A hundred years of Persian performing arts

Jane Lewisohn (SOAS).

This talk will show how the performing arts offer insights into the hopes, aspirations, aesthetics and even prejudices prevalent in Iran at this time and how they are valuable not just from an artistic point of view but also from the perspective of social and political history.

About the speaker:

Jane Lewisohn lived in Iran during the 1970s for six years and is a graduate of Pahalavi University, Shiraz, Iran. She has been involved in the research and promotion of various aspects of Persian culture and studies for the last four decades. Since 2005 she has directed the Golha Project under the auspices of the British Library, and the Music Department of SOAS, University of London. The Golha Project is an encyclopaedic website for Persian music and literature based on the Golha Radio programmes broadcast in Iran from 1956 until 1979.  This project has been supported by the Iran Heritage Foundation since 2008. Jane is currently director of the Golistan Project, working in collaboration with the Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies at the University of California Irvine to create a world resource for 20th century Persian performing arts such as music, film, theatre, and printed matter.