International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development Online ISSN: 2349-4182, Print ISSN: 2349-5979, Impact Factor: RJIF 5.72 www.allsubjectjournal.com Volume 3; Issue 11; November 2016; Page No. 197-203 Comparative literature in Iran: Origin and development Mukhtar Ahmed Centre for Persian and Central Asian Studies/ SL/ JNU, New Delhi, India Abstract This paper seeks to trace the historical tracks of comparative literature in modern Iran. I am following the early footsteps of comparative literature of Iran through the life of Fatemeh Sayyah (1902-1947), who is credited to be the founder of the discipline of Comparative literature in Iran, which started off as discipline with the introduction of a literary program for the first time at Tehran University in 1938. The very first academic comparative work with respect to Persian literature was done by an Indian scholar Umar Bin Mohammad Daudpota almost 11 years before its introduction in Iranian university curriculum, in 1927 at Cambridge University, with the title of ‘The effect of Arabic poetry on Persian poetry’. As a discipline, throughout its journey that comparative literature encountered in Iran as far as its development is concerned has had to overcome obstacles in its way. Many a time the program faced its closures and reopening. The process of literary interaction with French literature, its impact on Iranian literature and the outcome of this process, which I believe is more out of a protest than anything else, though it was leveraged to some extent by Pahlavi dynasty in a bid to protect its claims for monarchy. The extensive “Persianization” in the name of Nationalization and the reception of this idea in literature of the times is evident. Due to some factors (major being the none- existence of some concrete curriculum for Iranian universities) the comparative literature program faces problems in its foundation as a discipline in Iran. Steps are being taken in this regard by academicians engaged in the field. Keywords: fatemeh sayyah, persianization, comparative literature, Iran Introduction Shakespeare; A Comparison with Lyla Majnun of Niza’mi Goethe asserts that nobody can identify oneself unless Ganjavi’ by Ali Asghar Hekmat (Khezri 2012: 323). But the compares with others. He remarked while discussing with his credit of very first comparative study involving Persian disciple Eckermann back in 1827 that I am more and more literature, much before the aforementioned work was done by convinced, that ‘poetry is the universal possession of mankind, an Indian writer namely Umar Bin Mohammad Daudpota back revealing itself everywhere and at all times in hundreds and in 1927. The work is a part of his Doctoral thesis entitled ‘The hundreds of men…….I therefore like to look about me in effect of Arabic poetry on Persian Poetry’ in Cambridge foreign nations, and advise everyone to do the same. National University, under the supervision of Professor Edward literature is now a rather unmeaning term; the epoch of world Granville Browne, the well-known British orientalist. The first literature is at hand, and everyone must strive to hasten its department of Comparative literature was opened for the first approach’ (What is World Literature 2003: 1). He got time in the year 1938/1317, under the chairpersonship of Dr. influenced and inspired by fourteenth-century legendry Fatemeh Rezazadeh Mahallati popularly known as Fatemeh Hafiz’s poetry, and wrote in his imitation a Divan called West- Sayyah, in the University of Tehran (Anushervani 2012: 484). Ostlicher Divan. This, however, was not a full-fledged department dedicated to Comparative literature in Iran, according to Nasrin Rahimieh, the study of comparative literature, but some rudimentary serves as a particularly apt arena for the reconsideration of courses were taught by Dr. Fatemeh Sayyah as additional Iranian literary and cultural phenomena in a global context. A coursework. She was entrusted with the responsibility of reconceptualization of Persian literary history from the teaching these courses for the period between 1317 to 1324 vantage point of Comparative Literature can offer a different (Iranian calendar, 1938 to 1945 AD). Born in Moscow in history of the apparent political, religious, and cultural 1902, to a well-educated family, Fatemeh Sayyah's father impasse defining contemporary Iran’s relations to other Mirza Ja’far Mahallati Sayyah, an Iranian national, was a nations (A Companion to Comparative Literature: 296). Professor of Persian language and literature at the School of Comparative literature facilitates comparison of two different Oriental Languages, Moscow University (Parsinejad 1389: works of literature or a literary work with other artistic works. 11). Her mother was a German national. It helps to better understand the value of any literary piece Sayyah received her PhD in French literature from Moscow when it is compared with other one and to explore the sources University and taught there for four years, before she returned and ways of gives and takes, finding a connection between the back to Iran in 1934. Her dissertation was on the works of two. Anatole France (1844-1924). She was very fluent in French, The emergence of comparative literature in Iran as a new Russian, English and Italian apart from the Persian. In the academic discipline dates back to the first half of the twentieth wake of the Russian revolution (1917), she came back to Iran century. Although the first evidence of interest in the in the year 1934/1312 (Persian calendar). She, because of her comparative studies in Iran, in its modern sense, can be academic background and familiarity with several foreign attributed to the publication of the book ‘Romeo Juliet of languages, became Iran’s first woman university professor, 197 International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development when the chair of Russian language literature and comparative literature and started his academic career teaching French and literature at Tehran University was assigned to her comparative literature there (Salehbek 1387:20). (Anushervani 2012: 484). Dr. Majeed Salehbek in an article “Comparative literature in She has around 35 lectures and articles and translations to her Iran: Origin and Challenges” very rightly referred to the fact credit, which are published by Mohammad Gulbun, in 2004 that the origin of comparative literature in Iran was neither an (Tehran) with the title of “Naqd o Siyahat”. She wrote more in outcome of some intellectual or philosophical movement or French language than in Persian. Her area of research and the result of some genuine feelings leading to establishing the studies centers around comparative studies in the western program but this new kind of literary research was just an literatures like the French, English, and German. imitation of western universities (1387:20). As there was no She has also written some research papers on Firdowsi and his well-thought-out and long-lasting schematization for the Shahnamah. Most of her articles were published in French in program of comparative literature. And, in addition to that, the Journal de Tehran, and articles published in this journal unavailability of the specialized and trained academicians hardly find any mention in the only book written on her life impacted the field very negatively and thus it progressed at a (Anushervani: 484). Although Sayyah, taught comparative very slow pace. literature at Tehran University, almost nothing of her work on The usage of the term comparative literature in Iranian comparative literature except a few scattered class lectures academia in its academic sense was delayed till the year which were recorded by her students and later on published by 1952/1331, when Jamshid Behnam wrote an article with the Mohammad Gulbun have reached us. title ‘Anvaye Adabi: Adabiya-I Tatbiqi’ (The Literary genre: Sayyah, in the First (and last) Congress of Iranian Writers- Comparative Literature). One year later he came up with a 1946, emphasized the social realism as being the most book entitled “Comparative Literature” believed to be a free progressive perspective in both literary production and and concise translation of Marius Francois Guyard’s book ‘La criticism. And she also stated that most fundamental task of Litterature comparee’ (Khezri 2012: 323-4). After the work of criticism is to promote genuine realism as the dominant factor Umar Bin Mohammad Daudpota entitled ‘The effect of Arabic of literary style, especially prose style, in Iran (Gheissari 1998: poetry on Persian poetry’ in 1927, second such literary work 72-3). is attributed to Dr. Mohammad Mohammadi, who has written Nevertheless, despite all the shortcomings, she laid the in 1944/1323 ‘Farhange Irani va Ta’sire Aa’n dar Tamadon-I foundation, in a true sense, of the comparative studies in Iran. Islam va Arab’(Iranian culture and its influence on the Arab Her legacy was further continued by her students. Dr. and Islamic civilization). During this period we can see a wave Abolhassan Najafi, Ahmad Sami’I, Simin Daneshvar, Husain of Anti-Arab writings [1] on the margin of Anti-West literary Khatibi and Mehdi Roshan Zamir were among her students. and cultural protest by both rulers and intelligentsia at that The work of Professor Umar Bin Mohammad Daudpota point of time. In addition to that we have the book ‘Do Qarn-I entitled ‘The effect of Arabic poetry on Persian poetry’ is the Sukut’ (Two Centuries of Silence) by Abdolhossein pioneering work in the field of Persian Arabic comparative Zarrinkoub in 1951/1330 dealing with the history of two early literary studies. This book has been translated into Persian by centuries of Islamic rule in Iran. Prof. Sirus Shamisa and is published from Tehran in 1382 Syed Fakhruddin Shadman (1907-1967), wrote an article (Mohseninia 2014: 344). ‘Ravabit va Ta’sira’t-I Adabi’ (Relations and Impacts of the With Sayyah’s untimely demise in 1947 at the age of 45 years, literature) published in Yaghma in the year 1953 (Khezri 2012: Ali Akbar Siyasi, then the chancellor of Tehran University 324) dealing with the French school of comparative literature.