Greetings to dear friends and colleagues,
سلام به دوستان و همکاران گرامی
I hope you had a wonderful Norooz holiday! At Persian Circle we have a very exciting schedule for Spring Quarter, subject to change. Feel free contact us if you have any questions or suggestions!
4/1/2015 Ali Papoli-Yazdi (Universty of Tehran)
4/8/2015 Sam Molaie (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
4/15/2015 Erfan Sharifpour (Sufi poet and musician)
4/22/2015 Shahrzad Mohammadian (SAIC)
5/6/2015 Samra Azarnouche (École pratique des hautes études-Paris)
5/13/2015 Ezzat Goushgir (DePaul University)
5/20/2015 Francesca Chubb-Confer (University of Chicago Divinity School)
5/26/2016 Ahmad Shekarchi (Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran)
5/27/2015 TBA
Whether you are a professional who wishes to update us on cultural events in the greater Chicago area, an artist who wants to showcase a project, or a scholar needing a venue to workshop a paper pertaining to the Persianate world, we would love to have you at Persian Circle! Please scroll down to access recordings of previous presentations from years past, or visit Soundcloud to access recordings from this year:
سلام به همه دوستان و همکاران گرامی
Greetings to all dear friends and colleagues,
Welcome back to another year of exciting talks, presentations, and discussions! The Persian Circle is a weekly event that takes place at the University of Chicago, where we host local and visiting scholars, students, artists, intellectuals, and researchers to come and share their interests with us in an informal and informative series of lectures in Persian. Our weekly meeting time this year will be Wednesdays, 5:00pm-6:30pm in 218 Pick Hall, 5828 South University Avenue. Below is a tentative schedule of our upcoming speakers:
10/1/2014: Shermin Kruse (Pasfarda Arts and Cultural Organization)
10/8/2014: Cameron Cross (University of Chicago)
(Thursday) 10/16/2014: Hadi Jorati (Yale University/Ohio State University)
10/22/2014: Sanaz Sohrabi (School of the Art Institute Chicago)
10/29/2014: Arjang Khorzad (Middle East Music Ensemble)
11/5/2014: Sara Rastegar (Northwestern University)
11/12/2014: Ahmad Arbaboun (University of Chicago)
11/19/2014: Simin Hemmati-Rasmussen (Iran House of Greater Chicago)
12/3/2014: Azadeh Gholizadeh (School of the Art Institute Chicago)
Individual announcements for each speaker will be posted 1-2 days prior. I look forward to seeing you, and stay tuned for updates!
Because we have the NELC Spring Party scheduled for 4 – 6 today, we have decided to postpone Prof. Alaei’s talk until the Autumn Quarter. Thanks for a wonderful year, and best wishes for the summer!
Please join us for our last session of the academic calendar! The Persian Circle presents:
انجمن سخن در دانشگاه شیکاگو تقدیم می کند
Shaban Alaei / شعبان علائی
پند و اندرز در بوستان و گلستان Advice and Admonition in the Bustân and Golestân
Wed. June 4, 5:00–6:30pm Pick 222, 5828 S University Ave
Prof. Shaban Alaei studied Persian literature, most notably Sa‘di, Hâfez, and Molavi (Rumi) under the tutelage of Professor Badi‘ozzamân Foruzânfar and Professor Sa‘id Nafisi during the late 1950s. He was a high school teaher and a professor at Kermanshah University, as well as the Teacher’s College in the Kermanshah province, positions he held for some 55 years.
The Persian Circle presents:
انجمن سخن در دانشگاه شیکاگو تقدیم می کند
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi / آذرین وَن دِر ویلیت علومی
برزخ نویسی : روخوانی از رمانِ The Holy City, Dream and The Traveler
introduction in Persian, followed by a reading in English
Wed. May 28, 5:00–6:30pm Pick 222, 5828 S University Ave
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi is the author of the novel FRA KEELER. She has lived in Iran, Italy, Spain, the United States and the United Arab Emirates, and received her MFA in Fiction from Brown University. She is co-author of the Words without Borders series ArtistsTalk: Israel/Palestine and Literary Journeys through Catalonia. Her work has been published, or is forthcoming in BOMB, The American Reader, The Coffin Factory, Denver Quarterly, State of the Union (an anthology of political poems by Wave Books), and &Now II: The Best Innovative Writing. A former writing resident at the Millay Colony for the Arts and Fulbright Scholar, she now teaches literature at the University of Notre Dame. For more information, see her personal website and her faculty page at UND.
The Persian Circle presents:
انجمن سخن در دانشگاه شیکاگو تقدیم می کند
Maryam Alemzade / مریم عالمزاده
The Revolutionary Guards: An Unconventional Military in a Conventional War سپاه پاسداران و جنگ ایران – عراق: یک سازمان نظامی غیرکلاسیک در یک جنگ کلاسیک
Wed. May 21, 5:00–6:30pm Pick 222, 5828 S University Ave
Maryam Alemzade received her B.A. in Iranian Music Performance from the University of Tehran. During her M.A. program at Allameh Tabataba’i University (ATU), she changed her focus to Sociology and Cultural Studies and entitled her thesis Youth religiosity in Tehran and the capability of religious discourses in its analysis. She is now a Ph.D. student in Sociology, having studied at both at the University of Tehran and at the University of Chicago. During this time, she has pursued her interests in the sociologoy of social movements, revolution, and war.
مریم عالمزاده مدرک کارشناسی نوازندگی موسیقی ایرانی را از دانشگاه تهران گرفت. در دوره کارشناسی ارشد به علوم اجتماعی تغییر رشته داد و در دانشگاه علامه طباطبایی «مطالعات فرهنگی» خواند. عنوان پایان نامه ارشدش «دینداری جوانان در تهران و ظرفیت گفتمانهای دینی برای تحلیل آن» است. از آن به بعد تا اکنون دانشجوی دکتری جامعه شناسی بوده — چند سالی در دانشگاه تهران و بعد هم در دانشگاه شیکاگو. در این چند سال علاقه او را در حوزه جامعه شناسی جنبشهای اجتماعی، انقلاب و جنگ دنبال کرده است.
The Persian Circle presents:
انجمن سخن در دانشگاه شیکاگو تقدیم می کند
Anita Alkhas / انیتا الخاص
Show and Tell: زندگی و هنر هانیبال و آدری الخاص
Wed. May 14, 5:00–6:30pm Pick 222, 5828 S University Ave
Anita Alkhas is Associate Professor of French in the Department of French, Italian and Comparative Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has published articles on French culture and literature with an emphasis on the creative process and on modernism. Her family has held a prominent place in the arts for generations; her grandfather, Rabi Addai Alkhas (1897-1959), translated the Gilgamesh epic into Assyrian Aramaic and founded an important Assyrian literary journal, while her uncle John was a well-known poet. Her father Hannibal (1930–2010) was a sculptor, painter, and author who received his BFA and MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and taught at various instutions both in the US and in Iran. He was also the founder of the Gilgamesh gallery, the first modern art gallery in Iran where aspiring young artists were introduced. Anita will be speaking about her experiences growing up with her family of artists as an Iranian-American living in 1970s Iran.
See the following links to learn more about Hannibal’s work:
The Persian Circle presents:
انجمن سخن در دانشگاه شیکاگو تقدیم می کند
Mehran Jalili / مهران جلیلی
The Guitar and I گیتار و من
Wed. May 7, 5:00–6:30pm Pick 222, 5828 S University Ave
We are very lucky to have Mehran Jalili come and speak (and play) for us this week! Mehran is an avant-garde Flamenco guitarist based in Chicago. His first album, entitled Angels of Persepolis, has gained him an international reputation and was chosen by UK’s Rainlores World of Music as the best world music album of 2010. His latest CD Subterranea (2012) is a concept album along the vein of progressive/alternative/psychedelic rock influenced by the Flamenco guitar; many describe Mehran’s new 4-piece band as Pink Floyd under the spell of flamenco. To whet your appetites, check out the following links:
The Persian Circle presents:
انجمن سخن در دانشگاه شیکاگو تقدیم می کند
Shahriar Piroozram / ﺷﻬﺮﻳﺎﺭ ﭘﻴﺮﻭﺯﺭﺍﻡ
Lecturer at the Art University of Isfahan and Visiting Scholar at Columbia College, Chicago
An Introduction to the Persian Book and Paper Arts ﻣﻌﺮﻓﯽ ﻫﻨﺮﻫﺎﯼ ﮐﺘﺎﺏ ﺁﺭﺍﻳﯽ ﺩﺭ ﺍﻳﺮﺍﻥ
Wed. April 30, 5:00–6:30pm Pick 222, 5828 S University Ave
Mr. Piroozram is an artist specializing in Timurid/Ilkhanid book design and Safavid miniatures, currently a visiting scholar at Columbia College, Chicago. He received his B.F.A from the Art University of Tehran, his M.F.A. from the Art University of Isfahan (AUI), and expects to receive his Ph.D. in Art Research from the same university in the summer of this year. He has taught courses at the AUI in traditional bookbinding, manuscript conservation, design, calligraphy, illumination, miniature, wood carving, and art symbolism. His research interests include the art and architecture of the Chehelsotun Palace in Isfahan, traditional methods of paper dyeing, and book cover design. His work has been exhibited at Columbia College, the AUI, and the National Museum of Algeria among other venues.
The Persian Circle presents:
انجمن سخن در دانشگاه شیکاگو تقدیم می کند
Narimon Safavi / نریمان صفوی
On the Possible Rapprochement Between Iran and the U.S. در امکان آشتی میان ایران و آمریکا
Wed. April 23, 5:00–6:30pm Pick 222, 5828 S University Ave
Narimon Safavi is a Chicago based Iranian-American entrepreneur who is also a contributor and analyst for the radio program Worldview on WBEZ (Chicago Public Media). Born in Tehran to an Azari-Iranian family, he studied Chemistry and Philosophy at the Illinois State University and is now serving on the Human Rights Watch – Chicago Committee and as an ambassador of the DC based National Iranian-American Council (NIAC, the largest grass roots advocacy organization of Iranian-Americans). (See more at PasFarda)
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