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| Association for Iranian Studies | |
|---|---|
| Name | Association for Iranian Studies |
| Formation | 1967 |
| Type | Learned society |
| Headquarters | New Haven, Connecticut |
| Region served | International |
| Language | English, Persian |
| Leader title | President |
Association for Iranian Studies is an international learned society focused on the study of Iran, Persian language, Persian literature, Iranian history, and related cultures across Central Asia, Caucasus, and South Asia. It promotes research, teaching, and public engagement through conferences, publications, and grants, connecting scholars affiliated with institutions such as Harvard University, University of Chicago, Columbia University, SOAS University of London, and University of Tehran.
The organization traces roots to scholarly networks formed during the 20th century among colleagues at Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, Yale University, and University of California, Los Angeles and grew alongside research centers like the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University and the School of Oriental and African Studies. Key milestones include formal incorporation in the late 1960s during a period of expansion in area studies alongside institutions such as the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and the Carnegie Corporation. The association has intersected with major events affecting Iranian studies, including the impact of the Iranian Revolution (1979), international sanctions involving the United Nations, and shifts in funding by bodies like the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Social Science Research Council.
Governance is carried out by an elected board with officers including a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, reflecting practices similar to learned societies such as the Modern Language Association, the American Historical Association, and the Middle East Studies Association of North America. Committees oversee areas like publications, awards, and regional outreach—parallel to committees at British Institute of Persian Studies and the Royal Asiatic Society. Elections and bylaws align with nonprofit law in the United States and with policies of host institutions like Yale University and New York University when events are organized on their campuses.
Members include faculty, graduate students, independent scholars, librarians, and museum curators from institutions such as Princeton University, University of Toronto, Australian National University, Heidelberg University, Leiden University, and University of Mumbai. Activities encompass panels on topics involving figures and works like Rudaki, Ferdowsi, Hafez, Saadi Shirazi, Nizami Ganjavi, and scholars of modern Iran such as Ali Shariati, Simin Daneshvar, Abdolkarim Soroush, and Nassim Nicholas Taleb in dialogue with studies of regions including Balkh, Samarkand, Tabriz, and Kabul.
The association publishes a peer-reviewed journal and newsletters; editorial boards have included editors from University of London, Princeton University, Oxford University, and University of California, Berkeley. Conferences are traditionally held in conjunction with larger meetings like those of the American Historical Association, American Anthropological Association, and the Modern Language Association, and host sessions on archives such as the National Library and Archives of Iran, manuscript collections like the Topkapi Palace Museum holdings, and projects tied to digital humanities initiatives at Stanford University and University of Bristol.
The association administers awards and grants recognizing scholarship and teaching, comparable to honors from the British Academy, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and American Council of Learned Societies. Prizes have celebrated books on topics ranging from medieval Persianate courts—engaging with texts like the Shahnameh and the Khamsa of Nizami—to contemporary studies of figures such as Mohammad Mossadegh, Ruhollah Khomeini, and Reza Shah Pahlavi. Travel grants and dissertation fellowships support work in archives including the Archivio di Stato di Venezia, the British Library, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
The association collaborates with universities and cultural institutions across continents, maintaining ties with organizations like the UNESCO memory programs, the International Council on Archives, the European Association for Iranian Studies, and regional centers such as the Iranian Studies Center at Shahid Beheshti University and the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies in Tehran. It has engaged with diplomatic contexts involving United States–Iran relations, academic exchange agreements with France, Germany, Japan, and partnerships with museums including the British Museum and the Smithsonian Institution.
The association has faced debate over issues such as academic freedom, visa restrictions affecting delegates from Iran and Afghanistan, and the ethics of engagements with institutions under sanction by the United States Department of the Treasury and the European Union. Critics from member institutions including University of California and advocates in organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have contested the association's positions on hosting events in contested jurisdictions and on the inclusion of certain scholars aligned with political movements tied to figures like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Mehdi Bazargan. Contentious discussions have also arisen over editorial decisions linking archives such as the National Library of Iran with open-access policies promoted by groups like the Open Society Foundations.
Category:Learned societies Category:Iranian studies