As a lingua franca promoted by multi-ethnic and multi-religious states and expanded further by education and commerce, Persian had reached the zenith of its geographical and social reach by the eighteenth century. In the course of the nineteenth century, it was rapidly undermined by the rise of new imperial and vernacular languages.
Pitt Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace
Bassem Tamimi is an internationally recognized Palestinian human rights activist from the West Bank farming village of Nabi Selah, where weekly nonviolent demonstrations are held in opposition to illegal Israeli settlement construction and military occupation. Bassem has been detained by the Israeli authorities over a dozen times, at one point spending three years in administrative detention without trial. In 1993, as a result of interrogation by the Israeli Shin Bet, Bassem was left unconscious for eight days and partially paralyzed for months to follow.
Nazareth College, Brian and Jean Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue in collaboration with the Department of Religious Studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY
The industrial revolution of the 19th and 20th centuries, abuse of power and human greed, and continuing population explosion in many countries have all contributed to an environmental crisis that threatens the sustainability of life on planet earth as we know it. Our reliance on fossil fuels, our creation of immense quantities of waste products, and our destruction of natural resources to fuel our consumer economies have led to global warming, a reduction in biodiversity and a serious threat to long-term environmental sustainability.
Department of French and Italian Languages and Literatures; Department of Religious Studies; European Union Center of Excellence; Film Studies Program; Global Studies Center; Humanities Center
Abdellah is a young gay man navigating the sexual, racial and political climate of Morocco. Growing up in a large family in a working-class neighborhood, Abdellah is caught between a distant father, an authoritarian mother, an older brother whom he adores and a handful of predatory older men, in a society that denies his homosexuality. Salvation Army, the directorial debut for Abdellah Taïa – an acclaimed Moroccan and Arab writer – is adapted from his novel of the same name. Discussion with the director after the screening. Free admission.
Join us on August 21 at 7:30 p.m. for a film screening of Persepolis, co-presented by Silk Screen. A live poetry reading by Persian Pittsburgh will precede the screening.
Join City of Asylum on August 21 at 7:30 p.m. for a film screening of Persepolis, co-presented by Silk Screen. A live poetry reading by Persian Pittsburgh will precede the screening.
Pitt Students for Justice in Palestine and the Pittsburgh AFSC: American Friends Service Committee PA Program
Several groups have are co-hosting an event to mark the one-year anniversary of the last day of the 2014 Israeli assault on Gaza. Members of the Pittsburgh pro-peace community will hold a memorial to mark the loss of 2,100+ Gazan and 73 Israeli lives, reading the names of those lost and marking each with a white flag to create a powerful visual reminder of last summer's war.
The memorial is cosponsored by Pitt Students for Justice in Palestine and the Pittsburgh AFSC: American Friends Service Committee PA Program
Art History Class:
Historical Perspectives on Persian and Iranian Art and Culture
4 sessions, Wednesdays or Saturdays
Starting July 22 or 25, 10:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
$80 ($64, Carnegie Museums members)
Explore Iran’s rich cultural and artistic history with Soude Dadras, visiting scholar in the department of history of art and architecture at the University of Pittsburgh. Each session will focus on one of four art forms deeply rooted in Persian history—carpets, ceramics, architecture, and calligraphy and painting.
