Biennial Iranian Studies Conference

UC is hosting the Twelfth Biennial Iranian Studies Conference from August 14 to 17. Housed under the umbrella of the Association for Iranian Studies, this exciting conference will bring hundreds of scholars, students, academic and non-academic researchers and aficionados of Iranian studies to the University of California, Irvine for a range of scholarly panels, performances, and film screenings. This is the first time the conference will be hosted in Orange County and at UCI.

Event highlights include:

• Film screening of “Taq-e Kasra: Wonder of Architecture” (2018), the first-ever documentary film on the world’s largest brick vault, which is a symbol of the Persian Empire in the Sasanian era (224-651 AD). Taq Kasra was in serious danger of ISIS attacks in 2015-2016 and this was the main motivation for documentary maker Pejman Akbarzadeh to film the arch before it was potentially destroyed
• Panels on art, photography and literature in Iran, including panels on literary fiction and the family, the history of the literary tradition in Iran, modern poetry and more
• Panels on Armenians in Iran, with support from the UCI Armenian Studies Program
• Panels on race, diaspora studies, class, gender and culture
• Dance performances by Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam and Gordafari
• Performance of Persian classical music by Namad Ensemble

For more information, see the program and the conference website.