Iran at the Crossroads of Civilizations: Scholars and Lawyers Speaking about Iranian History and Cultural Heritage

Like other parts of the Middle East, Iran is considered one of the cradles of civilization. With a written history that stretches over more than 7,000 years, it constitutes one of the most variegated and richest cultures of the region, if not the world. The significance of Iran's cultural heritage and history finds its expression in the twenty-four sites that are included among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, with another fifty-six properties tentatively listed. For more than 400 years, the Sasanian Empire constituted one of the leading world powers prior to the rise of Islam, and the significance of Iran for the formation of Islamic thought and culture can hardly be overestimated, as over the centuries the country was home to the leading centers of philosophical and other intellectual activity. The panel "Iran at the Crossroads of Civilizations: Scholars and Lawyers Speaking about Iranian History and Cultural Heritage" hopes to make a contribution to showcase the incredibly rich cultural heritage of Iran beyond political considerations. It is sponsored by Sabine Schmidtke, Professor of Islamic Intellectual History at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton NJ. "Iran at the Crossroads of Civilizations" will feature presentations by Irina Bokova, former UNESCO Director General Touraj Daryaee, Maseeh Chair in Persian Studies and Culture and Director of the Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture at the University of California, Irvine Ani Honarchiansaky, Mary Seeger O'Boyle Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies, Princeton University Rudi Matthee, Distinguished Professor of Middle East History at the University of Delaware, and President of the Persian Heritage Foundation Matthew Thomas Miller, Assistant Professor of Persian Literature and Digital Humanities at Roshan Institute for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park Alexander Nagel, Assistant Professor, History of Art, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York Thomas G. Weiss, Presidential Professor of Political Science at The CUNY Graduate Center and Co-Chair, Cultural Heritage at Risk Project, J. Paul Getty Trust