Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ARA1021: Introduction to Persian History and Culture

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The class covers about 7000 years of Persian history, proceeding chronologically, beginning with pre-Islamic Persia around 5000 B.C. The first class concentrates primarily on giving students an outline of the glories of pre-Islamic Iran during the Achaemenian – followed by the Parthian and Sassanian – Empires. We will examine the wars between the Persians and the Greeks and Alexander the Great’s conquest of Persia and its aftermath as well. The following two classes cover the rise of Islam, the Arab conquest, the Islamization of most of Iran, with the emergence of local Iranian dynasties and the appearance of the ‘New Persian’ language out of the fusion of Middle Persian with Arabic. Class four gives an overview of both the role of the indigenous Persian religions (Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism) in Persian history, as well an account of the place of Christianity, Gnosticism and Judaism in ancient and medieval Persia. Classes five through seven attempt to summarize the history of the various dynasties who ruled Iran during the twelfth through fifteenth centuries—Ghaznavids, Saljuqs, Mongol Il-Khans and Timurids—highlighting some of the great poets, historians, theologians, scientists, Sufis and philosophers who flourished during this renaissance period. Class eight is devoted to the culture, society, politics and literature of Safavid Persia (1501-1722). The final three classes treat Iranian history and culture during the 17th-19th centuries (the Afsharid, Zand and Qajar dynasties) and in modern times, from the Pahlavi monarchy during the twentieth century down to the clerical coup d’Etat of 1979, concluding with an overview of the last three decades of the Ayatollahs’ dictatorship down to Ahmadnejad. At the end of the course students will have gained a thorough acquaintance with both the classical history and contemporary politics and culture of one of the greatest of the world’s civilizations.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. demonstrate introductory level skills of historical and cultural analysis, with reference to the history of Iran; 2. demonstrate introductory understanding of Iranian history, in both the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods;
Discipline-Specific Skills	3. understand historical change and develop a coherent argument based on secondary sources; 4. develop critical approaches to the historiography of Iran;
Personal and Key Skills	5. develop analytical and writing skills through reading assignments 6. compose essays; 7. participate in directed class discussions; and 8. manage time and observe deadlines.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Week 1. Introductory – Overview of Iranian History

Week 2. Pre-Islamic Iran

Week 3. The Coming of Islam

Week 4. Iranian local dynasties, Turks and Mongols, and the emergence of New Persian literature

Week 5. The Safavids - literature and history

Week 6. The Fall of the Safavids, Nader Shah and the 18^th century Interregnum

Week 7. The Qajars and the Constitutional Revolution

Week 8. The Pahlavis

Week 9. Literature and politics in 20^th century Iran

Week 10. The Revolution of 1979

Week 11. Iran since the Revolution

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	128	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	22	The module will consist of lectures and regular class discussions of assigned reading with a view to monitoring the assimilation of material
Guided Independent study	55	Students will need to spend time researching in the library while reading the required text
Guided Independent study	20	Students will need to spend time in the library researching on their term paper
Guided Independent study	53	Private Study

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

ELE – vle.exeter.ac.uk/

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Michael Axworthy, Empire of the Mind: A History of Iran (London: Hurst 2007).

Alessandro Bausani, Religion in Iran, trans. J.M. Marchesi (New York: Bibliotheca Persica 2000).

The Cambridge History of Iran. Multiple Editors. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1968-91), 7 volumes.

Richard Foltz, Spirituality in the Land of the Noble: How Iran Shaped the World's Religions (Oxford: Oneworld 2004).

David Morgan, Medieval Persia, 1040-1797 (London: Longman 1988).