News

Featured Stories

UC Berkeley Iranian & Persianate Studies Revitalized by Professor Minoo Moallem

December 11, 2025
Minoo Moallem was getting her master’s degree at Tehran University when the Iranian revolution swept the country.

At first, she enjoyed new civil liberties, but as those were curtailed, Moallem left to pursue her Ph.D

...Read more about UC Berkeley Iranian & Persianate Studies Revitalized by Professor Minoo Moallem

The ‘First Lady’ of Iranian Film to Speak in Berkeley

March 11, 2026
This spring, as the war in Iran continues, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive is hosting a series of Iranian films.

Over two months, BAMPFA will screen films depicting family dynamics and dramatic relationships,...Read more about The ‘First Lady’ of Iranian Film to Speak in Berkeley

The Opportunities and Complexities of Studying Iran in 21st Century America

December 11, 2025
Adam Benkato is a scholar of Old and Middle Iranian languages spoken over a thousand years ago.

His main focus is Sogdian, which was used throughout much of Central Asia, and Middle Persian, the predecessor to modern Persian. Benkato is currently leading an international project to photograph...Read more about The Opportunities and Complexities of Studying Iran in 21st Century America

Solmaz Sharif to give 2023 Maghsoodnia Memorial Poetry Fund reading

August 15, 2023
Solmaz Sharif, the author of Customs (Graywolf Press, 2022) and Look (Graywolf Press, 2016), will give the 2023 Maziar Maghsoodnia Memorial Fund Reading on September 13, 2023. She will be in conversation with Lubna Safi, an advanced Ph.D. candidate at MELC and the author of Your Blue and the Quiet...Read more about Solmaz Sharif to give 2023 Maghsoodnia Memorial Poetry Fund reading

In Memoriam: Guitty Azarpay

April 9, 2024

The department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures mourns Professor Emerita Guitty Azarpay (1934-2024), esteemed colleague and member of the department between 1964 and 1994 (continuing as active emerita for another decade), who passed away in early April 2024.

After completing her...Read more about In Memoriam: Guitty Azarpay

Solmaz Sharif Joins Berkeley English

October 9, 2023

We are pleased to welcome Solmaz Sharif to the UC Berkeley Department of English as Shirley Shenker Assistant Professor.

Born in Istanbul to Iranian parents, Solmaz Sharif is the author of Customs (Graywolf Press, 2022) and Look (Graywolf Press, 2016), a finalist for...Read more about Solmaz Sharif Joins Berkeley English