Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Seminar Series: Claus Valling Pedersen

Abstract

by Claus Valling Pedersen

There is a strong tradition in the history of modern Iranian literature for bestseller novels written by female authors.

From Simin Dâneshvar’s Savushun, over novels written by, among others, Shahrnush Pârsipur and Moniru Ravânipur, to more recent works by Zoyâ Pirzâd, whose novels and short stories has been greatly appreciated outside Iran, too.

The subject of my talk is another novel, which has also been a success both inside and outside Iran, namely Parinush Sani’i’s – now banned in Iran - Sahm-e man,  written in 2003 and translated into English as The Book of Fate in 2013.

I will present Sani’i’s novel as a modern Bildungsroman and compare it to some of the novels by the female authors mentioned above.

About the speaker

Claus Valling Pedersen is Associate Professor in Persian Studies at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen. He was head of the Middle Eastern programme in the department from 2016 to 2021.

Claus Valling Pedersen is the author of a comprehensive Persian-Danish dictionary, two monographies about modern Persian literature, World View in Pre-Revolutionary Iran – Literary Analysis of Five Iranian Authors in the Context of the History of Ideas (Harrassowitz, 2002) and The Rise of the Persian Novel (Harrassowitz, 2016), and is currently working on a Danish-Persian dictionary.

He is also the author numerous articles on Persian literature and modern Iranian history and society.

About the seminar series

Each semester, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (IMES) welcomes a fantastic range of guest speakers, PhD students and colleagues from across the University to present an evening seminar on their research.

In the spring semester of the 2022 to 2023 academic year, the overall theme is 'Persian Narratives'.  Topics include Persian, Iranian, and Arabic folklore, literature, poetry, traditions, and political structures.

All seminars will be followed by a Q&A and wine reception.

How to join

Events are free and everyone is welcome.

No booking is required for this seminar.

Are you interested in studying with us?

We are the only university in Scotland to offer courses in the Muslim world's three main languages, placing Arabic, Persian and Turkish in the context of history, literature, culture, religion and politics, past and present.

Choose from a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, including PhD programmes.

Find out more about Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Edinburgh