ASPS Biennial Convention
The Fourth Biennial Convention of the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies on "Persianate Societies and the Subcontinent" was held in Lahore from February 26 to March 1, 2009.
It was co-sponsored by Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), the Faculty of Oriental Learning of University of the Punjab, Lahore, the American Institute of Iranian Studies, and the Written Heritage (Miras Maktoob) Research Center, Tehran.
The inaugural session began at 4:00 PM in the Senate Hall, Allama Iqbal Campus, University of the Punjab. President Sa? Amir Arjomand presided over the session and Professor Mujahid Kamran, University of the Punjab Vice-Chancellor, was the chief guest. After welcoming addresses by Professor Muhammad Saleem Mazhar, Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Learning, Dr. Habib Borjian, ASPS Secretary-Treasurer, Dr. Erica Ehrenberg, Executive Director of the American Institute of Iranian Studies, Vice-Chancellor Mujahid Kamran, and Professor Rasul Bakhsh Rais of the Lahore University of Management Sciences, Arjomand delivered the presidential address on the Evolution of the Persianate Polity and its Transmission to India.
The participants and invited guests were then treated to a wonderful Mahfil-e `Arefana Kalam, consisting of a magnificent evening of music and poetry. It was followed by a sumptuous dinner.
The nineteen regular sessions of the convention were held at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.
The convention art exhibition featured the art of Maryam Salour who came from Tehran. The book exhibit displayed titles from the Oxford University Press and the Written Heritage (Miras Maktoob). The convention banquet was offered by LUMS on Saturday, February 28, followed by a truly unforgettable performance of Qawwali.
Despite the unforeseen political unrest in Lahore, the convention was a huge success. The attendance was unusually high, with the largest group of participants from Iran, followed by those from the United States, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Germany, Afghanistan, Russia, Great Britain, Georgia and Armenia. It is regrettable that the four colleagues from India could not attend.
ASPS wishes to thank our hosts, especially Professors Muhammad Saleem Mazhar and Rasul Bakhsh Rais.
Click here to download the Program.
The Conference Proceedings will be published in Persianate Societies and the Subcontinent. Fourth Biennial Convention of the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies. Program, Presidential Address, Abstracts, ed. Habib Borjian, New York and Tehran, 2009, 142 pp.
Our first biennial convention took place in Dushanbe, Tajiki-stan, in September 2002, with the cooperation of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Rudaki Institute of Language and Literature, and the National Commission of UNESCO, Tajikistan. The Dushanbe Conference brought together over 80 scholars from thirteen countries. ASPS’s second biennial conven-tion, on "Society, History and Culture in the Persianate World," in Yerevan, Armenia in 2004, brought together 90 scholars from 18 countries. During the third conference in Tblisi, Georgia in June 2007 at the lv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and the Tsereteli Institute of Orien-tal Studies, the ASPS opened its new branch office at the Institute of Oriental Studies. The conferences have provided a rare and valued opportunity for scholars from West, Central and South Asia, Europe and North America to participate in an interdisci-plinary dialogue. The interchange of ideas has also found its place in our publication, Journal of Persianate Studies.
Past Conferences
Download the proceedings of the Third Biennial Convention of the ASPS held in Tbilisi, Georgia, 8-10 June 2007, here in English, or here in Persian. Take a look at the program here.