Modern Iranian Culture: Art, Society, Traditions

2024/2025

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

6

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies

Course type:

Compulsory course

When:

4 year, 1-4 module

Instructor

Samadi, Mozhgan

Course Syllabus

Abstract

This course aims to introduce students of Iranian studies (second year) to different aspects of Modern Iran at a groundwork level. The research context of this course includes history, politics, social classes, different aspects of culture and various every-day aspects of modern Iranian society. By using a collection of primary sources in Persian, including literary and printed mass media texts, short videos and songs, and brief parts of fictions, this course follows two main objectives: a) to familiarize second-year students of Iranian studies with contemporary Iran, b) to improve their four Persian language skills. This course is designed for one academic year (2 semesters), two sessions (2 пары) per week (lecture sessions in English-Persian language and seminar sessions in Persian only).

Learning Objectives

• The primary aim of this course is to develop students' four Persian language skills (i.e. reading, writing, listening, and speaking) in the context of contemporary Iranian culture. The second goal of this course is to introduce students to different aspects of contemporary Iranian culture as a platform for a better understanding of the Contemporary Middle East. In other words, this course is recommended for all students of Middle Eastern studies who are acquainted with the Persian language. The third goal of this course is to introduce students with a range of up-to-date academic sources in English about the subjects discussed during this course. This will greatly help them to strengthen their academic skills.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• General understanding of key historical, political, and social aspects in Iran since 1921;
• General understanding of key works in contemporary Iranian literature and Iranian cinema related to the above goal;
• Familiarity with a range of English academic sources related to the course topics;
• The ability to transfer and analyse the received knowledge using the four Persian language skills at an upper-intermediate level.

Course Contents

• Theme 1

Assessment Elements

• oral presentations in Persian
• exam
• written exam
• Activity
• essays in Persian

Interim Assessment

• 2024/2025 2nd module
  0.2 * Activity + 0.4 * essays in Persian + 0.4 * oral presentations in Persian
• 2024/2025 4th module
  0.4 * Activity + 0.2 * essays in Persian + 0.1 * exam + 0.2 * oral presentations in Persian + 0.1 * written exam

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Abrahamian, E. (2008). A History of Modern Iran. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=234374

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Hamid Naficy. (2012). A Social History of Iranian Cinema, Volume 3 : The Islamicate Period, 1978–1984. Duke University Press Books.
• Hamid Naficy. (2012). A Social History of Iranian Cinema, Volume 4 : The Globalizing Era, 1984–2010. Duke University Press Books.

Authors

• KHOMCHENKOVA VARVARA VALENTINOVNA
• SAMADI MOZHGAN -