Intensive investigation of a selected topic or problem in Persian literature, literary culture, philology, or linguistics.
Prereq: Permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 12 cr hrs or 5 completions.

This course will give graduate students an opportunity to explore thoroughly a major issue or phenomenon in the larger context of Persian literary culture and to examine its ramifications and implications. The objective is to provide a well-defined area of concentrated literary/cultural study and invite the investigation of a specific scholarly problem through the application of appropriate research skills and methodological approaches. By the end of the course, students ought to have sufficient familiarity with the requirements and parameters of literary analysis; the specific character of Persian literature and its audience; and the challenges to interpretation posed by the peculiarities of Persian culture and tradition. Students will be expected to read and prepare all texts for discussion by their assigned dates. Each student, in consultation with the instructor, will choose and prepare a particular text which will then be assigned to the entire class and dealt with in a discussion directed by that student. In addition, students will compose one major research paper, based upon the sources used in the course (and any other appropriate sources), due during the final week of class.