Testimonials
Thanks to his vast and deep familiarity with several religious, historical and literary texts written
in Middle and Classical Persian, Ruben’s well-structured courses have always been intellectually
stimulating and inspiring. In addition to his knowledge of secondary literature in Russian, French,
German, Armenian, Persian and English, Ruben often draws on riches of the Persian literary
canon to explain linguistic features. As an experienced language teacher and researcher in Iranian
studies, his teaching style is an amalgam of historical linguistics and detailed philological analysis.
Thanks to his helpfulness, modesty, flexibility and characteristic humor, his lessons are always
engaging and entertaining. Over the years, we’ve worked together on several texts, and his
intellectual impact on my own research has been truly transformative.
I truly cannot recommend studying with Ruben Nikoghosyan enough to anyone interested in
Persian languages and literature. He is a passionate scholar with a wealth of knowledge and
critical insights into the literary traditions of Middle and classical Persian texts. I have taken
Ruben’s Middle Persian and Shahnameh courses and have thoroughly enjoyed and developed
my understanding of these texts. What I enjoy most from Ruben’s teaching style is ability to
always answer questions in depth and provide students with up-to-date literature. No question
is too small or too large!
The Middle Persian course that I studied with Ruben provided me with a working grasp of
Middle Persian, especially the ability to translate key texts of the Sasanian period and
understand them in context. Ruben is extremely knowledgeable in both Middle and Classical
Persian and positioned each text in its appropriate linguistic and cultural context, making it
both more enjoyable and easier to comprehend. I personally found the linguistic links to
Modern Persian, Parthian and Armenian very enjoyable.
Similarly, the Shahnameh course is a wonderful introduction to the magic of Ferdowsi. I
highly recommend it to any lover of Persian literature. Each section of the text is
contextualised in class and the focus is on developing not just our reading, but understanding
the linguistic and cultural framework of classical Persian.
I highly recommend the courses with Ruben. He is a truly passionate teacher and scholar with a deeply knowledge and understanding of Middle and Classical Persian texts. His lessons are very well organized and structured. What I like most about his courses is the introduction with the historical, linguistic and geographical context. He is always willing to help you with questions that may arise and he provide articles for personal studying. Through his classes you can understand his love for Iranian studies and he transmits that to you. I have taken Pahlavi lessons and Omar Khayyam poetry and really enjoyed and have a better understanding of these texts. Also I learned how to approach, translate and travel through these texts into the amazing world of Persian culture. Ruben is a contagious teacher, anyone interested in Persian language am
nd culture should definitely have online lessons with him. One of the best teachers that I ever had.
This was the second course that I have taken with Ruben and I cannot recommend studying with him highly enough! He is an incredibly engaging teacher who really makes the course material come to life. I have studied Persian for many years but my courses with Ruben have been on a whole other level. I love his method of using classical texts to teach Persian. It is so rewarding to complete a course feeling both the satisfaction of having learned to better understand the language and also the pleasure of having read another major classic of Persian literature. Not only did I learn a lot during these two courses, I also had a lot of fun!
Ruben was always available to clarify questions about grammar and vocabulary and was very responsive to questions that I sent him between classes. I especially appreciated how he used his deep knowledge of Middle Persian to explain questions that came up about the numerous peculiarities of early classical Persian. After taking these two courses with Ruben, I've noticed a significant improvement in my ability to grasp the subtleties of classical Persian texts, nuances that previously eluded me. I sincerely appreciate his exceptional courses; they have renewed my love for classical Persian literature.
I absolutely loved Ruben's course on Tarikh-i Baihaqi. Although designed as a brief course, Ruben's meticulous analysis of terms and concepts offers a comprehensive tour of the entire world of classical Persian literature. Ruben's in-depth knowledge of the Persian language and its literary traditions and his ability to connect words and phrases to their historical and cultural contexts is something that opens up the world of classical Persian. His style of teaching is very engaging and every single student gets to actively participate in reading and discussions. This is my second course with Ruben and I recommend his courses to anyone interested in exploring Persian language and culture.
