Rare Manuscripts of the Moroccan Royal Library: An Introduction and Overview
NELC Seminar Room (Humanities 365) 365 Humanities, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesThis lecture will describe some of the rare holdings of al-Khizāna al-Ḥassania, discuss issues related to Maghribi paleography, codicology, and art, imagery, and the symbolism and significance of color used in selected manuscripts. The lecture will also offer advice for potential researchers and suggest fruitful avenues for research in manuscripts at the Ḥassania Library. ...
Freed from Hostageship: Iranian Perspectives on the Arsacids of Rome
Royce Hall Room 306 10745 Dickson Plaza, Los Angeles, CA (CALIFORNIA)Jake Nabel (Getty Research Institute) Over the course of the Julio-Claudian period in Rome (c.30 BCE-68 CE), several Arsacid princes from the ruling family of the Parthian empire were sent to live in the court of the Roman emperor. Ancient Greco-Roman sources describe these figures as “hostages,” and modern scholars have largely followed suit. While...
Why and How Iranian Identity has become so Politicized? (Lecture in Persian)
121 Dodd Hall 390 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesMehrzad Boroujerdi (Syracuse) In this presentation, Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Professor of Political Science at Syracuse University and Visiting Scholar at UCLA’s Center for Near Eastern Studies, will address such issues as the central tenants of Iranian identity, attempts to refine it, and the current challenges and controversies regarding this contested notion. Event Flyer
Between Graven Images and Zoroastrian Texts: How to Study Ancient Iranian Religious Iconography?
Royce Hall Room 306 10745 Dickson Plaza, Los Angeles, CA (CALIFORNIA)Michael Shenkar (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) The study of the Iranian religious iconography has been traditionally bound to the Zoroastrian texts. Deities, animals and symbols have all been usually interpreted based on the descriptions found in the Avesta and in the Middle Persian literature. However, to treat these problematic texts as a source of...
Unscripted: The Visuality of Monumental Script in Ptolemaic Egypt
Humanities Room 365 415 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesThe Egyptian language is visually associated with its iconic Hieroglyphs. However, by the Ptolemaic period (332-30 BCE), the later form of Egyptian known as Demotic, which employed a different script, was commonly used in daily life. Hieroglyphs retained a prominent position and could imbue an inscription with prestige, but the multicultural shift of the Egyptian...
Songs of Nowruz and Spring in Persian Poetry
121 Dodd Hall 390 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesAhmad Karimi-Hakkak (UCLA) The celebration known as Nowruz not only marks the start of the Iranian New Year at the vernal equinox, but it has also been widely celebrated over several millennia across a vast expanse from Anatolia, the Iranian plateau, to West and Central Asia. As a theme too, Nowruz and the spring have been a staple of Persian...
Egyptology in Nazi Germany: Ideology, Scholarship, Careers
Humanities Room 365 415 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesThe history of Egyptology in the Third Reich has long been tabooed and never been the subject of academic analysis. Based on extensive archival research in Germany, this lecture will provide an overview of the discipline under National Socialism. It will look at the careers of individual scholars, from the emigrants and those persecuted to...
ARCE Practice Talks Round 1
Humanities Room 365 415 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesThe Religious Significance of Timber in Ancient Egypt Carrie Arbuckle (Archaeology). In this talk, the religious significance of timber in ancient Egypt is explored, particularly as it relates to coffin construction. This approach is based on a translation of a variation of Book of the Dead spell 193. Hard Times: The Life, Death, and...
Panel on Environment and Sustainability (in Persian)
121 Dodd Hall 390 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesFollowing the lectures of the speakers, there will be a period for Q & A. Amir AghaKouchak (UC Irvine) Anthropogenic Drought and the Notion of Water-Bankruptcy خشکسالی انسانی و مقوله ورشکستگی آبی The presentation focuses on Iran currently experiencing serious water and environmental problems. Droughts coupled with increasing water demands and over-abstraction of surface and...
ARCE Practice Talks Round 2
161 Dodd Hall 315 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesThe Compositional Design of Djedhor Cairo JE 46341 Michael Chen (Egyptology). This paper examines the layout of spells upon the statue surfaces of Djedhor to uncover the inherent planning behind the design of the statue. This strategic design reveals both a balanced spell arrangement and the inscribing order of the statue’s construction. The patterns observed in...