Overview

This volume offers fresh insights into themes of love, gender, sexuality, and the interaction between the profane and the spiritual in classical Persian culture, including their reception and appropriation in modern and contemporary Iranian history. Each chapter is original in its own right, offering perspectives on these interrelated concepts. Together, they provide us with a solid foundation for understanding how modern Iranians utilize their cultural heritage to protest against injustice. One striking example is the episodes from Firdowsī's Shāh-nāma, used during the 2022 ""Women, Life, Freedom"" protests. Chapters focus on masterpieces of Persian literature such as Gurgānī's Vīs-u Rāmīn, Niẓāmī's Laylī and Majnūn, Khvājū of Kirmān's Humā and Humāyūn, Feyżī's Nal-u Daman, and the intriguing genre of Shahr-āshūb (how the beloved ""upsets the town""). The contributions embrace the complexity of love and gender in these and other works, imparting precise information about their various moral, mystical and secular dimensions. Together, these chapters offer indispensable perspectives on how Persians have conceived of love and gender, and how these works continue to inspire them in their struggle for freedom, even at the cost of their lives.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ali-Asghar Seyed-Gohrab
Publisher:   Leiden University Press
Imprint:   Leiden University Press
ISBN:  

9789087285005

ISBN 10:   9087285000
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   04 March 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Reflections on Love, Gender, and Sexuality: Perspectives from Classical to Modern Persian Culture - Ali-Asghar Seyed-Gohrab; Of Earthly and Heavenly; 1. The Vale of Soul Making: The Evolution of the Persian Verse Romance from Gurgānī to Jāmī - Dick Davis; 2. The Earthy Roots of the Heavenly Beloved - Ali-Asghar Seyed-Gohrab; Ethics of Love, Gender, and Sexuality in Persian Poetry; 3. An Emperor Accused of Sexual Transgression. What is Really Happening between Bahram Gur and his Musician Slave Girl? - Christine van Ruymbeke; 4. The Character of Vīs in Gurgānī's Vīs-u Rāmīn and the Functioning of Love - Mira de Boose; 5. A Pact Between Conflicting Codes: Javānmardī in Niẓāmī's Laylī and Majnūn - Allison Kanner-Botan; 6. The Many Faces of Humāyūn: Portraying a Chinese Princess in Persian Epic Poetry - Christine Kämpfer; 7. The Sword of Lovesickness: Exploring Gendered Identities in Feyżī's Nal-u Daman - Fatemeh Naghshvarian; 8. Estranged Sun? Gurdafarid of Firdowsī's Shah-nama - A Female Warrior in Pre-Islamic Iran - Joanna Szklarz; 9. The Psychic-Civic Operability of Early Modern Persian Shahr-āshūb(s): Emergence of Text through the Muʿammā(s) of Love and Craft - Mahroo Moosavi; Modern Gender and Sexuality Revisited; 10. Beyond Anachronism: Questioning Modern Gender and Sexuality Language in Classical Persian Literature - Mehrdad Alipour; 11. Past Heroines, Modern Champions: Gurdāfarīd in the Shāh-nāma and the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement - Bregtje T. van der Zaag; 12. Woman Life Freedom in the Mirror of Scholarship: Responses from the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences - Pooyan Tamimi Arab.

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Author Information

Ali-Asghar Seyed-Gohrab is Professor of Iranian and Persian Studies at Utrecht University in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, and member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). He has published extensively on Persian literature, mysticism and religion. His publications range from Persian poetry to Sufism and the role of religious and mystical motifs and metaphors in Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) and how peaceful religious injunctions are used to justify violence. Currently, he is the Principal Investigator (PI) of an ERC-Advanced Grant entitled Beyond Sharia: The Role of Sufism in Shaping Islam (www.beyondsharia.nl), examining Islamic non-conformist movements.

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