News from

Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations

Reset All Filters
44 Results
‘A Revolution in Rhyme’
Professor Fatema Shams and book cover

Poet Fatemeh Shams, assistant professor in the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department, has published a new book in English about politics and poetry in modern Iran. She has rebuilt the Persian language and studies program during her four years at Penn. 

‘A Revolution in Rhyme’

While building the Persian language and studies program at Penn, Fatemeh Shams draws from the millennium-old Persian literary tradition to write a new book about poetry and politics in modern Iran. She will embark on her next book project during an upcoming fellowship in Berlin. 
Alice Paul’s mysterious manuscript
Alice Paul in her graduation gown and a handwritten page from her dissertation.

Alice Paul received her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1912. Professor Heather Sharkey and three students have spent the past year transcribing a manuscript of Paul’s doctoral dissertation that is held in the Penn Libraries collection. (Left image: Courtesy of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institute, and the Alice Paul Centennial Foundation, circa 1912) (Right image: Courtesy of the Penn Libraries)

Alice Paul’s mysterious manuscript

Heather J. Sharkey and three students transcribed a hand-written manuscript of the doctoral dissertation by Alice Paul, who earned her Ph.D. from Penn in 1912. As part of a virtual symposium, they joined John Pollack of the Libraries to discuss their efforts.
Middle East Film Festival highlights five directors from five countries
A woman with a red headscarf, red red jacket and red lipstick holding a red geranium is seen in a reflection in a car's side mirror

Still from Iman Behrouzi's 2019 documentary "Love in Close-Up." (Image courtesy of Iman Behrouzi) 

Middle East Film Festival highlights five directors from five countries

Transformed by the pandemic, this year’s festival featured a virtual dialogue with directors and watch-at-home film offerings.

Kristen de Groot

Lost and found: The art of translation
Abstract painting of books, writing utensils, flowers, and decorative brush strokes.

Lost and found: The art of translation

For faculty in the School of Arts & Sciences, translation is an art that allows us to communicate across cultural difference.