Ferdowsi Summer School of Modern Persian

Syllabus

Below you can find the syllabus of the Ferdowsi Summer School of Modern Persian, which is divided into three weeks, each of which deals with a particular thematic aspect of Modern Persian: literary, colloquial, and political.

The classes are divided into three main sections focusing on the development of the students’ reading, listening, and speaking skills.

The homework will mainly consist of repeating the vocabulary, practicing the material covered in class, and preparing for the following day’s lesson. The topics covered each day are most effective when studied and practiced beforehand. Outside-of-class activities and homework will generally take around one to one and a half hours of the student’s time.

Week 1. Cultural Talks: Iranian Festivals and Films

The first week of the summer school will primarily focus on literary Persian and its grammatical, lexical, and stylistic characteristics, which are important when dealing with literary and official texts, formal communication, as well as the reading of literature.

Two selected topic groups will be covered during this week. The first focuses on the Iranian film industry, especially non-commercial and art-house cinema, while the second focuses on selected Iranian festivals. The classes will begin with reading articles related to these subjects and will later continue with watching films or listening to documentaries.

In the third section of each class, the conversation and discussion will focus on the subjects covered during the day. The newly introduced vocabulary and expressions will be practiced, explained, and actively used by the students with the guidance of the instructor.

Day 1. Asghar Farhādī. The Separation

Text: Aṣghar Farhādī: bā taġyīr-e joġrāfiyā qarār nīst filmsāz-e dīgarī bešavam.

Listening: Jodāyi-ye Nāder az Simin (movie)

Conversation: Living in a different country

Day 2. Šab-e Yaldā

Text: Šab-e Yaldā: yādgārī az Īrān-e bāstān barā-ye ṭūlānī-tarīn šab-e sāl.

Listening: Jodāyi-ye Nāder az Simin (continuing)

Conversation: Festivals and Holidays in My Country.

Day 3. 'Abbās Kiārostamī

Text: Abbās Kiārostamī’s Instagram Page

Listening: #1. A Scene from the film Ta’m-e Gīlās (“The Taste of Cherry”)

#2. Mo’arefi va naqd-e film-e Ta’m-e Gilās

Conversation: Iranian Cinema

Day 4. Nowrūz

Text: Nowrūz az dīrbāz tā emrūz — pīšīne-ye tārīḫī-ye Nowrūz va Nowrūz dar kešvarhā-ye moḫtalef-e jahān

Listening: Tārīkhče-ye Nowrūz az Īrān tā jahān | rāz-e māndegārī va jahānī šodan-e Nowrūz (Movarrekh Podcast)

Conversation: The Celebration of Nowrūz

Day 5. History in Iranian Cinema

Text: Tārīkh dar sīnemā-ye Īrān by Abdoolhossein Laleh

Listening: TV Series “Sarbedārān”, First Episode

Conversation: An Overview of Iranian Cinema; Recommendations

Week 2. Spoken Persian: From the Streets of Tehran to the Alleys of Instagram

The second week is dedicated entirely to spoken Persian, its particular characteristics, phraseology, and colloquial expressions, as well as polite forms of speech and expressions of politeness, usually referred to as taʿārof.

The selected texts are mainly written in colloquial Persian. Despite being written texts, they follow the standards and patterns of spoken Persian, which helps students actively and intensively engage with colloquial speech through textual material.

During this week, students will study the grammar, phonetics, and phraseology of colloquial Persian in greater detail, while significantly enhancing their speaking and conversational skills.

In each speaking section 15-20 minutes will be dedicated to covering various ta’ārof formulas.

Day 1. Dustī

Text: Dānešgāh bā ṭaʿm-e bārān

Listening: Dorehamī-ye Mehrān Modīrī bā ḥożūr-e Pejmān Jamšīdī

Conversation: Dusti va mo’āšerat.

Day 2. Ešq

Text: Zendegī-ye moštarak-e mā (Blog)

Listening: #1. Āhang-e ʿĀlījenāb-e ʿEšq, Eyvān Band

#2. Matn-e āhang-e Zade Bārūn, Masʿūd Ṣādeqlū

Conversation: Dating

Day 3. Fāmīl

Text: Šokrāne (Blog)

Listening: Fīlm-e sīnemāyī-ye komedī-ye Moṭreb

Conversation: Family

Day 4. Mosāferat

Text: Safar-nāme-ye Dobei

Listening: Safar be Kordestān (Ali Aghajanzadeh)

Conversation: Traveling

Day 5. Bedūn-e Ta'ārof

Text and convrsation: Taʿārof-hā-ye mašhūr-e Īrānī

Listening: Taʿārof kardan-e Īrānī-hā

Conversation: Ta’ārof

Week 3. Iran, Past and Present: The Political & Historical Discourse

The third and final week of the course will mainly focus on modern politics as well as the history of Iran, with students learning Persian through various texts and audio materials related to historical and political topics.

Since history and politics are highly specific fields with their own terminology, this justifies dedicating an entire week to covering their lexical and conceptual vocabulary.

This week can be broadly considered part of literary and formal register, and it is important for gaining a better mastery of specialized phraseology and terminology.