Mohammad Mehdi Khorrami

Clinical Professor Emeritus

Bio

My primary research field is contemporary Persian fiction. The theoretical context in which I have conducted my research is informed by the fundamental idea that many readings of works of contemporary Persian fiction need to be constructed based on linguistic and literary characteristics of the Persian literary tradition. To develop this context I have also worked on Persian classical poetry, as well as historical and anecdotal prose up to and including the fourteenth century. I have tried to identify classical rhetorical and aesthetic dynamics which need to be included in the readings of contemporary works. Modern Reflections of Classical Traditions in Persian Fiction is an example of my application of this approach. My new book, Literary Subterfuge and Contemporary Persian Fiction: Who Writes Iran? follows the same directives. In this project, however, I have included recent works of Persian prison literature; therefore, in comparison to my previous works, a more significant textual space is allocated to the components of historical and sociological discourses. Very recently I have started working on the application of sensory studies in the context of Persian literature. The main focus of this project is to define models which would enable readers to relate to Persian literary works through all traditional senses.  

Education

Ph.D. 1996, University of Texas-Austin

Areas of Research/Interest

Modern Persian fiction: Stylistics and Aesthetics; Sensory Language in Persian Literature

Fellowships/Honors

The Golden Dozen Award: “Recognizing excellence in teaching and contribution to undergraduate education,” New York University, 2009

The Golden Dozen Award: “Recognizing excellence in teaching and contribution to undergraduate education,” New York University, 2003

Outstanding Teaching Award, New York University, 1998

Publications

Moments of Silence: Authenticity in the Cultural Expressions of the Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988, co. ed., New York: NYU Press, 2016 (forthcoming).

http://nyupress.org/books/9781479841585/

The History of Afghanistan: Fayz Muhammad Katib’s Siraj al-tawarikh, Book 3 (Conclusion) and Book 4, in 5 volumes, edited and translated with Robert McChesney, Leiden: Brill, 2016.

http://www.brill.com/products/reference-work/history-afghanistan-volume-4-5-vol-set 

Literary Subterfuge and Contemporary Persian Fiction: Who Writes Iran?, London: Routledge, 2014.

http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781138782341/ 

The History of Afghanistan: Fayz Muhammad Katib’s Siraj al-tawarikh, book 3 in 3 volumes, translated with Robert McChesney, Leiden: Brill, 2013.

http://www.brill.com/publications/reference-works/history-afghanistan-6-vol-set 

“The Farhad of Nezami’s Khosrow o Shirin”: A Silent Narrative of Love, in Muraqqa’e Sharqi, ed. Soussie Rastegar and Anna Vanzan, Italy: AIEP Editore (2007), 107-128.

“Who Writes Iran: Prison Literature in the Islamic Republic: “Les Damnées du Paradis”’, in Critical Encounters: Essays on Persian Literature and Culture, edited with M. R. Ghanoonparvar, Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers (2007), 106-144. 

Modern Reflections of Classical Traditions in Persian Fiction, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2003. 

Modern Reflections of Classical Traditions in Persian Fiction, (in Persian), Tehran: Vistar, 2003. 

Another Sea, Another Shore: Persian Literature of Migration, co. ed. & co. tr., Northampton: Interlink, 2004. 

A Feast in the Mirror: Stories by Contemporary Iranian Women, co. ed. & co. tr., Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000.