Fall 2012 Newsletter
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ASPS NEWSLETTER NO. 29 FALL 2012 THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF PERSIANATE SOCIETIES FALL 2012 ISSUE: INSIDE THE NEWSLETTER PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS 2 ELECTIONS 8 ASPS BIENNIAL CALL FOR PAPERS 13 PERSIANATE CULTURE IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA 15 NEW LIFETIME MEMBERS & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR 16 NEWS FROM THE OFFICES 17 NEWS FROM THE JOURNAL EDITOR 19 ANNOUNCEMENTS 19 EDITORIAL NOTES 22 (ASPS’ OFFICIAL NEW ADDRESS) HTTP://WWW.PERSIANATESOCIETIES.ORG 2 PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS Dear Friends and Colleagues, Association, fixing glitches in our PayPal account, etc. etc. Thank you all! Much has transpired since I last wrote to you as the Incoming President. Before giving my report, ASPS Opens a New Office in the Balkans in however, I would like to express my gratitude to Sarajevo and Appoints its New Director colleagues on the Board who have been my pillars It is with great pleasure that I announce to you the of support as I have been navigating through the new initiatives undertaken by the Association. opening of our first regional branch in the Balkans, in the fascinating city of Sarajevo, the capital city First and foremost, I would like to thank my of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Persianate Heritage colleagues Said Amir Arjomand, Snjezana st Buzov, Houchang Chehabi, Ghazzal Dabiri, of Sarajevo spans the pre-modern to the 21 Jo-Ann Gross, Ranin Kazemi, Rudi Matthee century, and offers, besides, unique and Sunil Sharma, and other members of the interconnections between the Balkans and the Board of Directors who came to my rescue each Iranian ecumene during the antique and late time I requested help. I would like to especially antique period, a heritage that finds its reflection, thank my colleague Jo-Ann Gross, who has been among other matters, in the existence of Mithrae -- unfailing in her support, kindly answering my every the Roman temples that paid homage to the God, query, in deluges of emails that would come her Mithras. Our branch in Sarajevo will be hosted in way on a weekly basis, with characteristic the prestigious Institute for Oriental Studies at promptness, untold patience, and good humor to Sarajevo (about which see below). boot. I also would like to thank Said Arjomand It is also with great excitement that I introduce to for his incredible support. Many times it has been you our Regional Director and Persianist Said alone who has had an answer to a six million dollar question that I would pose. I also would like colleague, Dr. Ahmed Zildzic, himself a Bosnian to thank my dear colleague, Houchang Chehabi, (please see Dr. Zildzic’s biography below on for so kindly and consistently advising me about page 16), who will be in charge of the direction matters connected with fundraising. Ghazzal and growth of our branch office in Sarajevo. Dabiri, who has been doing such a fantastic job as Amongst other colleagues, my dear colleague Newsletter Editor, including the handsome new and member of the ASPS’s Board of Directors, format she designed, has been unfailing in her Professor Snjezana Buzov of The Ohio State support, meticulous work, professionalism, and University, herself a native of Croatia and a endless energy. Finally, I thank Pooriya Alimoradi for his selfless efforts on behalf of the Association graduate of the University of Sarajevo, bears the and the tremendous support that he has provided. primary responsibility for encouraging our foray With a recompense so little that is embarrassing to into the Balkans in general and Sarajevo in note, Pooriya has been at my side at all times of particular. It was with the tremendous aid of day and night, updating and maintain our new web- page, designing our new brochure for the HTTP://WWW.PERSIANATESOCIETIES.ORG 3 Professor Buzov and Dr. Zildzic that I was able several hundred, about one-fourth of which is in to take my first trip to the beautiful city of Persian--also incorporates a 16th century Ottoman Sarajevo, from July 23rd to the 30th, when I had the bathhouse. The rest of our plans with the Bosniac privilege of meeting our colleagues in various Institute shall remain a surprise for many of you academic institutions of the city involved in the whom we hope will be attending our exciting study of the Persianate world. Congress in Sarajevo. It was in their company that I had the good Another exciting feature of the trip to Sarajevo was fortune of meeting Professor Behija Zlatar, the the meeting that Dr. Zildzic and Professor Buzov Director of the Oriental Institute of Sarajevo had arranged for me with the Minister of Culture, (Orijentalni institut u Sarajevu http:// His Excellency, Salmir Kaplan (http:// www.ois.unsa.ba/). Our meeting with Director www.fmksa.com), who previously worked at the Zlatar, I am happy to report, was extremely Oriental Institute. It is my pleasure to report to you successful on two fronts. First, with the generous that through the generosity of Minister Kaplan, it hospitality and encouragement of Professor was tentatively agreed that part of the funding Zlatar, it was agreed that the Oriental Institute of necessary for our Sixth Biennial Congress in Sarajevo will henceforth house the Regional Office Sarajevo will be provided through the Ministry of of the ASPS in the Balkans, with Dr. Zildzic as its Culture and, hopefully, partly through the good Director. And second, I am especially excited to offices of the Ministry of Education, pending the report that the Oriental Institute shall be one of approval of our applications. We shall be indebted the primary sponsors of the Sixth Biennial to Professor Behija Zlatar, who as the Director of Congress of the ASPS, which shall be held in the Oriental Institute, the main sponsor of our Sarajevo in September 2013 (Please see our “Call Sixth Biennial Congress and the home of the for Papers” below.) future ASPS Regional Office in Sarajevo, will be submitting the ASPS application to the respective Along with Snjezana and Ahmed, my next Ministries. meeting was with Dr. Amina Rizvanbegovic, the long time Director of the equally prestigious Last but not least, we met with our colleagues, Drs. Bosniac Institute in Sarajevo (Bošnjački Institut Dzenita Haveric and Munir Drkic from Fondacija Adila Zulfikarpašćia) (http:// Department of Oriental Philology, the Persian www.bosnjackiinstitut.ba). Present at the meeting Language and Literature unit (http:// were Dr. Zlatar, Dr. Buzov and another Persianist www.ff.unsa.ba). Having visited Sarajevo during the colleague at the institute, Dr. Sabaheta Gacanin. month of Ramadan, unfortunately, the Chair of In the course of our meeting with Dr. the Department of Persian, Professor Namir Rizvanbegovic, we agreed that the Bosniac Karahalilovic, was not able to join us while I was Institute will be the second major sponsor of our there. Sixth Biennial Congress. In fact, I am happy to report that the very venue for the Congress itself This then is a brief summary of the results of my will be the beautiful new abode of the Bosniac visit to Sarajevo last summer. I would like to once Institute, which along with its many other again thank my colleague, Professor Snjezana fascinating features--including a library containing Buzov, and Dr. Ahmed Zildzic, our Regional thousands of books and a manuscript collection of Director for the Balkans, for their very generous HTTP://WWW.PERSIANATESOCIETIES.ORG 4 hospitality during my stay, and for their invaluable Bylaws Approved: help in the planning and organization of our Congress in Sarajevo. Following the draft of several revisions to our Bylaws by the Board of Directors, and pursuant to I would like to also take this opportunity to sharing these with our membership through an welcome Dr. Ahmed Zildzic as the Regional email distributed on October 13, 2012, and in view Director of the ASPS branch in Sarajevo, and as a of the overwhelming support that we received member of the Board of Directors of the ASPS, from our membership, pertaining to these by virtue of his new position. I am extremely revisions, I am happy to report that we shall grateful to him for the untiring efforts that he has henceforth incorporate these changes into our expended thus far on the behalf of ASPS. Under Bylaws. These revisions include the following: I) his directorship, we are certain that ASPS/Sarajevo the creation of the office of the Vice-President; will join the ranks of our other successful regional II) the change of the office of Secretary-Treasurer offices in the Persianate world. I also extend my to that of Treasurer; III) the inclusion of the deep gratitude to Professor Behija Zlatar, Dr. terms humanities and arts and literature into Amina Rizvanbegovic, His Excellency, Minister article IIa of our Bylaws; IV) the decision to make Salmir Kaplan, and our colleagues, Dr. Dzenita a distinction, only in terms of fees due to the Haveric and Dr. Munir Drkic, and Professor ASPS, between Regular Membership and Namir Karahalilovic, for their gracious Regular Membership (Persianate Societies); V) hospitality and welcome them to the ranks of the the creation of the category of Life-Time members and supporters of the Association for the membership; VI) the increase in the number of Study of the Persianate Societies. I look forward to members of the Board of Directors from the many many years of fruitful cooperation between current 5 to 7, plus one student. the ASPS and our colleagues in Sarajevo! The Bylaws, as amended, are now posted on our So, dear colleagues, please note: After extensive web-page for your convenience: deliberations between the Board of Directors of the ASPS and our Sarajevan Organization http://www.persianatesocieties.org/PDFs/ASPS Committee of the Sixth Biennial Congress, and %20BYLAWS.pdf having taken into account many logistic issues, I am happy to report to you that: ASPS Elections: The Sixth Biennial Congress of the ASPS It is once again Election time for the ASPS.