| Part II | Option | Convenor: Professor Saloumeh Gholami |
Course Description 2025-26
This paper uses a selection of classical and/or contemporary literary texts in the original Persian, to study the treatment of particular themes and rhetoric techniques and to understand the relation of literature with visual and material culture as well as with film.
This advanced-level course investigates Persian literature not only as a textual tradition but as a richly intermedial and multisensory cultural field, both shaped by, and shaping visual arts, manuscript culture, cinema, and even olfactory aesthetics across the persianate world. By drawing on literary works across genres and periods from Sufi poetry and epic romances to modern film and archival manuscripts, the course explores the expression of Persian literary imagination, how it transforms and materialises across different media.
Seminar topics are drawn from both classical and modern traditions and organised thematically to trace how literary texts intersect with other art forms and sensory domains.
Classes and Supervisions
There are a total of 8 sessions including 7 one-hour seminars and 1 reading class per term during MT and LT.
Supervisions will be held twice per term, scheduled for Weeks 4 and 8 of both MT and LT. There are 2 supervision sessions on the Research Essay.
Students are expected to write one analytical essay per term on a topic selected with one of the teachers. This essay will form the basis for a one-hour supervision (in MT week 6 and LT week 6), during which the essay argument, structure, and use of sources will be discussed in depth. The essay should engage critically with one or more Persian texts studied in class.
| Michaelmas | Lent | Easter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. of classes | 8 | 8 | / |
| No. of supervisions | 2 | 2 | / |
Form and Conduct
This paper is assessed in two parts – each carries equal marks: (a) a research essay of between 6,000 and 7,500 words, including footnotes and appendices, excluding bibliography. Each student will develop the topic of the essay in consultation with the instructor. A one-page topic and paper outline will be due in Week 5 of Michaelmas Term. The progress on the research essay will be examined and discussed in two supervision sessions: Michaelmas term, Week 8 and Lent term Week 8. The essay should reflect original critical engagement with the course themes and incorporate relevant secondary literature where appropriate. One electronic copy (pdf) of the project shall be submitted to the Programmes Administrator in the Faculty Office so as to arrive not later than the fourth Friday of Full Easter Term; (b) a viva voce examination which will contain the reading and translation of a seen passage, a commentary on given aspects of the piece and a discussion of the research essay.
This description is subject to change, for the latest information, students should consult the Undergraduate Handbook available on the Faculty Intranet.