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

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