ISLA 543 Upper Intermediate Persian Fall 2013 M-W-F 9:30-10:30 Room 328

Pouneh Shabani Jadidi ([email protected]) Institute of Islamic Studies Room 308, Morrice Hall, 3485 McTavish Street Office hours: M-W-F 12:30-1:00 or by appointment

DESCRIPTION

In this course, the focus will be on classical , based on chronological order, through which, you will be familiar with the literary style and genre of specific periods in the history of Persian literature. We will begin with the oldest Persian literary prose that is remained to this date, and then we will continue with the most renowned modern Persian literary prose. Finally, we will read about classical and modern Persian poetry.

You are required to do extensive readings throughout this semester. The idea is to scan the texts and skim for the gist of the discussion. For this reason, you are expected to read the designated texts and participate in class discussions. You are required to hand in a summary of each text you have read before we begin the discussion.

In order to practice listening comprehension, a recorded audio file on a historical text will be given to you. You are required to transcribe 5 minutes of this file and translate your transcription and hand them over as mid-term paper in the middle of the semester. You are also required to give a presentation on the historical facts relevant to the section you have transcribed.

As your second and third presentations, you are required to choose one of the writers and one of the poets, whose work we have read in class, and give a presentation on him/her and his/her works. You are also required to hand in a paper for each one after your presentations.

In addition, there will be content tests on the material we have covered in class: one on the classical prose, one on the modern prose, and one on the classical and modern Persian poetry covered in class.

You will also be involved in extracurricular cultural activities held by the program at McGill. These activities include biweekly movie screenings and discussions, biweekly informal lounge gatherings by all the students in different levels in the Persian language program, and the annual Persian New Year celebration, which is held at the Institute of Islamic Studies and hosted by all the students in the Persian language program and attended by the Director, faculty as well as graduate and undergraduate students.

*Note that there might be minor changes to the following syllabus if required.

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EVALUATION

Active participation 10%, Summaries 30% Content tests 15% Presentations 15% Transcription and translation 10% Papers 20%

* All students are strongly encouraged to attend the bi-weekly Friday Persian film Screenings at 1:00 - 2:30 in MOR 328, and the bi-weekly Friday Lounge Gatherings at 1:00 - 2:30 in the Lounge of the Institute on the third floor.

Textbook (Coursepack available at McGill Bookstore)

Recommended

• Yousef, S. & Torabi, H. (2013) Intermediate Persian: a Grammar and Workbook. Routledge. Taylor & Francis Group. London & New York. Thacston, W. (2009). An Introduction to Persian. Revised Fourth Edition. IBEX Publishers. Dehghani, Yavar. (2008). Persian Phrasebook. Lonely Planet.

Dictionaries:

o The combined new Persian-English and English-Persian dictionary, Abbas Aryanpur Kashani and Manoochehr Aryanpur Kashani. Lexington, Ky., USA : Mazda Publishers, 1986. o The concise English-Persian dictionary, Aryanpur Kashani, Abbas, Tehran, Iran: Amir Kabir Publishing Corp., 1981. o A comprehensive Persian-English dictionary, Steingass. Asian Educational Services, 1992.

Online Dictionaries: http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/steingass/ http://www.aryanpour.com/ http://www.farsidic.com/ http://www.math.columbia.edu/~safari/masood/cgi-bin/ http://www.loghatnaameh.org/ (Persian-Persian)

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COURSE SCHEDULE

SEPTEMBER Wednesday 4: A history of the development of Persian prose, Sa’id Nafisi, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 18-49. Friday 6: A history of the development of Persian prose, Sa’id Nafisi, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 18-49. ------Monday 9: Samarqandi, Hanafi Law, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 47-49. Wednesday 11: of Abou-Mansouri, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 50-56. Friday 13: Tarikh-i Bal’ami, translation of Tarikh-i Tabari, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 57-64. ------Monday 16: Nasir Khosrow Travel Log, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 77-82. Wednesday 18: Tarikh-i Beyhaqi, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 101- 112 Friday 20: Qabusnama, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 120-126. ------Monday 23: Kimia-ye Sa’adat, Ghazali Tusi, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 143-150. Wednesday 25: Maqamat-i Hamidi, Balkhi, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 188-200. Friday 27: Tazkirat Al-Auliya, Attar, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 232-242. ------Monday 30: Chahar Maqala, Nizami Aruzi Samarqandi, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 243-250.

3 OCTOBER Wednesday 2: Marzban Nameh, Varavini, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 262-269. Friday 4: Akhlak-e Naseri, Khaje Nasir Al-din Tusi, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 291-298. ------Monday 7: Gulistan, Sa’di, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 299-311. Wednesday 9: Content Test 1: Classical Prose Friday 11: ORAL PRESENTATION 1 ------Monday 14: Thanksgiving holiday Wednesday 16: Charand Parand, Dehkhoda, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 380-385. Friday 18: Bahar va Adab-e Farsi, Bahar, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 395-406. ------Monday 21: Kabab-e Ghaz, Jamalzadeh, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 416-435. Wednesday 23: Se Qatreh Khun, Sadeq Hedayat, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 380-385.436-457. Friday 25: Naqsh-i az Hafiz, Ali Dashti, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 482-494. ------Monday 28: Setar, Jalal Al Ahmad, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 495- 503. Wednesday 30: Haftad Sokhan, Parviz Natel Khanlari, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 537-546.

NOVEMBER Friday 1: Yad-dasht-ha va Andishe-ha, Abdul Hossein Zarrinkoub, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 547-558.

4 ------Monday 4: Rooz-ha, Mohammad Ali Islami Nadooshan, in Daneshpajouh, M. Selected Persian Prose, pp. 559-568. Wednesday 6: Content Test 2: Modern Prose Friday 8: ORAL PRESENTATION 2 ------Monday 11: . Afaridegar-e Rostam, in Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub, Ba Karevan-e Holleh, pp. 35-46. Wednesday 13: Khayyam, Pir-e Neishabour, in Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub, Ba Karevan-e Holleh, pp. 127-142. Friday 15: Attar, Pir-e Asrar, in Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub, Ba Karevan-e Holleh, pp. 205- 224. ------Monday 18: Mowlavi, Mowla-ye Rume, in Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub, Ba Karevan-e Holleh, pp. 225-242. Wednesday 20: Sa’di, Sheik-e Shiraz, in Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub, Ba Karevan-e Holleh, pp. 243-260. Friday 22: Hafiz, Khajeh-ye Rendan, in Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub, Ba Karevan-e Holleh, pp. 275-286. ------Monday 25: An introduction to She’r-e no (modern poetry) 1, handouts will be given Wednesday 27: An introduction to She’r-e no (modern poetry) 2, handouts will be given Friday 29: Content Test 3: Classical and modern poetry ------DECEMBER Monday 2: ORAL PRESENTATION 3

5 Notes

1. "McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see www.mcgill.ca/students/srr/honest/ for more information).

"L'université McGill attache une haute importance à l’honnêteté académique. Il incombe par conséquent à tous les étudiants de comprendre ce que l'on entend par tricherie, plagiat et autres infractions académiques, ainsi que les conséquences que peuvent avoir de telles actions, selon le Code de conduite de l'étudiant et des procédures disciplinaires (pour de plus amples renseignements, veuillez consulter le site www.mcgill.ca/students/srr/honest/)."

2. “In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded.”

"Conformément à la Charte des droits de l’étudiant de l’Université McGill, chaque étudiant a le droit de soumettre en français ou en anglais tout travail écrit devant être noté (sauf dans le cas des cours dont l’un des objets est la maîtrise d’une langue)."

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