Persian Circle
Thursdays 2-3 p.m.
Kaufman Hall 230
Join us every Thursday to learn Persian! We will enjoy Baklava cake and chai, practice conversation, prepare for upcoming exams and learn about Persian culture.
The mission of the Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies is to coordinate a variety of teaching, research, and outreach activities at the University of Oklahoma that explore the history, culture, society, and politics of Iran, the Persian Gulf, and those regions historically shaped by the Persian language. These activities include publications, lectures, conferences, workshops, film screenings and art exhibits.
The Farzaneh Family Center is a part of vibrant and growing resources in Middle East and North Africa studies at the University of Oklahoma. Visit our MENA at OU page for more information.
Persian Circle
Thursdays 2-3 p.m.
Kaufman Hall 230
Join us every Thursday to learn Persian! We will enjoy Baklava cake and chai, practice conversation, prepare for upcoming exams and learn about Persian culture.
Persian Tutoring
Fall 2023
Mondays and Fridays, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Tuesdays 10-11 a.m.
Farzaneh Hall Room 319
Improve your Persian language skills with our free fall tutoring! Work with tutor Mobina Mohammadnejad to practice conversation, expand your vocabulary, do your homework or prepare for an upcoming test.
Tutor Bio: Mobina was born and raised in Tehran, Iran and she finished high school at United World College in Pune, India. She is majoring in biomedical engineering at OU. Mobina loves to travel, and she has traveled to 15 countries so far. Her goal is to one day visit every country in the world. In her spare time, she loves to play chess, read books and watch movies.
September 12, 2023
The Farzaneh Family Center is pleased to welcome Dr. Kayhan A. Nejad, our new assistant professor! Dr. Nejad earned his Ph.D. in History from Yale University in 2021. Before joining OU, he served as a Nizami Ganjavi Centre Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford, and as a Senior Researcher with the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program at Sabanci University in Istanbul. His research focuses on the linkages between the greater Middle East and the former Soviet Union. Here at OU, Dr. Nejad teaches on modern Iranian history, modern European history, contemporary and historical Iran-U.S. relations, Soviet and post-Soviet nationalisms, and the global history of communism. We are so excited to have Dr. Nejad with us!
May 10, 2023
Brennan Clifton, “Show Don’t Tell: The Metaphor of Love in Iranian Cinema”
Claire Silk, “Student Power! The Iranian Student Movement in the United States During the 1960s and 1970s and the Fall of the Shah"
February 14, 2023
The issue is titled, "Parsis and Iranians in the Modern Period."
November 22, 2022
Vahid Davar is the 2022 winner for his article, "Relation to Relating: A Sketch for the New Epic." Davar is a PhD researcher in Persian Studies at the University of St. Andrews. His collection of poetry, Sefr-e Safar (The Book of Journeys), was highly commended for the 2019 Ahamad Shamlou Prize. His second book, Ahd-e Nassim (Nassim's Testament), forms part of the British Museum exhibit, "Atlas of the World", 2022.
The article is titled, , "Iran's Struggle for Democracy Has a Long History."
A marble statue of Omar Khayyam, the 11th century Persian polymath, stands outside the David L. Boren College of International Studies at Farzaneh Hall. The statue was carved by the famed sculptor Hossein Fakhimi.
The Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies serves as the hub for Iranian Studies at the University of Oklahoma. Established in 2010 as an academic program within the OU David L. Boren College of International Studies, the Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies expanded into a center in 2016 through a generous donation by the Farzaneh Family. An institutional member of the American Institute for Iranian Studies and the Association for Iranian Studies, the Center draws from the multidisciplinary strength and research breadth of its faculty to offer one of the premier curriculum and programming initiatives in Iranian Studies today.
Students are able to select from a growing list of course offerings in Iranian Studies at the University of Oklahoma, including language instruction in Persian at the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels. The Center currently offers an undergraduate minor in Iranian Studies, and is working towards establishing an undergraduate major. In the coming years, the Center will also establish a graduate program in Iranian Studies.
In addition to its academic emphasis, the Center organizes an active “Iranian Studies Lecture Series” that brings scholars from the field of Iranian Studies to the University of Oklahoma campus. These lectures cover all aspects of Iranian history, culture, society, and politics. The “Iranian Studies Lecture Series” is open to the public and has been generously supported by the Farzaneh Family, the Parsa Community Foundation, and the Iran Heritage Foundation.
We invite you to explore our additional initiatives on this webpage.
The Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies
is located on the third floor of Farzaneh Hall at 729 Elm Ave, Norman, OK 73019.
Joshua Landis, Director
Email: landis@ou.edu
Phone: (405) 325-3330
Marjan Seirafi-Pour, Farzaneh Family Instructor of Persian and Director of Outreach Programs
Email: marjan@ou.edu
Phone: (405) 325-5164
