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. abroad.
Moallem is now a professor of Gender and Women’s studies and the new faculty director for UC Berkeley Iranian & Persianate Studies.
“UC Berkeley is a wonderful institution that is, in my view, an ideal place to foster rigorous teaching and research,” said Moallem. “There is a rich tradition of Iranian poetry, literature, film, art, and crafts that transcends national boundaries and deserves well-informed scholarly attention. This is fertile ground to do academic work, design courses, and hire more faculty.”
Philanthropists have been investing in Iranian studies programs at universities for decades, part of an effort to increase recognition of the region’s cultural heritage. The Persian plateau was integral to Silk Road trade routes, connecting different religions and peoples for centuries. In the modern era, Iran has fostered a rich cinematic tradition and played a central role in many world events.
Iranian studies can be difficult to define. For one, Iran is culturally diverse, and some members of the Iranian diaspora refer to themselves by their ethnicity to avoid identifying with the Iranian government or being subjected to national stereotypes. Furthermore, many of the subfields within Iranian studies expand beyond borders. The ancient Achaemenid Empire, for example, spread from the Balkans to North Africa to the Indus River, making it the largest empire of its time.
The future of Iranian & Persianate Studies at Berkeley
UC Berkeley Iranian & Persianate Studies continues to grow. Led by professors in the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, the initiative also encompasses faculty members from comparative literature, English, ethnic studies, gender and women’s studies, history, South and Southeast Asian studies, and theater, dance, and performance studies.
Moallem is currently planning several marquee events for next semester, including talks by Morehshin Allahyari, Mona Damluji, and Farshid Kazemi and a pair of film screenings featuring influential Iranian director Rakhshan Bani Etemad. Benkato arranges the Daryabari Lecture in Iranian Studies, and Persian literature professor Wali Ahmadi produces the annual Maziar Maghsoodnia Memorial Fund poetry reading. All these events are open to the public, inviting California’s substantial Iranian diasporic community to engage with the university.
Moallem has also been collaborating with Dean Sara Guyer of the Division of Arts & Humanities to build institutional infrastructure. In the short term, they hope to secure staff support to organize events, develop an online presence, coordinate dozens of scholars, and build community. Moallem’s long-term plan is to create new opportunities, such as a designated emphasis in Iranian studies for Ph.D. students or a dedicated space for undergraduate research.
Ultimately, Berkeley’s Iranian scholars want to cultivate a sustainable, academically rigorous program that integrates faculty expertise, innovative research, and effective teaching.
“Preserving UC Berkeley's global stature requires world-class scholarship and deep regional knowledge across disciplines,” said Guyer. “Our Iranian Studies scholars are essential to this mission, pursuing bold, innovative research across the arts and humanities — including film, languages, literatures, religions, and music — that not only illuminates the past but also provides critical insights into the complexities of our present and future.”