Persian literature has a long history in Afghanistan, having an important role in the formation of national and other identities in the country. Historically, poetry has been especially significant in this regard, and literary scholars in Afghanistan have conversely paid more attention to such works than to prose. In this talk, panelists will address both Afghan poetry and prose by elaborating on the importance of poetry in the expression of Afghan writes in diaspora, as well as the role of Persian-language prose in the social and political contexts of the 19th century Afghanistan.

Sarwerasa Rafizada, is a scholar of Persian literature, a Distinguished Research Fellow at the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, and a Visiting Assistant Professor in the UCLA's Departmentof Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. She obtained her master's degree in Persian literature from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2009, and her PhD in 2015.

Khalilullah Afzali, is a specialist on Persian literature and manuscript culture. He is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the UCLADepartment of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures and a Distinguished Research Fellow at the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies. In his research and teaching, he focuses on codicology, Sufism, literary history and Bidel studies.

Domenico Ingenito, is Associate Professor of Iranian Studies and premodern Persian Literature at UCLA, Bahari Fellow in the Persian Arts of the Book (University of Oxford), core faculty member of the Pourdavoud Center for the Study of theIranian World, and former director of the UCLA Program on Central Asia (2016-2021). He co-leads the UCLA Afghan Scholars at Risk Program.

Sponsor(s): Center for Near Eastern Studies, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures