The Academy of Persian Language and Persianate Culture
Persian through Travelogues
Instructor: Peyman Eshaghi
This course offers a dynamic departure from the strict regional focus of normative Central Asian Studies courses by exploring the evolution of Persian identity through the lens of the intellectual traveler: Nasir Khosro. Expanding beyond the commonly studied administrative and philosophical texts of Transoxiana, students will analyze how the Persian language adapted to describe the unfamiliar as the medieval ascetic traveled across the Islamic world in the 11th century. The course will also delve into the modern period through the travelogues recording the royal curiosities of the Qajars and the sharp social critiques of modern intellectuals like Jalal Al-e Ahmad. By analyzing these journeys across the Hijaz, Europe, India, and the discovery of the self, the course illuminates the shifting boundaries of the "Persianate world," over time; highlighting a fascinating linguistic transition from the austere, objective prose of the 11th century to the subjective, telegraphic, and often defiant voices of the modern era.
Course Content
Week 1
Safarnameh-ye Nasir Khusraw by Nasir Khusraw
سفرنامه ناصرخسرو اثر ناصرخسرو قبادیانی
Week 2
Gulistan (Chapter 2: On the Morals of Dervishes) by Saadi Shirazi
گلستان (باب دوم: در اخلاق درویشان) اثر سعدی شیرازی
Week 3
Safarnameh-ye Don Juan-e Irani by Uruch Beg Bayat
سفرنامه دون ژوان ایرانی اثر اروچ بیگ بیات
Week 4
Tazkira-ye Hazin Lahiji by Mohammad Ali Hazin Lahiji
تذکره حزین لاهیجی اثر محمدعلی حزین لاهیجی
Week 5
Safarnameh-ye Mirza Saleh Shirazi by Mirza Saleh Shirazi
سفرنامه میرزا صالح شیرازی اثر میرزا صالح شیرازی
Week 6
Safarnameh-ye Dovvom-e Farangestan by Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar
سفرنامه دوم فرنگستان اثر ناصرالدین شاه قاجار
Week 7
Safarnameh-ye Hajji Sayyah by Hajji Sayyah (Mirza Mohammad Ali Mahallati)
سفرنامه حاجی سیاح اثر میرزا محمدعلی محلاتی
Week 8
Safarnameh-ye Meccah by Hajiyyeh Khanum Alaviye Kermani
سفرنامه مکه اثر حاجیه خانم علویه کرمانی
Week 9
Khasi dar Miqat by Jalal Al-e Ahmad
خسی در میقات اثر جلال آلاحمد
Week 10
Safir-e Simorgh by Mohammad-Ali Eslami Nodushan
صفیر سیمرغ اثر محمدعلی اسلامی ندوشن
Week 11
Safar dar Khab by Shahrokh Meskoob
سفر در خواب اثر شاهرخ مسکوب
Week 12
Jan-e Belestan by Reza Amirkhani
جانِ بِلِستان اثر رضا امیرخانی
Course Details:
Schedule: Mondays, 22 June - 7 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 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.