Seminar: Of Arab invasions, Aryan races and other Iranian nationalist myths

[SOAS Iranian Society]

Dear all,

These days, i have nothing much to say. Like an old saying goes, the cat has caught my tongue.

That aside, on Monday the Sun enters Sagittarius, the 9th Zodiac month, represented by the Centuar. In the Persian calendar Sagittarius corresponds to the month of Azar.

The 'key phrase' associated with Sagittarius is, "I Seek, I See".

Me personally, i seek a good old fashioned lie in, like a bear - for about the next 7 months until summer. Doubt i'll see it, though. So i'll seek a good beer or few instead. That'll have a similar effect. :} You?

Of Arab invasions, Aryan races and other Iranian nationalist myths

Date: Monday, 21 November
Time: 17:15 - 19:15
Room: B104 (Brunei Gallery)

Speaker: Dr Reza Zia-Ebrahimi (King’s College London)

Reza Zia-Ebrahimi is a historian of nationalism and race, with focus on Iran in the period 1860-1940. He is interested in trans-regional intellectual encounters, particularly the selection and hybridisation of European ideas of the nation by Iranian intellectuals, and the racialised historiography which was the result of their work. He is currently starting a new research project examining European views of Islam through the lens of race and global conspiracy.

Organised by: Department of History, SOAS

Exhibition: Far from Home

Date: 22 - 24 November 2016
Time: 12:30- 19:00
Location: The Crypt Gallery, St. Pancras Parish Church, Euston Road, London NW1 2BA

Private view: Monday, 21 November
Time: 18:30 - 20:30

The exhibition titled ‘Far from Home’ is inspired by the true story of Nazanin Zaghari- Ratcliffe, a British Iranian project developer who attended a New Year celebration in Tehran in March 2016 with her two-year-old daughter. The Iranian calendar starts on the 21st of March when Iranians celebrate the start of spring as a sign of new life and new beginnings in nature. In contrast to the supposedly celebratory nature of the New Year event, when Nazanin and her daughter were returning to their home in London, they were unexpectedly arrested at Tehran Airport. There have been no charges brought against Nazanin but she is still being detained in Evin Prison, Tehran. In ‘Far from Home’, the concept of ‘home’ has a double meaning given the situation; it is a joyful/celebratory place to visit and yet terrifying at the same time.

Further info: http://cryptgallery.org/event/far-from-home/
Curator: Azadeh Fatehrad and Richard Slocombe

Beacon of Diversity: Ayandegan and the Spring of Freedom of 1979

Date: Wednesday, 23 November
Time: 18:00 - 20:00
Room: Room T102, SOAS Language Centre, 22 Russell Square

* Please note that seating is limited.

Speaker: Dr Siavush Randjbar-Daemi (University of Manchester)

The purpose of this talk is that of focusing on the role and importance of Ayandegan (lit. “The Future Generation”), a prominent Tehran daily newspaper, in the public sphere throughout the last phase of its existence, January – August 1979, which coincided with the eclipse of the Pahlavi regime and the dawn of the post-revolutionary state order. Grounded on an analysis of relevant Ayandegan issues, on the reminiscences of key members of its editorial board, as well as the broader debates concerning the content and stances of the newspaper which evolved during those months, the talk will argue that the newspaper was a unique beacon for the subaltern elements of the revolutionary front which collectively toppled the Shah’s regime and will re-examine its seminal reporting on the topical issues of that heady and unique period and the progressive fraying of relations between the newspaper and the new state authorities, which led to its banning in August 1979.

Contact email: nm...@soas.ac.uk (Nima Mina)

Organised by: Department of Near and Middle East Studies and the Department of Politics and International Studies in collaboration with the Centre for Iranian Studies, SOAS

The Silk Road: Parthian traders

Date: Saturday, 26 November
Time: 13:15 - 14:00
Location: Room 52, The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG

A gallery talk by Diana Driscoll, independent speaker.

Organised by: The British Museum

The effects of Saudi-Iranian rivalry on the Regional Security Complex

Date: Tuesday, 29 November

Time: 16:30 - 18:00  

Location: Room 1.15, first floor, New Academic Building, LSE

Speaker: Dr Matteo Legrenzi (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)

FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/282130922182191/

Rapid regional changes bring to the attention of IR scholars the old debate about the low responsiveness of the Middle East to regionalism and regionalization in both the economic and political fields as well as the absence of a functional Middle East security complex. The overall polarization in regional politics, the rivalries amongst global actors and  the continuous confrontation by proxy between Iran and Saudi Arabia open up new scenarios none of which bodes well for the future.

Registration: http://www.lse.ac.uk/middleEastCentre/kuwait/events/ML-29-11-16.aspx

Organised by: LSE Middle East Centre

The Iranist

Hello everyone,

I wanted to introduce you to our weekly newsletter on all things Iran, The Iranist. Our free, curated newsletter is trusted by analysts, diplomats, investors, journalists, NGO workers, and more.

We source an average of 100 articles each week. Then we summarize the most important news stories for you. We also include key headlines and events from around the world. We break down the news so you don’t have to.

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- Holly Dagres

Further info: http://www.theiranist.com/about/

Call for Papers: Third Biennial Conference On Iranian Studies
 
Deadline: Friday 02 December 2016

We welcome proposals that engage with any aspect of Iranian studies within the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

Symposia Iranica is the biennial international graduate conference on Iranian studies. We bring together students and early career scholars to celebrate, encourage and stimulate their interest and engagement with the field, and seek to deliver a rounded, academically and professionally enriching experience that will have a real impact on the thinking, output and career progression of our participants.
 
Further info: http://symposia-iranica.com/cfp/
Organised by: Symposia Iranica

Amnesty International Project

I'm working with Amnesty International in verifying social media photos and videos of various crimes. They've just launched a new project on verifying US post-election hate speech videos. I would be very grateful if anyone could send me videos they see posted on Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter of any sort of hate speech or harassment based on sex, religion, skin colour, nationality, etc. The videos must be from AFTER 8 November. You can send them to my email olivian...@gmail.com

- Olivia is a former SOAS student.

It's getting cold out there.

Id say enjoy your week, but you probably wont in this freeze.

So, until next summer.

Best,

Aki Elborzi
soas.i...@gmail.com
https://groups.google.com/group/soas-iranian-society
http://www.facebook.com/pages/SOAS-Iranian-Society/154877127876306