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...

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...

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...