Virtual Persian

Fall Courses

• V77.0401 Elementary Persian I
• V77.0403 Intermediate Persian I
• G77.1412 Advanced Persian I: Modern Persian Fiction I
• Conference course in Persian studies

Spring Courses

• V77.0402 Elementary Persian II
• V77.0404 Intermediate Persian II
• G77.1413 Advanced Persian II: Modern Persian Fiction II
• Conference course in Persian studies

This course is designed for the students of beginning Persian. The major components of the course are:

1. To develop linguistic skills - listening, speaking, reading, and writing - through the study of authentic aural, written, and visual texts and through in-class communicative activities; and to develop an understanding of Persian as a grammatical system. 
2. To explore historical, literary, and artistic manifestations of Iranian culture.
3. To explore one's native culture and to reflect upon it in the context of the cultures of the Persian-speaking world; and to become aware of cultural parallels between American cultures and the cultures of the Persian-speaking world.
4. To acquire effective study skills - also called learning strategies - that will be valuable not only for learning a foreign language but also for learning other academic subjects; and to acquire the ability to access current information on the Persian-speaking world by using the Internet.
5. To discover - through a continuing process of teaching, classroom testing, and feedback - the proper components and mix of a successful computer-assisted program for beginning level university language learning.

In preparing the course materials and texts the emphasis has been placed on colloquial Persian. However, the textual readings, and the content of the computer program, utilize examples of both literary and colloquial Persian.

Texts and Materials:

• Photocopied materials (Introduction to Persian).
• Persian for Beginners, an interactive Persian software.

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This is an intermediate course designed for students who have completed a year-long course in elementary Persian or who have equivalent exposure to the Persian language. Although designed primarily as a foreign language course for English-speaking Americans, the course is also suitable for Iranian(-American) students with fewer than four years of schooling in Iran. The authentic prose fiction texts studied in this course approximate sixth grade levels and above in Iranian school textbooks.  

The chief aim of the course is to increase student efficiency in reading Persian. This is accomplished by learning such skills as scanning, skimming, taking notes, summarizing, and interpreting authentic texts. Persian grammar and syntax and vocabulary building are two other emphases of this course. The class is conducted in Persian. 

Texts and Materials:
 
Photocopied materials (selection of fiction by Iranian writers) and Persian Fiction Reader Workbook by Mohammad Mehdi Khorrami and Michael Hillmann.These proficiency-based textbooks present self-contained lessons with authentic materials dating from the 1980s and 1990s.

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The main goal of this course is to increase student efficiency in reading modern fiction. Throughout the semester students will learn new reading techniques, expand their vocabulary, and thus improve their reading speed. The course packet also includes grammatical explanations and exercises, which are directly related to the selected texts. These sections are specifically designed to enhance student knowledge of Persian grammar and syntax.

Texts and Materials: Students will also examine the differences between linguistic features of the texts from early twentieth century and those of contemporary Persian. In addition, students will study the influence of Arabic on the Persian language. Ultimately, the course offers a better understanding of the Persian language and its evolution in the past one hundred years. By the end of the semester, students will be able, with reasonable facility, to read and interpret modern Persian fiction for either research purposes or for their literary and artistic value.

Texts and Materials:
The required course text will be a packet of readings selected from:

• Sargozasht-e Haji Babay-e Esfahani (Mirza Habib Esfahani, Tr.)
• Charand Parand, Dehkhoda
• Yeki Bud Yeki Nabud, Mohammad Ali Jamalzadeh
• "Dash Akol", Sadeq Hedayat
• Sangi bar Guri, Jalal Al-Ahmad
• Dai Jan Napoleon, Iraj Pezeshkzad
• Savushun, Simin Daneshvar
• Yekk Ruz Mandeh beh 'Eyda-e Pak, Zoya Pirzad
• All materials will be available in Xerox form.

Grading: Papers -70%; class participation and presentation - 30%

This course is designed for the students who have completed one semester of Persian. The major components of the course are:  

1. To develop linguistic skills - listening, speaking, reading, and writing - through the study of authentic aural, written, and visual texts and through in-class communicative activities; and to develop an understanding of Persian as a grammatical system.  
2. To explore historical, literary, and artistic manifestations of Iranian culture.  

In preparing the course materials and texts the emphasis has been placed on colloquial Persian. However, the textual readings, and the content of the computer program, utilize examples of both literary and colloquial Persian.   

 
Texts and Materials: 

• Photocopied materials (Introduction to Persian).  
• Persian for beginners, a computer software.  
  

This is an intermediate course designed for students who have completed three semesters of Persian or who have equivalent exposure to the Persian Language. Although designed primarily as a foreign language course for English-speaking Americans, the course is also suitable for Iranian(-American) students with fewer than four years of schooling in Iran. The authentic prose fiction texts studied in this course approximate sixth grade levels and above in Iranian school textbooks.  

The chief aim of the course is to increase student efficiency in reading Persian. This is accomplished by learning such skills as scanning, skimming, taking notes, summarizing, and interpreting authentic texts. Persian grammar and syntax and vocabulary building are two other emphases of this course.   

Texts and Materials:

• Photocopied materials (selection from fiction by Iranian writers) and Persian Fiction Reader
• Workbook by Mohammad Mehdi Khorrami and Michael Hillmann.  

These proficiency-based textbooks present self-contained lessons with authentic materials dating from the 1980s and 1990s.

The main goal of this course is to increase student efficiency in reading modern fiction. Throughout the semester students will learn new reading techniques, expand their vocabulary, and thus improve their reading speed. The course packet also includes grammatical explanations and exercises, which are directly related to the selected texts. These sections are specifically designed to enhance student knowledge of Persian grammar and syntax.

Students will also examine the differences between linguistic features of the texts from early twentieth century and those of contemporary Persian. In addition, students will study the influence of Arabic on the Persian language. Ultimately, the course offers a better understanding of the Persian language and its evolution in the past one hundred years.

By the end of the semester, students will be able, with reasonable facility, to read and interpret modern Persian fiction for either research purposes or for their literary and artistic value.

Texts and Materials:
The required course text will be a packet of readings selected from

• Siahatnameh-ye Ebrahim Beyg, Zeyn al-Abedin Maraghe'i
• Tuti, Zakaria Hashemi
• Tangsir, Sadeq Chubak
• Buf-e Kur, Sadeq Hedayat
• "Mehman-e Nakhandeh dar Shahr-e Bozorg", Bahram Sadeqi
• Dai Jan Napoleon, Iraj Pezeshkzad
• Shazdeh Ehtejab, Hushang Golshiri
• "Amadeh Budam ba Dokhtaram Chay Bekhoram", Shiva Arastuyi
  

Grading: Papers, 70%; class participation and presentation, 30% Conference Course in Persian Studies

Epic Poetry Historical and Biographical Texts:

• Ferdowsi (d.ca. 1020)
• Sa'di's Golestan (1258)  
• Hafez (d.ca. 1390) and Classical Persian Lyric Poetry  
• Twentieth-Century Persian Prose Fiction  
• Persian Prose Fiction after the Revolution

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