The Development of Iranian Studies Programs in the United States: From Philological to a Contemporary Approach

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Abstract

In the early twentieth century Iranian Studies began part of the classical academic model of Orientalism in the United States with a philological approach. Prominent universities and institutions in the US such as Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Yale and UC Berkeley established departments of Iranian or Persian Studies. In the early programs more emphasis was given to the ancient Iranian civilization and language. A new approach emerged after the WWII and as a part of Middle Eastern Studies programs that attempted to study Iran from more modern and international academic perspective. Though Iranian studies became an independent field of study, it was the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution that changed Iranian Studies programs in the US drastically and gave it a political significance. The present paper offers a brief descriptive overview of the developments and evolutions of Iranian Studies programs in the United States and its different approaches in knowledge production toward Iran since its early years of establishment till the present time.

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Article Title [Persian]

The Development of Iranian Studies Programs in the United States: From Philological to a Contemporary Approach

Abstract [Persian]

In the early twentieth century Iranian Studies began part of the classical academic model of Orientalism in the United States with a philological approach. Prominent universities and institutions in the US such as Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Yale and UC Berkeley established departments of Iranian or Persian Studies. In the early programs more emphasis was given to the ancient Iranian civilization and language. A new approach emerged after the WWII and as a part of Middle Eastern Studies programs that attempted to study Iran from more modern and international academic perspective. Though Iranian studies became an independent field of study, it was the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution that changed Iranian Studies programs in the US drastically and gave it a political significance. The present paper offers a brief descriptive overview of the developments and evolutions of Iranian Studies programs in the United States and its different approaches in knowledge production toward Iran since its early years of establishment till the present time.

Keywords [Persian]

  • Iran
  • Iranian Studies
  • United States
  • Academia
  • the Iranian revolution

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