Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina

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YUHAN SOHRAB-DINSHAW VEVAINA LECTURER DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES TELEPHONE: +1-650-723-2168 STANFORD UNIVERSITY FAX: +1-650-725-1476 BUILDING 70, 450 SERRA MALL EMAIL: [email protected] STANFORD, CA 94305, U.S.A.

AREAS OF SCHOLARLY AND TEACHING INTEREST Critical approaches to the study of Zoroastrianism; Zoroastrian textual traditions and practices, including late antique and contemporary hermeneutics; modern Zoroastrian history and thought; the insider/outsider problem in the study of religion; religion in diaspora.

POSITIONS AND AFFILIATIONS

• LECTURER, Department of Religious Studies, Stanford University, 2011-2013 • NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES FELLOW, National Council for the Humanities, 2010 • RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University, 2010 • LECTURER ON OLD IRANIAN, NELC, Harvard University, Fall 2008, Fall 2009 • RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, Department of History, University of California at Irvine, Spring-Summer 2009 • LECTURER ON NEAR EASTERN LANGUAGES AND CIVILIZATIONS, Harvard University, 2007-2008 • CORE FELLOW, Harvard College Undergraduate Core Curriculum, Harvard University, 2007-2008

EDUCATION

• PH.D., Harvard University, Iranian and Persian Studies, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, June 2007 DISSERTATION: Studies in Zoroastrian Exegesis and Hermeneutics with a Critical Edition of the Sūdgar Nask of Dēnkard Book 9 (High Distinction) • M.A., Harvard University, Iranian and Persian Studies, NELC, June 2003 • B.A., Tufts University, International Relations (East Asian Area Studies), November 1998 • Foreign Student, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Peoples Republic of China, Spring 1997 • Foreign Student, Capitol Normal University, Beijing, Peoples Republic of China, Fall 1996

TEACHING EXPERIENCE (HARVARD UNIVERSITY AND STANFORD UNIVERSITY) SEMINARS (LECTURER – STANFORD UNIVERSITY) • Religious Studies 229/329 and Classics General 159/259: Winged Bulls and Sun Disks: Religion and Politics in the Persian Empire, Spring 2011 • RelSt. 209/309: Priests, Prophets, and Kings: Religion and Society in Late Antique Iran, Fall 2011 • RelSt. 209A/309A: Sugar in the Milk: Modern Zoroastrianism as Race, Religion, and Ethnicity, Winter 2012

INTRODUCTORY COURSES (LECTURER – STANFORD UNIVERSITY) • RelSt. 20: Beyond Good and Evil: A Thematic Introduction to the Zoroastrian Religion, Winter 2011 • RelSt. 109: Emperor, Explorer, and God: Alexander the Great in the Global Imagination, Fall 2011 • RelSt. 20A: The Sun Also Shines on the Wicked: The Problem of Evil in Religious Thought, Spring 2012

INDEPENDENT STUDIES – (INSTRUCTOR – STANFORD UNIVERSITY) • RelSt. 389: Individual Work for Graduate Students (in Jewish Studies and in Early Christianity), Spring 2011 • RelSt. 388: Research in Modern Religious Thought, Ethics, and Philosophy, Spring 2011

1 • RelSt. 389: Individual Work for Graduate Students (in Islamic Studies), Summer 2011

SEMINARS AND INTRODUCTORY COURSES (LECTURER – HARVARD UNIVERSITY) • IrCiv.104: Beyond Good and Evil: A Thematic Introduction to Zoroastrianism, Fall 2008 • IrCiv.105: ‘Crow Eaters’ and ‘Fire Worshippers’: Encountering Contemporary Zoroastrians, Spring 2008

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE COURSES (INSTRUCTOR – HARVARD UNIVERSITY) • Iranian A: Old Persian Language and Literature, 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 • Iranian Ca: Introduction to Middle Persian Language and Literature, 2002-2003 • Iranian Cb: Intermediate Middle Persian Language and Literature, 2003-2004 • Iranian 206r: Advanced Middle Persian Language and Literature, 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 • Iranian 100: Intermediate Middle Persian Language and Literature, Fall 2008 • Iranian 130: Advanced Middle Persian: Pahlavi, Fall 2009

CORE COURSES (TEACHING FELLOW – HARVARD UNIVERSITY) • Moral Reasoning 54: ‘If There is No God, All is Permitted’: Theism and Moral Reasoning, Spring 2008, Head Teaching Fellow, Fall 2009 • Literature and Arts 21: The Images of Alexander the Great, Department of the Classics and History of Art and Architecture, Fall 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007

PUBLICATIONS

BOOKS • Dēnkard Book 9. The Sūdgar Nask. Text, Translation, and Commentary. IRANICA Series (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, in preparation). • Co-editor with Michael Stausberg, The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Zoroastrianism (Oxford: Wiley- Blackwell, in preparation).

ARTICLES • “Resurrecting the Resurrection: Eschatology and Exegesis in Late Antique Zoroastrianism,” Bulletin of the Asia Institute 19 ([2005] 2009), pp. 219-227. • “Relentless Allusion: Intertextuality and the Reading of Zoroastrian Interpretive Literature,” in The Bavli in Sasanian Iran. Proceedings of The Talmud in Its Iranian Context, UCLA, May 6-7, 2007, eds. Carol Bakhos and Rahim Shayegan (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2010), pp. 208-234. • “‘Enumerating the Dēn’: Textual Taxonomies, Cosmological Deixis, and Numerological Speculations in Zoroastrianism,” History of Religions 50:2 (Nov. 2010), pp. 111-143. • “Hubris and Himmelfahrt: The Narrative Logic of Kay Us’ Ascent to Heaven in Pahlavi Literature,” in Ancient and Middle Iranian Studies. Proceedings of the 6th Conference of Iranian Studies, held in Vienna, 18-22 September 2007, eds. M. Macuch, D. Weber and D. Durkin-Meisterernst, IRANICA 19 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2010), pp. 231-243. • “Miscegenation, ‘Mixture,’ and ‘Mixed Iron’: The Hermeneutics, Historiography, and Cultural Poesis of the ‘Four Ages’ in Zoroastrianism,” in Revelation, Literature and Community in Late Antiquity, eds. Philippa Townsend and Moulie Vidas (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, in press), 237-269. • “Scripture Versus Contemporary (Interpretive) Needs: Mapping the Contours of Zoroastrian Hermeneutics,” in Shoshanat Yaakov: Ancient Jewish and Iranian Studies in Honor of Professor Yaakov Elman, eds. Steven Fine and Samuel Secunda (Leiden: Brill, in press). • “‘The Ground Well Trodden But the Shah Not Found…’: Orality and Textuality in the ‘Book of Kings’ and the Zoroastrian Mythoepic Tradition,” in Orality and Textuality in the Iranian World, eds. Julia Rubanovich and Shaul Shaked (Leiden: Brill, in press).

2 • “Words and Worlds and Those in Between...: Questions of Philology, Historiography, and Disciplinarity in the Study of Zoroastrianism” (in preparation). • “‘Surely the Prophet Intended...’: Authority and Legitimation in the Study of Zoroastrianism” (in preparation). • “Pahlavi and Periodization: The Use and Value of the Term ‘Late Antiquity’ for Zoroastrian Middle Persian Literature,” (in preparation). • “Theologies and Hermeneutics,” in The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Zoroastrianism (Oxford: Wiley- Blackwell, in preparation). • with Michael Stausberg, “Inside(er) and Outside(er) Perspectives,” in The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Zoroastrianism (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, in preparation).

ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRIES • “Sūdgar nask and Warštmānsr nask,” in Encyclopædia Iranica, ed. Ehsan Yarshater http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sudgar-nask-and-warstmansr-nask • “Avesta,” in The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, eds. R. Bagnall et al (Oxford: Blackwell, in press). • “Zurvan,” in The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, eds. R. Bagnall et al (Oxford: Blackwell, in press).

REVIEW ARTICLES • Jenny Rose: The Image of Zoroaster: The Persian Mage Through European Eyes (New York, 2000), in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Third Series, vol. 13/1 (2003): 118-122. • John R. Hinnells: The Zoroastrian Diaspora: Religion and Migration (Oxford, 2005), in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Third Series, vol. 17/3 (2007): 344-349. • Contributed to Prods Oktor Skjærvø’s review of Bruce Lincoln: Religion, Empire, and Torture: The Case of Achaemenian Persia, with a Post-Script on Abu Ghraib (Chicago, 2007) in The American Historical Review 113 (June 2008): 946-947. • John R. Hinnells and Alan Williams (eds.): Parsis in India and the Diaspora (London, 2007), in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Third Series, vol. 20/1 (January 2010), 100-106. • Ramiyar P. Karanjia: The Bāj-dharnā (Drōn Yasht). A Zoroastrian Ritual for Consecration and Commemoration. History, Performance, Text and Translation (Mumbai, 2010), in Parsiana (in press).

LECTURES, TALKS, AND CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS • “Zoroastrian 201,” Zoroastrian Association of Northern California, San Jose, CA, May 15, 2011. • Respondent at “Sensual Faiths: Religion and the Senses,” Graduate Student Conference, Stanford Humanities Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, May 14, 2011. • “Miscegenation, ‘Mixture,’ and ‘Mixed Iron’: The Hermeneutics, Historiography, and Cultural Poesis of the ‘Four Ages’ in Zoroastrianism,” Faculty Colloquium, Department of Religious Studies, Stanford University, May 5, 2010. • “‘O Ahura, We Desire Your Fire to be Strong through Asha’: Language, Literature and Learning from the Gathas,” K. R. Cama Oriental Institute, Mumbai, India, Sep. 3, 2010. • “The Zoroastrian Community’s Response to Islam: Text, Debates and Interaction,” 8th Biennial Conference of the International Society for Iranian Studies, Santa Monica, May 30, 2010. • “The ‘Book of Kings’ and the Zoroastrian Mythoepic Tradition in Early Islamic Iran,” The Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas, Austin, April 6, 2010. • “Contested Theologies: The Internet and the Study of Zoroastrianism,” American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Montréal, Canada, Nov. 8, 2009. • “Questions of Transmission and Agency in the Pahlavi Commentaries on the Old Avesta,” at “Poets, priests, scribes and (e-)librarians. The transmission of holy wisdom in Zoroastrianism,” Universidad de Salamanca, Spain, Sep. 3, 2009. • “Charity and Benevolence in Zoroastrianism from the Gathas to Today,” California Zoroastrian Center, Westminster, CA, June 28, 2009.

3 • “Archaeology, Diaspora, and Identity: New Frontiers in Zoroastrian and Parsi History,” Zoroastrian Studies Lecture Series, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Feb. 27, 2009. • “Translating Pahlavi Texts as Literature,” at “Exploring Iran: Emerging Scholarship in Iranian Studies,” Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, UC, Irvine, Feb. 14, 2009. • “Old Philology and New Text Editions: Preparing the Critical Edition of Dēnkard Book 9,” at “The Middle Persian Dictionary Workshop,” Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem, Dec. 22, 2008. • “The Primacy of the Living Spoken Word: Orality and Its Implications for the Zoroastrian Interpretive Tradition,” at “Orality and Textuality in the Iranian World,” The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Dec. 16, 2008. • “The Insider/Outsider Problem in the Study of Religion,” Student-Faculty Workshop, Institute for Archaeology, History, Culture, and Religion, University of Bergen, Norway, Sep. 4, 2008. • “How Zoroastrians Understood the Gathas a Thousand Years Ago,” K. R. Cama Oriental Institute, Mumbai, India, July 24, 2008. • “Researching and Teaching Zoroastrianism in the West,” The Athornan Mandal, Mumbai, India, July 22, 2008. • “‘Smashing the Bodies of the Demons’ and ‘Resurrecting the Dead’: Universal Eschatology in Zoroastrianism,” at “Zoroastrians Past and Present,” The Ancient India and Iran Trust, The University of Cambridge, UK, June 7, 2008. • “‘Granting a Better Share to the Right-Living Poor’: The Importance of Charity in Zoroastrianism,” Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe, London, UK, June 6, 2008. • “The Hermeneutics of the Ahuna Vairiia in Pahlavi Literature,” Council of the Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, April 17, 2008. • “The Ahuna Vairiia Prayer and the 21 Nasks of the Zoroastrian Sacred Corpus,” American Oriental Society 218th Annual Meeting, Chicago, March 15, 2008. • “Undying Ruler and Destroyer of Idol Temples: Kay Khusraw and His Role in Zoroastrian Eschatology,” Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, University of California, Irvine, Jan. 24, 2008. • “Omnisignificant Exegesis in Zoroastrianism,” 39th Annual Conference of the Association for Jewish Studies, Panel: “Explorations in Zoroastrian and Rabbinic Scriptural Exegesis,” Toronto, Dec. 16, 2007. • “Mythoepic Narratives in a Pahlavi Commentary on the Old Avesta: Dēnkard Book 9 on the Vahištōišti Gāθā,” 6th European Conference of Iranian Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Sep. 21, 2007. • “Intertextuality, Omnisignificance, and Zoroastrian Interpretation,” at “The Talmud in Its Iranian Context,” UCLA Center for Jewish Studies and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Los Angeles, May 6, 2007. • “Associative Exegesis in Zoroastrianism: Dēnkard Book 9 and the Kamnamaēzā Hāiti (Yasna 46.1-19),” American Oriental Society 217th Annual Meeting, San Antonio, March 17, 2007. • “The Challenge of Zoroastrianism: Studying a Living Faith as an Ancient Tradition,” Zoroastrian Studies Seminar Series at the University of Toronto, Oct. 17, 2006. • “Eschatology and Exegesis in Zoroastrianism: Dēnkard Book 9 and the Airiiaman Prayer,” Zoroastrian Studies Seminar Series at the University of Toronto, Oct. 16, 2006.

AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS • National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, National Council for the Humanities, 2010 • Visiting Research Fellowship, University of Bergen, Norway, August-September 2008 • Core Fellowship, Harvard Core Curriculum, Postdoctoral Fellowship, Harvard University, 2007-2008 • Graduate Society Dissertation Completion Fellowship, Harvard University, 2006-2007 • Foreign Language and Area Studies Scholarship for Persian, U.S. Department of Education, 2005-2006 • Excellence in Teaching Award, Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009 • Aga Khan Fellowship, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University, 2000-2001

4 MEDIA PROJECTS AND ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES • Consultant, “Sugar in the Milk” Documentary on the Parsis of India (in pre-production), Schadenfreude Films, Athens, Greece

ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS • American Academy of Religion • The International Society for Iranian Studies • American Oriental Society • Middle Persian Dictionary Project, Jerusalem • Association for Jewish Studies • Societas Iranologica Europaea • Anonymous Peer Review: Journal of the American Oriental Society and Iranian Studies

LANGUAGES STUDIED Old and Young Avestan, Old Persian, Middle Persian, Persian, Bactrian, Sogdian, Sanskrit, Tocharian, Chinese, French (reading), German (reading), Gujarati (comprehension), and Hindi (conversational).