Defining the Persianate The Comparative Persianate Aesthetics Symposium (Boston University, September 28-29, 2017) Alison Terndrup and Hyunjin Cho | November 15, 2017 Muslim Literatures Visual Culture About Muslim Literatures How do we characterize the “fuzzy, but generally definable” cultural realm of the “Persianate”? Over the course of two days, scholars gathered together for the symposium to think about how current scholarship uses the “fuzzy, but generally definable” term “Persianate.” The discussions centered on the language and aesthetics of poetry and visual works. Speakers treated topics that allowed for detailed examination of modes of cultural exchange, movement of objects, and early modern itineraries within the conceptual frameworks of translation, imitation, hybridity, and innovation... Read the rest of this entry
Stamps of the Fallen (Part 2) Martyrs on the Postage Stamps of the Islamic Republic of Iran Adam Gaiser and James Riggan | October 24, 2017 Libraries & Collections, Visual Culture Iran has produced a great number of martyrdom stamps, which treat martyrdom and the martyrs in different ways, from 1979 up to the present. Given the importance of the Karbala paradigm to the Iranian revolution (and its subsequent national narrative), it might be expected to dominate Iranian postage stamps. However, there are few direct references to Karbala on Iranian stamps... Read the rest of this entry
Stamps of the Fallen (Part 1) On Martyrs, Nations, and Postage Stamps Adam Gaiser and James Riggan | October 5, 2017 Libraries & Collections, Visual Culture Martyrs pervade the public discourse and landscape of contemporary Iran. Whether it is ever-present references to the Karbala narrative, the massive cemeteries honoring the memory of the fallen from the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988, or the provincial shrines that dot the countryside, martyrs have been woven into the fabric of Iranian national culture in a way that many non-Iranians find puzzling... Read the rest of this entry