Advanced Persian through History of Art Texts

Instructor: Peyman Eshaghi

Course Overview: Advanced Persian through Travelogues

Course Description: This 10-week seminar explores the evolution of the Persian language and Iranian identity through the lens of the traveler. Students will analyze texts ranging from the 11th-century classical prose of Nasir Khusraw to the modern, cinematic observations of the 21st century.

Learning Objectives:

Master high-level vocabulary related to geography, ethnography, and philosophy.
Identify the shift from Classical Persian (complex, rhythmic) to Modern Persian (colloquial, direct).
Develop critical thinking regarding "The Other" and "The Self" in Iranian literature.

Weekly Curriculum & Reading List

Week 1: The Spiritual Journey

Text: Safarnameh by Nasir Khusraw (11th Century). The bedrock of Persian travel literature. We analyze his journey from Merv to Cairo.

Focus: Classical Khorasani prose and the intersection of travel with philosophical inquiry.

Week 2: The Medieval Observer

Text: The Travels of Ibn Battuta (Persian translation by Mohammad Ali Movahhed). We compare the Arabic-original perspective with the elegance of modern Persian translation.

Focus: Geographical vocabulary and the fluidity of Persian as a lingua franca in the medieval world.

Week 3: Safavid Diplomacy and Power

Text: The Tazkereh of Shah Tahmasp I (16th Century). A candid look at royal life and territorial movement during the Safavid era.

Focus: Courtly etiquette (Ta’arof), administrative terminology, and the "High Style" of the period.

Week 4: The Royal Encounter with the West

Text: Safarnameh-ye Farang by Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (19th Century). The Shah’s diary of his travels to Europe. It’s an essential look at the "shock of the new."

Focus: The influx of French loanwords and the dawn of a "journalistic" Persian prose style.

Week 5: Travel as Satire and Reform

Text: Safarnameh-ye Ibrahim Beg by Zayn al-Abidin Maraghei (Late 19th Century). A fictional travelogue that acted as a catalyst for the Constitutional Revolution.

Focus: Political rhetoric, biting social satire, and the use of the "common voice."

Week 6: The Female Perspective

Text: Khaterat-e Taj al-Saltaneh (The Memoirs of Taj al-Saltaneh). While a memoir, it documents her travels and observations of the Qajar court and beyond.

Focus: Examining the domestic vs. external world through a feminine, analytical lens.

Week 7: Existential Landscapes

Text: Kavir (The Desert) by Ali Shariati (20th Century). Shariati’s masterpiece on the Iranian desert as a state of mind.

Focus: Abstract intellectual vocabulary, poetic metaphors, and modern ideological Persian.

Week 8: The Ethnographic Eye

Text: Tat-neshin-ha-ye Bolook-e Zahra by Jalal Al-e Ahmad. Al-e Ahmad’s rigorous, "on-the-ground" sociological study of rural Iran.

Focus: Socio-political terminology, regional dialects, and the "telegrammatic" style of the modern Iranian intellectual.

Week 9: The Lyrical Reflection

Text: Safar bar Sobh by Mohammad-Ali Eslami Nodooshan. Nodooshan’s elegant essays on his travels through Europe and China.

Focus: Academic, lyrical Persian; learning to articulate complex cultural comparisons.

Week 10: The Psychology of War

Text: Safarnameh-ye Shahr-e Jang by Habib Ahmadzadeh. A haunting, contemporary look at the landscapes of the Iran-Iraq war.

Focus: Contemporary military terminology and the language of resilience and trauma.

Week 11: The Modern Nomad

Text: Mark-e-Polo by Mansour Zabetian. Zabetian is the defining travel writer of modern Iran; his books are fun, approachable, and very contemporary.

Focus: Idiomatic, conversational "street" Persian and the structure of the modern travel blog/book.

Week 12: Language Without Borders

Text: Janestan-e Kabulistan by Reza Amirkhani. Amirkhani travels to Afghanistan to find the roots of the Persian language.

Focus: Modern neologisms, the influence of digital media, and comparing Iranian Farsi with Afghan Dari.

Course Details:

Schedule: Mondays, 30 March – 15 June 2026

Time: 10:30 - 11:30 AM (US Pacific), 12:00–13:00 (US Eastern), 06:00–07:00 PM (Central European)

Format: 12 online sessions

Tuition: $300 (payable in 3 installments)

Notes:

Class days and times may be adjusted in accordance with the request of enrollees.

Registered participants will receive full access to recorded session videos and all course materials.

Registration link: https://forms.gle/qb8HgweQcqGEuPRD9