The Zoroastrian Studies Lecture Series at Stanford
presents

Archaeology, Diaspora, and Identity:
New Frontiers in Zoroastrian and Parsi History and Culture

Dr. Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina

Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 7 p.m.

Piggott Hall (Bldg 260), Room 113, Stanford University,
Northern California, United States of America

This lecture will explore the ways in which the experiences of diaspora and migration have acted as powerful factors in Zoroastrian history, culture, and religious identity in both the past and the present. The first half of the lecture will survey the recent archaeological discoveries in rural Gujarat that are transforming our understanding of the early history and religious culture of the Parsi community in India. The second half of the lecture will discuss issues of demography, immigration, and changing religious practice in the most recent diasporas of Zoroastrians out of India and Iran to England, North America and beyond. The truly global nature of Zoroastrianism in the 21st century can be best appreciated by a deeper understanding of the rich migratory patterns and cultural adaptations of Zoroastrian communities through the centuries.

Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina received his Ph.D. from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University in 2007. After completing his dissertation, Studies in Zoroastrian Exegesis and Hermeneuticswith a Critical Edition of the Sudgar Nask of Denkard Book 9, Dr. Vevaina served as a Core Fellow in the Core Curriculum in Harvard College and as a Lecturer at Harvard from 2007-2008. He has taught a number of courses related to Zoroastrianism including, Old Persian and Middle Language and Literature, an Introduction to Zoroastrianism and a seminar course on Contemporary Zoroastrianism. His research interests include: critical approaches to the study of Zoroastrianism; the history and development of Zoroastrian interpretation; the interplay between text and liturgy in ritual practice; colonial and post-colonial constructions of religion; and religion in diaspora. He is currently working on a number of articles and a book project.
Map:  http://campus-map.stanford.edu/index.cfm?ID=01-260

Courtesy : Behram Pastakia