Yale University Persianate Studies Conceptual Conference

Persianate Studies: A Conceptual Inquiry

The Iranian Studies Initiative at Yale University is organizing a workshop in May 2014 to explore the dimensions of Persianate Studies as an academic field. The workshop asks whether the term “Persianate” works as a conceptual framework beyond language and literature to such areas as habitat, economy and trade routes, and political and material cultures. Are there tangible historical ties in the pre-modern and early modern eras among such diverse regions as Anatolia, the Iranian plateau and the greater Khorasan region, the Caucasus, the southern rim of Central Asia, Western Xinjiang, and the Indian subcontinent? Can these ties create a viable field of study beyond Middle Eastern, Central Asian, South Asian and East Asian studies to underscore subtle interregional connections and longue duréecommonalities? What circumstances, on the other hand, reoriented these regions and helped break up the Persianate oecumene in modern times? Papers may explore novel conceptual and theoretical approaches as well as case studies with broader historical implications.

Please send proposals (synopsis and a resume) by October 31, 2013 via email to Ms. Lora LeMosy (lora.lemosy@yale.edu), Council on Middle East Studies, MacMillan Center, Yale University.