson Award
Talashi dar aghaz
(collection of poems). Shiraz: Shiraz University Press,
1976.
Articles
"Taming
of the Unruly King: Nizami's Shirin as Lover and Educator,"
in Women in Iran from the Rise of Islam to 1800. Ed.
Guiti Nashat and Lois Beck (University of Illinois Press,
2003), 186-205. Winner, Choice
Magazine Award
"Pregnant With
God: the Poetic Art of Mothering the Sacred in Rumi's
Fihi ma fih.” Journal of Comparative Study of
South Asia and the Middle East, Vol. XXII, No. 1-2,
2003.
"Flight of the
Birds: the Poetic Animating the Spiritual in 'Attars
Mantiq al-tayr,” in Intimations of Immortality.
Ed. Leonard Lewisohn (London: School of Oriental and African
Studies), 107-129. Due to appear in fall 2005.
"O, the Sky
That Turns Above Our Head: A ghazal by Jalal aI-Din
Rumi." Translation from Persian with a critical analysis in
Views from the House of Islam. Ed. John Renard.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.
"The Call to
Prayer from the Cypress Tree: Modernity and Redefining the
Spiritual in Persian Poetry," Religion and Literature,
University of Notre Dame, Indiana, 29.1 (1997): 17-42.
"Much Have I
Roamed through the Worlds Far Quarters: In Search of Sa`di's
Self-image," International Journal of Middle East Studies
26 (1994): 465-475.
"Convention
and Innovation in the Divan-i
Shams," The Turkish Studies Association Bulletin
17 (1993):
92-98.
"Horoscope of
Iskandar Sultan," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
of Great Britain & Ireland 2 (1984): 197-208.
"Horoscope of
a Persian Prince," Illustrated London News (Christmas
Issue, 40), 1981.
Articles in
Press
'Dar aqsa-yi
alam bigashtam basi: nigarishi bih shakhsiyat-i Shaykh-i
Ajall az tariq-i sifatha-yi vay," (A fresh reading of the
poet Sa`di's adoption of the theme of travelling)
Majallah-i Danishkadah-i Adabiyat, Shiraz University,
Iran, forthcoming.
Translations
“Shades of
Bewilderment,” ten ghazals of ‘Attar translated from
Persian in Intimations of Immortality. Ed. Leonard
Lewisohn, London: SOAS. Forthcoming.
"The Treatise
On Journeying" by Majd ad-Din Baghdadi. Translated from
Persian in Views From the House of Islam. Ed.
John Renard. Berkeley: University of California Press; 1998.
"The
Seventh Qiblah: Poems in praise of Imam Riza."
Translated from Persian in Views
From the House of Islam.
"Excerpts from A Sufi Lexicon" by Sayyid Sajjadi. Translated
from Persian in Views From the
House of Islam.
Book Reviews
Ahmad
Karimi-Hakkak, Recasting Persian Poetry: Scenarios of
Poetic Modernity in Iran. International Journal of
Middle East Studies. 30, no.2 (1998): 311-313.
Amin Banani,
Richard Hovannisian, and George Sabbagh eds. Poetry and
Mysticism in Islam: the Heritage of Rumi. Iran Nameh.
Forthcoming.
Leonard
Lewisohn ed. The Legacy of Mediaeval Persian Sufism.
Iranian Studies 27 (1995): 196-197.
Simin
Daneshvar, A Persian Requiem. Middle East
Studies Association Bulletin 27 (1993): 97-98.
Farzaneh
Milani, Veils and the Words: The Emerging Voices of
Iranian Women Writers. Iran Nameh 3 (1993):
554-558.
Richard
Ettinghausen and Ehsan Yarshater eds. Highlights of
Persian Art. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
(London) 1 (1986): 116-117.
Lutz Richter-Bernburg,
Persian Medical Manuscripts at the University of
California, Los Angeles: A Descriptive Catalogue. Medical
History (London) 25 (1981): 94-95.
TEACHING
EXPERIENCE
Courses Taught
at Washington University
Beginning Persian I. Pers.116D
Beginning Persian II. Pers.117D
Intermediate Persian I. Pers.216D
Intermediate Persian II. Pers.217D
Advanced
Persian I. Pers.316D
Advanced
Persian II. Pers. 317D
The
World of Islam: Unity in Diversity (New course).
JNE
Between
Submission and Power: Women and Family in Islam (New
course).
WS306
Islamic
Civilization. JNE210
Modem
Near Eastern Literature, 1800 to the Present (team taught
with Peter Heath and Nancy Berg).
ANELL/Comp. Lit.
Imagery
in Persian Lyric Poetry (New course).
ANELL425
Modem Near
Eastern Literatures (team taught with Peter Heath and Nancy
Berg).
ANELL/
Comp. Lit.
Guided
Readings in Persian. Pers.4982
Women Writers
of Near and Far East (team taught with Nancy Berg and
Rebecca
Copeland). ANELL 200
Lyrics of
Mystical Love, East and West (New Course). Comp.Lit.390
Speaking for
the Other: Orientalism and Literature (New Course). Com.Lit.392
Translation. Comp.Lit.406
Courses Taught
at the Institute of Ismaili Studies
Beginning
Persian
Intermediate
Persian
Advanced
Persian
Readings in
Advanced Persian (Graduate course) Introduction to Sufi
Thought
INVITED
LECTURES
2003
“To Make
Extraordinary: The Role of Sacred Objects in Muslim Life and
Worship” Saint Louis University, September 7.
2002
"Flight of the
Birds: the Poetic Animating the Spiritual in 'Attars
Mantiq al-tayr." Conference on 'Attar. London School of
Oriental and African Studies, November 16.
2002
"Dimensions of
Islam: Tolerance and Diversity," Meramec Community College,
St.Louis, October 17.
2002
"Collision and
Coexistence: Relations between the West and the Islamic
World." The World Affair Council of St. Louis, June 4.
2002
"Women and
Citizenship Conference," Commentator, Washington University
in St.Louis, April 12.
2002
"Has the Time
not Come for this Window to Open?: The Feminine, the
Natural, and the Spiritual in Poetry of Forough Farrokhzad."
International and Global Studies Seminar Series, March 6.
2001
"The Future of
Women of Color at Work and at Home." Keynote Address, Women
of the Color Conference, Washington University.
2001
"Why Does
Rumi's Poetry Speak to All?" Middle East Center for Peace,
Culture & Development, Georgia State University, March 20.
2001
"Shirin as the
Lover and Educator in the Khusraw va Shirin of Nizami."
March 19, Persian Circle, Emory University.
2000
"The Dynamism
of Imagery in the Lyric Poetry of Rumi." The Annual Meeting
of the Middle East Studies Association.
1999
Women of Color Conference, Washington University.
1998.
Asian Art
Society, St.Louis Art Museum lecture series. "Islamic Art in
Cultural context.”
1998
Presentation
and panel discussion on angels in Islam: "Angels from
Different Angles." St.Louis Art Museum in conjunction with
the exhibition "Angels from the Vatican."
1998
Islamic
Foundation of Greater St.Louis: "Islamic Art: Form and
Function."
1996
Washington
University in St.Louis, Department of ANELL, Literary Hour
199697: "Recite! In the Name of the Red Rose: Modernity and
Redefining the Spiritual in Persian Poetry. "
1996
Discussant,
Workshop on "Transitions from Mamluk to Ottoman, Ottoman to
Modern Egypt." Washington University and the St.Louis Art
Museum.
1995
The Midwest
Conference on Asian Affairs. Teacher workshop, St.Louis.
"The Major Persian Festivals. "
1994
Washington
University in St.Louis, Department of ANELL, Literary Hour
199495: "Reading Mystical Lyric: The Case of Jalal aI-Din
Rumi."
1994
University of
Chicago, The Near Eastern Studies Center. "The Footless'
Journey in Nothingness': Rumi's Use of Illogical Tropes.
1993
Washington
University in St.Louis, Women’s Studies Colloquium: "Women
in Post Revolutionary Iran: Personal Observations."
1992
University of
Washington, Seattle. "Much Have I Roamed through the Worlds
Far Quarters: In Search of Sa`di's Self-Image.”
St. Louis Art
Museum, co-sponsored by Washington University. "Islamic Art
in Cultural Context."
1991
The American
Association of University Women, St. Louis. Four lectures on
"Women in Contemporary Islamic Societies."
1990
Discussant,
Middle Eastern Literary Seminar, Duke University, North
Carolina. "A Structural Analysis of the Mantiq al-tayr
of Attar."
1987
The Institute
of Ismaili Studies, London. "Reflections on Some Prominent
Muslim Scientist.”
1986
The Institute
of Ismaili Studies, London. "The Islamic Roots of Sufism."
1983
The Wellcome
Institute for the History of Medicine, London. "Prominent
Medical and Scientific Manuscripts in the Wellcome Persian
Collection."
1982
University of
Kent, Canterbury. "The Seven Stations on the Sufi Path."
Followed by additional discussion with PhD students writing
on related topics.
1981
The Wellcome
Institute for the History of Medicine, London. "Horoscope of
Iskandar Sultan" (introducing a newly discovered
manuscript).
CONFERENCE,
PRESENTATION, PARTICIPATION
2004
Annual Society for Iranian Studies, Washington, D.C. Paper
titled: “Poetics of Spirituality in Rumi’s Fihi ma fih”
May 29.
2002
The World of
Farid ad-Din Attar: Persian Poet and Mystic. London, School
of Oriental and African Studies, November 16 (see above).
2000
Annual Meeting
of the Middle East Studies Association. Paper entitled: "The
Dynamism of
Imagery in Rumi's Poetry"
1998
Attended a
panel which discussed my book Reading Mystical Lyric: The
Case of Jalal aI-Din Rumi. Annual meeting of Center for
Iranian Research and Analysis, Portland, Oregon.
1998
Annual Meeting
of the American Oriental Society. Paper entitled: "Observing
the Poems in Action: a New Approach to Mystical Lyric."
1996
Washington
University in St.Louis, the Twenty-Second Annual Mr. & Mrs.
Spencer T. Olin Conference. Panelist.
1995
Annual Meeting
of the American Association of Teachers of Persian.
Annual Meeting
of the Middle East Studies Association. Paper entitled: "The
Call to Prayer from the Cypress Tree: Sohrab Sepehri and
redefining the Spiritual.”
1994
Annual Meeting
of the American Association of Teachers of Persian.
Elected member
of Task force for promotion of computer-aided teaching of
Persian. Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies
Association.
1992
Annual Meeting
of the Middle East Studies Association. Paper entitled:
"Convention and Innovation in the Divan- i Shams."
American
Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. The Oral
Proficiency Interview Workshop in Chicago.
Annual Meeting
of the American Association of the Teachers of Persian.
Discussion of Proficiency Guidelines for Persian.
1991
University of
Washington, Seattle. Persian Proficiency Workshop.
Washington
University. Workshop on Islamic Literatures.
1990
Annual Meeting
of the American Association of Teachers of Persian.
Discussion on Proficiency Guidelines for Persian.
Annual Meeting
of the Middle East Studies Association.
1988
Annual Meeting
of the Middle East Studies Association. Presented a paper
entitled: "Travel and Identity in Sa`di."
CONFERENCES
ORGANIZED
2000
"Middle
Eastern Literatures and the World: Literary Encounters"
Joint Literary Workshop with the Program on Comparative
Literature, Washington University, October 6-8.
1998
The Annual
Meeting of the Middle Eastern. Literary Seminar, Washington
University, March.
1993
The Annual
Meeting of the Middle Eastern Literary Seminar, Washington
University, March.
1991
"New
Approaches in the Study of Islamic Literatures," Washington
University, May 3-4.
PANELS
ORGANIZED
2003
"The Axis of
Love,” St. Louis History Museum.
2002
"Dance and
Spirituality,” St. Louis History Museum.
2000
"When the
World Spoke Arabic,” St. Louis History Museum.
1992
"Theme and
Artistry: The Many Faces of Jalal ad-Din Rumi" The Annual
Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
American
Association of Teachers of Persian
American
Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
Middle East
Studies Association
Royal Asiatic
Society of Great Britain & Ireland
Society for
Iranian Studies
Iranian
Cultural Society of the Midwest
Asian Art
Society
SERVICE TO
THE PROFESSION
Chair, Task
Force for Computerization of Persian Teaching, American
Association of Teachers of Persian, 1995-present
Member, Task
Force for preparation of Proficiency Guidelines for Persian
Language, American Association of Teachers of Persian, 1994
Evaluation of
manuscript titled All the King’s Falcons: Rumi on
Prophets and Revelation for the State University of New
York Press, May 1993.
Evaluation of
manuscript titled An American Feminist in the Dar
al-Islam for South Carolina University Press, May
1996.
SERVICE TO
THE UNIVERSITY
Chair, Task
Force on Mentoring, Association of Women Faculty 2000
AN ELL
Department, Near Eastern Section Head, 1994-.
ANELL
Department, Undergraduate Activities Committee Chair,
1991-93.
ANELL
Department, Turkish Language Search Committee
Foreign
Language Week Committee
Women Studies
Advisory Committee, 1991-94
Center for the
Study of Islamic Societies and Civilizations
Jewish and
Near Eastern Studies Program Committee
Campus Review
Committee, National Security Education Program. Freshman
Advising (1991-92)
Ph.D.
Examination Committee, Comparative Literature
Academic
Orientation Seminar for International Students, 1992
PUBLIC
RELATIONS LECTURES
Washington
University, Women Society Town and Gown Lectures, 2002 on
the Future of Afghanistan.
Washington
University, Women Society Town and Gown Lecture, 1994.
The World
Affairs Council of St. Louis, panel on "The World of Islam,"
December, 1992.
Parents
Council, Panel on "The Gulf Crisis," April 1991.
COMMUNITY
SERVICE
2002
The Cultural
Society of Mid-West, Maryland Heights Center, Lecture on
Rumi's poetry, November 24.
1989-96
Monthly poetry
reading for the Persian speaking community in St. Louis and
the Washington University interested faculty and students.
1996
International
High School, St. Louis. Two lectures on "The Islamic Art of
Book Making."
1993
The American
Association of University Women, St. Louis. "Women in
Persian Literature."
1992
The World
Affairs Council of St. Louis. Panel discussion on the "World
of Islam."
International
Education Consortium. "Holidays and Festivals in the Middle
East.
1990
The Islamic
Center of Greater St. Louis. "Happiness of the Individual:
An Analysis of Human Relations in the Qur’an."
1989
Ladue Chapel,
St. Louis. Two lectures on "Women in Islam" and "The Iranian
Revolution.”
CONSULTANCY
1993
Consulted by
the Saint Louis Art Museum on the evaluation of the Persian
Coin inscription.
1988
Consulted by the Islamic Texts Society, Cambridge on the
edition of the English translation of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyah's
al-Tibb al-Nabawi.
1985
Consulted by
the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine on the
purchase of a collection of rare Arabic medical manuscripts.
1984
Consulted by
the Agha Khan University, Pakistan on the purchase of two
Persian scientific manuscripts for the University Library.
1983
Consulted by
the Institute of Ismaili Studies on the purchase of a 16th
century illustrated Persian manuscript for the private
collection of His Highness the Agha Khan leader of the
Ismaili community
REFERENCES:
Professor
Peter Heath
Currently the
Provost at AUB
850 Third Ave.
18th Fl,
New York,
NY10022
E-mail:
Pheath@aub.edu.lb
Professor
Michael Sells
Haverford
College
370 Lancaster
Avenue
Haverford, PA
19041
Tel: 610
896-4926
E-mail: msells@haverford.edu
Professor
Jerome Clinton
Princeton
University
110 Jones Hall
Princeton, NJ
08544
E-mail:
jwc@princeton.edu
Professor Carl
Ernst
University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill
101 Saunders
Hall
Tel: 919
962-3924
E-mail:
cernst@email.unc.edu |
