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  • Message from the President

    Message from the President

    It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the Eighth Biennial
    Conference of the International Society for Iranian Studies (ISIS). The
    celebration of the 90th birthday of ISIS’s first president, Dr. Ehsan
    Yarshater, is a special feature of this year’s conference. ISIS was
    established in 1967 as the Society for Iranian Studies and held its
    first conference in Los Angeles on 26-27 June 1969. Organized by
    Professor Amin Banani, the 1969 conference on the "Structure of Power in
    Islamic Iran" included 5 panels and 20 participants. "Starting with 9
    members at the time of its inception," the Society today has
    approximately 500 members from all over the world. As it was observed in
    1968, "the combined list of our members and subscribers reads literally
    like a Who's Who in the field of Iranian Studies . . . ."
    While in 1968 membership was "limited to North America," ISIS today is
    the largest and the most cohesive Iranian Studies scholarly society with
    members hailing from countries from all over the world. This year's
    conference is a testimony to the widening international scope of the
    Society's membership and the impressive diversity of topics covered in
    the field of Iranian Studies. A new generation of Iranian Studies
    scholars are taking the field beyond the territorial boundaries of Iran
    and past the earlier nationalist paradigm into globally framed
    explorations of social, cultural and literary conventions, interactions
    and transformations.

    At the time of its inception, "only Iranians were eligible for Full
    Membership while non-Iranian students and scholars could apply for the
    Society's Associate Membership." As the image on the back of the
    front-cover illustrates, this was changed in 1968 with the introduction
    of an amendment changing the full membership to "[a]ny person sharing
    the objectives of this Society and engaged in research or study in
    social sciences and humanities . . . ." Taking into account the breadth
    of political changes since the 1960s, the longevity of ISIS is due to
    this inclusivity and unwavering "non-partisan" commitment. This was
    explained in the following manner in the Society’s original
    constitution: "The society as such is non-partisan. It will not support
    political parties or candidates nor commit its members on questions of
    public policy." Now as then, ISIS has remained fully committed to
    academic freedom. As noted in Article II of the original constitution,
    "The society shall, however, work for the safeguard[ing] of freedom of
    inquiry and expression for its members and other scholars in the field."

    In view of the intense national, regional and global conflicts that have
    arisen since its founding, ISIS has sought to remain inclusive of all
    competing perspectives while concurrently resisting its
    instrumentalization as a venue for the advancement of particularistic
    and extra-academic agendas. With its strong commitment to the autonomy
    of scholarly inquiry and to academic civility, ISIS has effectively
    addressed issues of concern to its members through reasoned deliberation
    and via its own constitutional principles of non-partisan inclusivity.
    With the Society’s development into a global network of scholars and
    academics, the preservation of these well-tested principles are
    fundamental to our ability to advance social science and humanities
    research in an area that has become the object of increased
    politicization and ideologization by extra-academic forces.

    With
    its relatively limited resources drawn from the membership, this year’s
    conference has been the product of a labor of love and invaluable
    support from many colleagues. In addition to Dr. Rivanne Sandler, who
    has ably placed ISIS on a solid organizational and financial foundation,
    I have enjoyed working with Professor Marta Simidchieva, the 2010
    Conference Program Chair. Dr. Simidchieva and the program committee put
    together an excellent academic program. With many new scholars in this
    year’s conference, we will be meeting researchers who will be shaping
    scholarly agendas in the field for the next few decades.

    ISIS is especially grateful for the invaluable support and
    dedication of Dr. Hossein Ziai, the 2010 Conference Chair. Dr. Ziai and
    the organizing committee, consisting mainly of UCLA students and
    faculty, have made this a historically special conference. Dr. Ziai and
    his team have been a great source of support as we have prepared for
    this 2010 Iranian Studies Biennial Conference. I would like to express
    my gratitude to the organizing committee, specifically to Jonathan
    Friedlander and Dr. Latifeh Hagigi. Special thanks to the dedicate
    members of our award committees.

    I would also like to express my gratitude to the institutional
    co-sponsors of this year’s conference: the American Institute for
    Iranian Studies, the Farhang Foundation, the Friends of Encyclopaedia
    Iranica, the Foundation for Iranian Studies, the Persian Heritage
    Foundation, and the Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute. Special thanks
    to Mahnaz Afkhami, Frank Lewis, Elahé Mir-Djalali Omidyar, Vahid
    Nowshirvani, Homa Sarshar, and Javad Tavakoli. The opening reception,
    which is co-sponsored by the Farhang Foundation, would not have been
    possible without the organizational skills and elegant sensibility of
    Bita Milanian and Haleh Emrani. The Ehsan Yarshater 90th Birthday
    Tribute & Reception is made possible with the wise counsel of Dr.
    Ahmad Ashraf and the foresight of Homa Sarshar and other committed
    Friends of Encyclopaedia Iranica.

    Very special thanks go to Ustad Khosrow Bayat, Pendar Yousefi,
    and Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan for their dedication and outstanding
    graphic design. I am also grateful to Arash Afshar of Printup Press
    & Graphics for his quality work and invaluable last minute support.
    For extending the hospitality of the Doubletree Guest Suites Santa
    Monica, I am also indebted to Beth Hansler.

    Please join me in thanking all of our volunteers, committee
    members, co-sponsors, and conference presenters whose contribution to
    the advancement of Iranian Studies is appreciated in the previous pages.

    I wish you all an intellectually inspiring experience in Santa Monica.

    Best regards,
    Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi

    Posted in

    Submitted by admin on Thu, 2010-06-03 18:16

  • What did you think about the conference?

    With the 2010 ISIS Conference now over, it's time to reflect on the event and hear your feedback.

    If you were one of the attendants, we would love to hear what you thought about the event. If there was anything you were particularly pleased about, or if there were shortcomings that were avoidable, please let us know using the comments below. Your feedback helps us improve future events.

    Posted in

    Submitted by isis on Thu, 2010-06-03 15:34

  • ISIS on Facebook

    ISIS now has a page on Facebook. Please join us by "Liking" the page and sharing it with your friends. You can also invite your Facebook friends to join the ISIS Conference using this Facebook Event

    Posted in

    Submitted by isis on Wed, 2010-05-26 14:47

  • 2010 ISIS Conference Program and Flyer

    The pdf versions of the Conference Program and Flyer for the Eighth Biennial Iranian Studies are now available for download. For further details, including presentation abstracts and speaker bios, please visit the online version of the program. 

     

    Posted in

    Submitted by isis on Sun, 2010-05-23 13:40

  • New Contributions Page

    ISIS supports various awards and contributions. We have added a new page that lists all the awards and causes you can contribute to. You can always access the page by clicking on the "Contributions" link on the top menu.

    The Simin Behbahani Book Award

    The Simin Behbahani Book Award

    Contribute Now
    The Ehsan Yarshater Award

    The Ehsan Yarshater Book Award

    Contribute Now
    Doante to ISIS

    Donate to ISIS

    Contribute Now

    Posted in

    Submitted by isis on Tue, 2010-05-18 18:13

  • 2010 ISIS Conference Registration: one-day registration option added

     If you are planning to attend the 2010 ISIS Conference for only one day, we have now added a one-day registration option to our online registration. We strongly recommend that you register online and in advance.

    To register for a one-day registration (or for the full conference), simply click here and follow the instructions. All online payments on the ISIS website are secure and fully encrypted. 

    For one-day registration, you need to know which day you wish to plan in advance, and select the appropriate date accordingly.