‘ajam session is an upcoming workshop focusing on the theme of premodern literary exchange between Persian and Arabic, to be held at the Freie Universität Berlin on 27–28 October 2022. This is intended to be an uncommon gathering—perhaps the first of its kind in recent memory—for scholars who work with textual sources in both Arabic and Persian, and whose research addresses the long interplay between the two literary traditions.
Far too often, classical Persian and Arabic literature have been taught and studied at universities as though they can be siloed. The reality is that these traditions were inextricably linked from the early Islamic period onward, with Arabic serving as the overarching lingua franca, and with authors of Persianate background producing many of the most influential texts in philosophy, the sciences, belles lettres, and beyond—and often writing in both languages. To attempt to understand the “Perso-Arabic nexus” at the heart of the Islamicate civilization is challenging. Few researchers have the necessary background. In fact, two of the rare senior scholars who worked in this niche have recently passed away: Julie Scott Meisami and Azartash Azarnoush. (‘ajam session will be dedicated informally to their memory.) The goal of this workshop is to bring into conversation scholars who aspire, like Meisami and Azarnoush, to wear the hats of both Arabist and Persianist.
Funding for this event is provided by the Dahlem Junior Host Program and the ERC project AnonymClassic. We are most grateful for their support.