Welcome to the Institute of Iranian Studies
Dr Brian Lang, Principal welcomes His Excellency Seyyed Mohammad Khatami to the University of St Andrews
The Institute of Iranian Studies at the University of St Andrews was formally launched on 31st October 2006 by Seyyid Mohammad Khatami. The foundation of the Institute was made possible through a generous benefaction the centre-piece of which will be a Persian language library of some 12,000 books. These books will be selected from a full list of Iranian publications and will reflect the strengths of the University of St Andrews in History, Politics and International Relations. The collection, which will be housed in the Main Library, will be the largest resource of its kind in the United Kingdom, if not Western Europe, and will form the basis of research and teaching in all aspects of Iranian Studies at St Andrews.
The function of the Institute is to encourage and facilitate research and teaching in all aspects of Iranian civilisation and culture. The philosophy of the Institute is inclusivity and engagement. While the principle beneficiaries of the Institute’s resources will be students and staff at the University of St Andrews, the collection and the research facilities will be open to all interested parties subject to a letter of introduction and registration.
Presents a talk by
Prof. A. Behdad (UCLA)
The Qajar Dynasty and the Birth of Photography in Iran
Location: Seminar room 3, New Arts Building
Time: Tuesday 22nd March, 4pm
Ali Behdad is John Charles Hillis Professor of Literature and Chair of
English Department at UCLA. He has published widely on a broad range of
topics, including the history of photography in the Middle East,
Orientalism, travel literature, immigration, and national identity in the
United States. Among his publications are Belated Travelers: Orientalism
In the Age of Colonial Dissolution (Duke University Press, 1995) and A
Forgetful Nation: On Immigration and Cultural Identity in the United
States (Duke University 2005). He is the co-editor of Companion to
Comparative Literature, (Blackwell, 2011). He is currently completing a book
titled Contact Visions: On Photography and Modernity in the Middle East.
Latest News
- Professor Ansari discusses his latest book 'Crisis of Authority: Iran's 2009 Presidential Election' (Chatham House, London, 2010) with a panel chaired by The International Herald Tribune and The New York Times
Columnist
Roger Cohen.
This new study of the contested Iranian presidential election of 2009 examines its historical, social and political context, setting it within the framework of the rise of the Principle-ist project under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Professor Ansari assesses the various campaigns, the allegations of fraud and the subsequent political fallout and argues that the crisis of authority facing the Islamic Republic is at the heart of an ideological crisis over the meaning and legacy of the revolution.
Click here to listen to the discussion and here to listen to the Question and Answer session A full transcript of the interview can be downloaded from the Chatham House website.
- The Shahnameh and Persianate identity conference 9th - 11th April 2010.
Conference Program
- Professor Ansari talks to Inside Story's Peter Clarke about the growing split in Iran’s ruling elite. Listen to the broadcast online or download the podcast.
- Preliminary Analysis of the Voting Figures in Iran’s 2009 Presidential Election
Ali Ansari, Daniel Berman and Thomas Rintoul, Chatham House, June 2009
Working from the province by province breakdowns of the 2009 and 2005 results, released by the Iranian Ministry of Interior, and from the 2006 census as published by the official Statistical Centre of Iran, this paper offers some observations about the official data and the debates surrounding the 2009 Iranian Presidential Election.
Download the Paper from the Chatham House website here (PDF Format)
- Professor Ansari discusses the Iranian Presidential Elections with Inside Story's Peter Clarke. Listen to the broadcast online or download the podcast [Part 1, Part 2]
- Historiography & Iran in Comparative Perspective
Institute of Iranian Studies, University of St Andrews / Iran Heritage Foundation
10-13th September 2009
More information about the conference.
