The Academy of Persian Language and Persianate Culture
Persian through Ethnographic Texts
Instructor: Peyman Eshaghi
About the course:
This course is designed for advanced students to explore the "living" Persian language—the way it is spoken and written when documenting the people, rituals, and diverse landscapes of the Persianate world. We move from medieval geography to modern sociology, focusing on how Persian handles the specific, the local, and the "unfiltered."
Content of the course:
Week 1: The Ismaili Traveler’s Diary Text: Safarnameh by Nasir Khusraw (11th Century). سفرنامه – ناصر خسرو
Week 2: The Sociology of Power Text: Siyasat-nama (Book of Government) by Nizam al-Mulk (11th Century). سیاستنامه – نظامالملک طوسی
Week 3: Etiquette and Life-Cycles Text: Qabus-nama by Keikavus ibn Iskandar (11th Century). قابوسنامه – عنصرالمعالی کیکاووس بن اسکندر
Week 4: The Micro-History of a Court Text: Tarikh-i Bayhaqi by Abu'l-Fazl Bayhaqi (11th Century). تاریخ بیهقی – ابوالفضل بیهقی
Week 5: Saints and the Social Fringe Text: Tazkirat al-Awliya (Biographies of the Saints) by Attar of Nishapur (12th-13th Century). تذکرةالاولیا – عطار نیشابوری
Week 6: Mongol-Era Globalism Text: Jami' al-Tawarikh (Section on Mongols/Chinese) by Rashid al-Din Hamadani (14th Century). جامعالتواریخ – رشیدالدین فضلالله همدانی
Week 7: The View from the Road Text: Travelogue of Haj Sayyah by Mirza Mohammad Ali "Haj Sayyah" (Late 19th Century). خاطرات حاج سیاح – میرزا محمدعلی محلاتی
Week 8: The Princess’s Rebellion Text: Khaterat-e Taj al-Saltaneh (Memoirs of Taj al-Saltaneh) by Taj al-Saltaneh (Early 20th Century). خاطرات تاجالسلطنه – تاجالسلطنه
Week 9: The Satirical Mirror Text: The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan (Persian Translation) by Mirza Habib Esfahani. سرگذشت حاجی بابای اصفهانی – میرزا حبیب اصفهانی
Week 10: The Opium of the People Text: Dar Josteju-ye Hafte-ye bi-Shomare by Gholam-Hossein Sa'edi (1960s). در جستجوی هفته بیشماره – غلامحسین ساعدی
Week 11: Revolutionary Walls Text: Selected Slogans and Pamphlets of the 1979 Revolution. گزیده شعارها و شبنامههای انقلاب ۱۳۵۷
Week 12: The War at Home Text: Chess with the Doomsday Machine (Shatranj ba Mashin-e Qiamat) by Habib Ahmadzadeh. شطرنج با ماشین قیامت – حبیب احمدزاده
Course Details:
Schedule: Wednesdays, 24 June - 9 September, 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 installments)
Registered participants will receive full access to recorded session videos and all course materials.