Persian through Travelogues

Service Description

Persian through Travelogues Instructor: Peyman Eshaghi ​ ​​This course offers a dynamic departure from the strict regional focus of normative Central Asian Studies courses by exploring the evolution of Persian identity through the lens of the intellectual traveler: Nasir Khosro. Expanding beyond the commonly studied administrative and philosophical texts of Transoxiana, students will analyze how the Persian language adapted to describe the unfamiliar as the medieval ascetic traveled across the Islamic world in the 11th century. The course will also delve into the modern period through the travelogues recording the royal curiosities of the Qajars and the sharp social critiques of modern intellectuals like Jalal Al-e Ahmad. By analyzing these journeys across the Hijaz, Europe, India, and the discovery of the self, the course illuminates the shifting boundaries of the "Persianate world," over time; highlighting a fascinating linguistic transition from the austere, objective prose of the 11th century to the subjective, telegraphic, and often defiant voices of the modern era. ​ Course Content Week 1 Safarnameh-ye Nasir Khusraw by Nasir Khusraw سفرنامه ناصرخسرو اثر ناصرخسرو قبادیانی Week 2 Gulistan (Chapter 2: On the Morals of Dervishes) by Saadi Shirazi گلستان (باب دوم: در اخلاق درویشان) اثر سعدی شیرازی Week 3 Safarnameh-ye Don Juan-e Irani by Uruch Beg Bayat سفرنامه دون ژوان ایرانی اثر اروچ بیگ بیات Week 4 Tazkira-ye Hazin Lahiji by Mohammad Ali Hazin Lahiji تذکره حزین لاهیجی اثر محمدعلی حزین لاهیجی Week 5 Safarnameh-ye Mirza Saleh Shirazi by Mirza Saleh Shirazi سفرنامه میرزا صالح شیرازی اثر میرزا صالح شیرازی Week 6 Safarnameh-ye Dovvom-e Farangestan by Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar سفرنامه دوم فرنگستان اثر ناصرالدین شاه قاجار Week 7 Safarnameh-ye Hajji Sayyah by Hajji Sayyah (Mirza Mohammad Ali Mahallati) سفرنامه حاجی سیاح اثر میرزا محمدعلی محلاتی Week 8 Safarnameh-ye Meccah by Hajiyyeh Khanum Alaviye Kermani سفرنامه مکه اثر حاجیه خانم علویه کرمانی Week 9 Khasi dar Miqat by Jalal Al-e Ahmad خسی در میقات اثر جلال آل‌احمد Week 10 Safir-e Simorgh by Mohammad-Ali Eslami Nodushan صفیر سیمرغ اثر محمدعلی اسلامی ندوشن Week 11 Safar dar Khab by Shahrokh Meskoob سفر در خواب اثر شاهرخ مسکوب Week 12 Jan-e Belestan by Reza Amirkhani جانِ بِلِستان اثر رضا امیرخانی ​​​ Course Details: Schedule: Mondays, 22 June - 7 September, 2026 Time: 10:30 - 11:30 AM (US Pacific), 12:00–13:00 (US Eastern), 06:00–07: