* The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations is currently not accepting PhD applications in Modern Persian Studies
Introduction • General Graduate Requirements • Old Iranian • Persian • Faculty • Courses
Introduction
This field has two programs. The Persian program covers New Persian language
and literature and Islamic studies. For entry into this program, a knowledge
of Persian is assumed and some undergraduate work in Arabic and in the history
and culture of the Islamic world is recommended.. The Iranian program primarily
covers the pre-Islamic Iranian languages and literatures (notably, Avestan,
Old and Middle Persian, and the Central Asian languages Sogdian and Khotanese)
and religions (Zoroastrianism and Manicheism). It targets mainly students
also interested in the ancient Near East, Old indic, and comparative linguistics,
and ancient religions. Some familiarity with ancient languages is useful.
Doctoral candidates will present at least three minor fields for the General
Examinations and will prepare a thesis in the Persian or Iranian field subject
to approval by a committee of the department.
Students pursuing a graduate degree in Iranian and Persian Studies are required to meet the general graduate requirements for all students pursuing graduate degrees in the Department of Near Eastern Language and Civilizations.
Old Iranian
Studies
The Aga Khan
Chair in Iranian is today one of two chairs in Old Iranian studies in the
Americas and one of not many more than a handful in the world.
Teaching covers all the known pre-Islamic languages spoken by Iranians, as
well as several modern languages and dialects not covered by the Persian program,
but also the pre-Islamic religions of Iran: Zoroastrianism and Manicheism,
as well as history and general civilization.
The field covers a large area in time and space, bordering on a great number of other fields. Old Persian and Achaemenid history on Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Aramaic, and Classical studies; Avestan and Zoroastrianism on ancient Indic languages, literature, and culture in general, as well as the Indic epic tradition and Indo-European linguistics; Western Middle Iranian on Aramaic and Syriac, Christian, Manichean, and Gnostic, as well as Armenian studies; Sasanian history on Greek, Latin, and Armenian historiography; Eastern Middle Iranian on Central Asian languages and history, from the Central Asian Republics in the west to Northwestern China (Xinjiang) in the east, including Buddhism, Indology, Tibetology, Tokharology, Uigur studies, and Chinese language and history. All these fields benefit to greater or lesser extent from the offerings of Iranian studies.
Requirements
are adjusted to the interests of the students, but basic language skills are
expected of all, whether concentrating in languages, religions, or history.
The following are basic requirements applying to all undergraduate and graduate
students: Iranian A: one-semester full course in Old Persian; Early Iranian
Civilization 102: Introduction to Zoroastrianism; and Early Iranian Civilization
103: Introduction to Manicheism.
The following are basic requirements in the various undergraduate and graduate special fields:
Undergraduates and graduates specializing in Old Iranian languages and literature must take three semesters of Young Avestan (Iranian B: Introduction to Young Avestan + Iranian 142: Avestan II). Graduate students will also need to take advanced courses in Young and Old Avestan, as well as Sanskrit (Old Indic) and, depending on their focus, comparative Indo-European linguistics. Depending on their interests, students must take one or more courses in Middle Persian (Pahlavi), Sogdian, Khotanese, Bactrian. In addition, basic knowledge of modern Persian (Farsi) is required of graduate students.
Undergraduates and graduates specializing in Zoroastrian religion will need in-depth study of Avestan and Middle Persian texts is required in addition to secondary literature on the subject; those specializing in Manichean religion will need in-depth knowledge of Middle Persian, Parthian, and Sogdian, as well as modern Persian and some Arabic.
Undergraduates and graduates specializing in Iranian history should take some Avestan and Middle Persian, but will also be required to have either (western Iran) a good knowledge of Greek and Latin, as well as classical Armenian and some Syriac or (eastern Iran) a good knowledge of Sogdian and Khotanese, and preferably some Tibetan and Chinese, depending on the focus of their studies.
Basic secondary
literature include: P. Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, a History of the Persian
Empire; J. Wiesehöfer, Ancient Persia; M. Boyce, Zoroastrians. Their
Religious Beliefs and Practices.
Persian
Studies
Persian Studies concentrates upon the literature of New Persian, which includes
the poetry and prose produced in Persian in Iran, Central Asia, the Indian
subcontinent, and the Ottoman Empire from the tenth century to the present
day. Since a good knowledge of Arabic is indispensable for reading Persian,
students normally take at least two years of Arabic, and three are recommended.
Depending upon the level of fluency and reading ability achieved in Persian,
entering graduate students normally take Persian 120 or Persian 140 and thereafter
pursue advanced reading courses in a variety of literary styles and periods.
Persian Studies is typically paired with sub-fields such as Arabic, Islamic
religion and culture, Indo-Muslim culture, Sufism, linguistics, philosophy,
Near Eastern history, Turkish, and the history of art.
Ph.D. students prepare four fields for the general examination. Two of these are required, (1) Persian Language and Literature and (2) Arabic Language and Literature. For the general examination in Persian Language and Literature students are expected, in addition to having a general overview of Persian literature, to read extensively in the corpus of one author and to know the literature of one period in depth. The other two fields may be related to any subject within the framework of Persian Studies and are determined in consultation with the advisor.
Undergraduate
concentrators in Persian Studies normally follow the track of Persian
A, Persian 120, and Persian 140. Beyond these courses students may design
a program of study in consultation with the advisor from the range of
related fields given above.
Faculty:
Roy Mottahedeh,
Gurney Professor of History (Department of History)
P. Oktor Skjaervo,
Aga Khan Professor of Iranian
Wheeler Thackston, Jr.,
Professor of the Practice of Persian and other Near Eastern Languages
James Russell, Mashtots Professor
of Armenian Studies
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