TITLE: Iranian Jewry: From Past To Present (Morning Session)
SPEAKER: various speakers
EVENT DATE: 11/03/2008
FORMAT: Video + Captions
RUNNING TIME: 166 minutes
TRANSCRIPT: View Transcript (link will open in a new window)
DESCRIPTION:
The Jews of Iran comprise not only one of the oldest populations of Jews in the world, but also one of the most ancient threads in the diverse fabric of the ancient Iranian community. Beginning with the Achaemenid period (550-330 B.C.) and lasting beyond the emigration of a portion of Iran's Jewish population to the United States and Israel in the late 1970s, Jews have had a complex interaction with the Persian state and culture.
The morning session focused on Jews in Medieval Persian Cultures and Resources for the Study of Iranian Jewry. Featured speakers and topics of discussion were Parvaneh Pourshariati, "Jewish Participation in Over-Land Trade in Late Antique Iran: A Preliminary Assessment"; Maria Subtelny, "The Jews at the Edge of the World: The Islamic Ascension Narrative as Missionary Text in Medieval Iran"; and Vera Moreen,"Neglected Sources: The Riches of Judeo-Persian Manuscripts."
In addition, other speakers were Peggy Pearlstein, "Iranian Judaic and Hebraic Resources in the Collections of the Library of Congress"; Hirad Dinavari, "Jewish Resources in Persian and Iranian Collections at the Library of Congress"; and Vera Moreen, "Of Making Many Encyclopedias There Is No End: Reflections on the Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World."
Iranian Jewry: From Past to Present was sponsored jointly by the African and Middle Eastern Division at the Library of Congress and the Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Studies and the Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute Center for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland. Visit this site for more information.
