UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies & Culture

The search for Ferdowsi Presidential Chair in Zoroastrian Studies at UC Irvine has officially started! Apply now! (https://recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF06380)

Please join us on Tuesday, October 13, 2020 at 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm PDT for the online screening of documentary movie "NASRIN" directed by Jeff Kaufman. NASRIN is an immersive portrait of attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh, one of the world’s most prominent human rights activists and political prisoners. Nasrin has long fought for the rights of women, children, LGBT prisoners, religious and ethnic minorities, journalists and artists, and those facing the death penalty. She was arrested in... June 2018 for representing women who were protesting Iran’s mandatory hijab law, and she was sentenced to 38 years in prison, plus 148 lashes (12 years of which she must serve). From prison, she has continued to challenge the authorities. An Amnesty International petition calling for her release received over a million signatures from 200 countries. She has received several international human rights awards, the latest being The Right Livelihood Award, known as the "Alternative Nobel Prize," which has been honoring courageous changemakers for the past forty years. Written and directed by Jeff Kaufman, produced by Marcia Ross, and secretly filmed in Iran by women and men who risked arrest to make it, the film also tells the story of Iran’s remarkably resilient women’s rights movement. Read more about Nasrin and the film: (https://www.nasrinfilm.com) This program will broadcast live October 13th from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm PDT. You will not be able to pause or rewind. If you join late, you will miss the program. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required on Eventive. (https://watch.eventive.org/nasr//5f761e975eb53200f011c5e0). Please use code CSUN to preregister or pre-order the film for free. Make sure to CLICK HERE (https://watch.eventive.org/nasrin//5f7a7a76ec818d0093ad3aad) when the film has finished to watch the LIVE Q&A with the film-making team. This event is presented by the NASRIN film-making team in collaboration with CSUN College of Humanities, UCSB Iranian Studies Initiative and UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture.

A private performance by Mohammad Reza Shajarian and Dr. Hossein Omoumi, Professor of Persian Music and Ney at UC Irvine (recorded in Paris).

A Lecture by Maestro Mohammad Reza Shajarian at UC Irvine (2013)

Dear Friends and Supporters, It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Iran’s great vocalist, Mohammad-Reza Shajarian. Indeed, his death is a great loss for the Iranian nation and the world of arts and culture. Shajarian was recognized as one of the fifty great voices of the world and considered to be a national treasure. We were blessed to have him visit UCI in 2013 and give a talk on the Birth of Classical Persian Music and the new instruments that he had inve...nted. He will be dearly missed. Touraj Daryaee Director of the Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies University of California, Irvine

CSUN, UCSB, UCI present NASRIN

Are you interested in learning about Iranian modern music? UCI Music department is offering MUSIC 48 (Music in Modern Iran) this Fall to all UCI students, members of the public, and others who might be interested. MUS 48 (course code: 04170) October 1 - December 15, Tue-Thurs, 3:30-4:50 pm Instroctor: Hesam Abedini ([email protected])... All classes are thought virtually online. UCI Students: You may add this class through UCI Zot Portal. This course counts towards the Persian Minor at UCI. Members of the public and others interested: You have the opportunity to take this course through UCI Continuing Education - Concurrent Enrollment Program. For more information and details on how to register through Concurrent Enrollment and fees, please visit UCI Concurrent Enrollment website: (https://ce.uci.edu/courses/concurrent/registration.aspx) "Like all other countries, Iran has various music genres such as classical, folkloric, pop, rock, hip-hop, etc. While in this class, we will learn about the different genres of Persian music, and we will focus on the music created by Iranian musicians both inside and outside of Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. We will also spend a few classes discussing the history and theory of classical Iranian music as it is rooted in Persian culture and how it has evolved throughout history."

We are pleased to announce the release of Namaad Ensemble’s newest album - Ode to Love", Persian classical music based on contemporary poetry of Iran. Ode to Love is now available for purchase at: (https://namad.bandcamp.com/album/ode-to-love) This musical project was sponsored by UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies & Culture, Saman Foundation, and Farhad Shah-Hosseini.... Kourosh Taghavi, Composer & Setar Hesam Abedini, Vocals Mahtab Nadalian, Santur Niloufar Shiri, Kamancheh Reza Filsoofi, Tombak Recorded by Alex Lough Additional recording by Hesam Abedini Mixed and mastered by Hamidreza Maleki Graphic design by Kourosh Beigpour

We are happy to announce the release of Namad's latest CD, entitled: Ode to Love. Recorded at UC Irvine CAC Recording Studio Graphic design by Kourosh Beigpour ... Sponsored by the Jordan Center for Persian Studies at UC Irvine and Saman Foundation (@Saman Jilanchi), and Farhad Shah-Hosseini. Namâd Ensemble Kourosh Taghavi - Setar, Composer Hesam Abedini - Vocals Mahtab Nadalian - Santur Niloufar Shiri - Kamancheh Reza Filsoofi - Tombak

We are happy to announce the re-launch of Sasanika: Late Antique Near East Project. Thanks to Layah Bigdeli who with an Ali Razi Summer Fellowship did wonders for the website. This is a totally new redesigned site, produced at UC Irvine. It's aim is to study and catalogue every object and history of the Sasanian Empire (Iranshahr) We ask your support in making the website go further. We need to hire more people to work on various aspects of the site, such as numismatics, archeology, history, etc.

Please join American Association of Teachers of Persian (AATP) for their 2nd inaugural webinar with Anousha Shahsavari on Tuesday, September 8, at 10 am (PST). Members can register here: (bit.ly/3jCYTne) For more information on how to become a member, please visit: (https://www.aatpersian.com/)... Dr. Soheila Kian, UCI Persian language lecturer and UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies & Culture's affiliated faculty, is the president of AATP.

Please join us on Wednesday, August 19, 6:00 pm PST for the premier movie screening of "COUP 53" directed by Taghi Amirani. While making a documentary about the CIA/MI6 coup in Iran in 1953, Iranian director Taghi Amirani and editor Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now, The Conversation,The English Patient) discover never seen before archive material hidden for decades. The 16mm footage and documents not only allow the filmmakers to tell the story of the overthrow of the Iranian gove...rnment in unprecedented detail, but it also leads to explosive revelations about dark secrets buried for 67 years. Working with Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Schindler’s List, The English Patient) to help bring the lost material to life, what began as a historical documentary about four days in August 1953 turned into a live investigation, taking the filmmakers into uncharted cinematic waters. The roots of Iran's volatile relationship with America and Britain has never been so forensically and dramatically exposed. You may watch the teaser for this documentary here: (https://youtu.be/uSK6wdqo0xY) Pre-order and buy your tickets now here: (Currently Unavailable. Will be updated soon) A ticket for the screening also includes an exclusive Q+A with Ralph Fiennes, Walter Murch and Taghi Amirani which will be available on August 20th. All proceeds will go directly to the filmmakers. After this content becomes available August 19th at 6:00 pm PDT, you'll have 24 hours to start watching. Once you begin, you'll have 24 hours to finish watching. This event is presented by Coup 53 in collaboration with UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies & Culture.