Learn Persian Through the Shahname
2 weeks, from Sep 25, 2023 to Oct 06, 2023

We cordially invite you to enroll in the “Learn Persian through the Shahname” online course offered by the Armenian School of Languages and Cultures - ASPIRANTUM. This course runs for a total of two weeks, but students also have the option to participate in the first week only. The online course is scheduled to commence on September 25, 2023, and conclude on October 6, 2023. We look forward to helping you further your Persian language skills.

“Learn Persian through the Shahname” is a near advanced course and students will need to have a solid background of Persian with at least intermediate skills in Persian reading comprehension. 

The testimonials of ASPIRANTUM Persian language summer, winter, and online school alumni are available here: https://aspirantum.com/testimonials

The “Learn Persian through the Shahname” online course will help the participants to master skills in Persian, particularly in reading and interpreting Persian classical poetry, deepen their knowledge of the Shahname and learn the etymologies and various meanings of Persian words.

The 2 weeks “Learn Persian through the Shahname” online course offers 40 hours of intensive Persian language classes from Monday till Friday each week during 10 days of teaching (or 20 hours during 5 days if participants choose to participate in the first week only). Every day the participants will receive Persian language instruction through the Shahname for 4 hours. In addition to reading and discussing the Shahname every day, the students will also read an article in Persian by an Iranian scholar about a unique aspect of the Shahname. These readings are available in our syllabus. Every day the class will start with a discussion of the homework and the mentioned article. Following this, the class will read, interpret and decipher one story from the Shahname. Each day's class will end with discussion and questions. 

The full syllabus of the “Learn Persian through the Shahname” online course is available here: https://aspirantum.com/curriculum/learning-persian-through-shahname-syllabus 

We are planning to start the online classes at 9 PM Yerevan time. This time is mainly comfortable for the students from European and American countries. So depending on the geography of applicants, the time may be changed and all applicants will be informed about the time changes prior to the course. 

The four hours class of each day will be divided into the following sections:

First class - Homework and discussion of homework article
Break
Second class - Reading Shahname
Break
Third class - Reading Shahname
Break
Fourth class - Discussion and questions

During the “Learning Persian through Shahname” classes the following components will be covered every day to foster the Persian language knowledge of participants:

Grammar: Everyday class will cover the main grammatical concepts of the Shahname with parallels to modern Persian, Middle Persian, and Old Persian.
Vocabulary: During the 2 weeks course it is anticipated that the participants will learn more than 500 Persian words that will facilitate their further study of classical Persian literature.
Listening: The classes are scheduled in a way that each day participants will also listen to audio recordings of the Shahname.
Speaking: Every day the classes will push the students to exercise their speaking abilities through discussions, conversations, and role-plays about different stories of the Shahname.
Writing: Each day the participants will have assignments and homework to complete for the next day.
Reading: Everyday students will read and discuss the text of the Shahname. The corpus of texts to be read and discussed during the classes will include different stories from Shahname, like the stories of Rostam and Sohrab, Siavash, the battle of Davazdah Rokh, Bizhan and Manizhe, Rostam and Esfandiar, etc.

This Persian language school is designed for participants who want to make well-grounded progress in their knowledge of the Persian language and deepen their knowledge of Persian grammar, literary language, and classical poetry through the Shahname.

The “Learning Persian through Shahname” online course will have 1 group of up to 8 participants. The participants must have at least an intermediate level of Persian language knowledge before starting this course with ASPIRANTUM.

ASPIRANTUM’s Persian language schools are organized in a way that undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and professors, as well as anyone interested in learning Persian through Shahname, benefit from it the most. So everyone with an intermediate level of Persian is welcome to apply and participate in ASPIRANTUM’s “Learning Persian through Shahname” course from September 25, 2023, till October 6, 2023, online.

Instructor: The "Learn Persian through Shahname" online course will be taught by Mr. Ruben Nikoghosyan, and Professor Vardan Voskanian will be the assistant instructor during this course (see profiles below).

Deadline

The deadline to apply to the 1 or 2-week “Learn Persian through the Shahname” online course is August 30, 2023.
To apply, please fill in the application form below.

Participation fee

The participation fee is 700 USD if you only participate in the first week of the course. The participation fee for the two weeks entire course will be 990 USD. 

Discount

Need-based discounts will be available. Please email [email protected] describing your situation, and we will consider your case individually. 

(Each participant of this online school may find sources of financial aid from their own University/School/Community or other relevant foundations).

Letter of Invitation

If necessary ASPIRANTUM will provide applicants with an official letter to support scholarship applications.

Maximum capacity in the group: 8 students

Communication medium: The online course will be organized through Zoom. 

To apply please fill in the application form below.

Registered participants should send 100% of the participation fee before September 15, 2023, online via a Visa or a Mastercard.

For questions and inquiries please contact [email protected] or Whatsapp Dr. Khachik Gevorgyan (linkedin.com/in/khachikgevorgyan) +374-91-557978

To apply, please fill in the application form below.