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---
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# Curriculum Vitae (Short)
## Education
| **2016** **PhD, Comparative Literature**, Washington University in Saint Louis
| Graduate Certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
| Dissertation: “Poetics of the Sufi Carnival: The ‘Rogue Lyrics’
| (Qalandariyât) of Sanâ’i, ‘Attâr, and ‘Erâqi”
| Advisors: Fatemeh Keshavarz and Ahmet T. Karamustafa
|
| **2009** **MA, Islamic and Near Eastern Studies**, Washington University in
| Saint Louis
|
| **2007** **BA, International and Area Studies** (with University Honors and
| Phi Beta Kappa), Washington University in Saint Louis
## Areas of Teaching and Reserarch Interests
**Primary Areas of Interest:** Persian literature of all periods; (global) digital humanities; religion and literature (especially, Sufi/Islamic mystical literature and the Qur’an as literature); literary and cultural theory (especially, gender & sexuality studies, cognitive literary theory, and translation studies)
**Secondary Areas of Interest:** Arabic literature of all periods; contemporary Islamic political thought
## Publications
* (with Maxim G. Romanov, Sarah Bowen Savant, and Ben Kiessling). “Important New Developments in Arabographic Optical Character Recognition (OCR).” *Al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā: The Journal of Middle East Medievalists* 25 (2017). [Available here](http://islamichistorycommons.org/mem/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2017/11/UW-25-Savant-et-al.pdf).
* "Embodying the Sufi Beloved: (Homo)eroticism, Embodiment, and the Construction of Desire in the Hagiographic Tradition of ‘Erâqi." *Journal of Middle Eastern Literatures* 21:1 (2018).
* (with Maxim G. Romanov and Sarah Bowen Savant). "Digitizing the Textual Heritage of the Premodern Islamicate World: Principles and Plans." *International Journal of Middle East Studies* 50 (2017): 103-109. doi: [
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020743817000964](
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020743817000964)
* (with Sarah Bowen Savant). "“Tell Me Something I Don’t Know!”: The Place and Politics of Digital Methods in the (Islamicate) Humanities." *International Journal of Middle East Studies* 50 (2017): 135-139. doi: [
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020743817001027](
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020743817001027)
* “Fakhr al-Dīn ‘Irāqī: Poet and Mystic.” In *Religious and Mystical Literature (Volume VI of A History of Persian Literature Series)*, eds. Fatemeh Keshavarz, Ahmet T. Karamustafa, and Ehsan Yarshater. New York: I.B. Tauris, Forthcoming 2018.
* (with Bridget Almas, Emad Khazraee, and Joshua Westgard). "Manuscript Study in Digital Spaces: The State of the Field and New Ways Forward." *Digital Humanities Quarterly* TBD.
## Submitted Works (Under Peer Review)
* "Genre Trouble: Historicizing and Computationally Analyzing the Qalandariyât and Other Thematic Genres in Early Persian Poetry." Submitted to volume *Khamriyya as a World Poetic Genre: Comparative Perspectives on Wine Poetry in Near and Middle Eastern Literatures* (Beiruter Texte and Studien/Ergon Verlag) in winter 2018.
## Works in Progress
* "Embodying the Beloved: Embodiment and Mystical Modes of Meaning Creation in Medieval Persian Sufi Literature." *Book manuscript in preparation.*
* "The Poetics of Transgression: The Rogue Lyrics (*Qalandariyât*) of Sanâ'i, 'Attâr, and 'Erâqi as Heterotopic Countergenre." To be submitted to *Iranian Studies* in fall 2018.
* "The Qalandar King: Islamic Kingship, the Cultural Poetics of Antinomianism, and Amir Mo'ezzi's Qalandari Panegyric for Sharafshah Ja'fari." To be submitted for publication to *Journal of Middle Eastern Literatures* in fall of 2018.
* (with Austin O’Malley). “Stylometric Authorial Attribution Analysis of Medieval Persian Masnavis: A Case Study of ‘Attâr’s Disputed Works.” To be submitted for publication to *Iranian Studies* in spring 2019.
## Public Scholarship
* “[The Kite Runner Critiqued: New Orientalism Goes to the Big Screen](http://www.commondreams.org/views/2008/01/05/kite-runner-critiqued-new-orientalism-goes-big-screen).” *CommonDreams* (Jan 2008). Available for download [here](https://www.academia.edu/6972322/The_Kite_Runner_Critiqued_New_Orientalism_ Goes_to_the_Big_Screen). Translated into Persian: “Ravâyati neo-orientâlisti az khâvarmiyâneh: naqdi digar bar ‘Bâdbâdak-bâz’.” Jahân-e Ketâb sâl-e sizdahom, shomâreh-ye 3 va 4 (Khordâd va Tir 1387). Translated by Ahmad Sayf. Available [here](http://www.ensani.ir/fa/content/236052/default.aspx).
## Professional Positions
| **2018-** **Assistant Professor of Persian Literature and Digital**
| **Humanities**, Roshan Institute for Persian Studies, University of
| Maryland, College Park
|
| **2016-** **Co-PI, Persian Manuscript Initiative (PMI)**. More information is
| available [here](http://www.persianmanuscript.org/).
|
| **2016-** **Co-PI, Open Islamicate Texts Initiative (OpenITI)**. More
| information is available [here](http://iti-corpus.github.io/)
|
| **2015-** **Associate Director, Roshan Initiative in Persian Digital**
| **Humanities at the University of Maryland (College Park)**
| **(PersDig@UMD)**. More information is available [here](http://persdig.umd.edu/).
|
| **2014-2018** **Roshan Institute Research Fellow**, University of Maryland,
| College Park
|
| **2014-2015** **Consultant**, Roshan Initiative in Persian Digital Humanities
| at the University of Maryland (PersDig@UMD)
|
| **1/2012-4/2012** **Visiting Research Associate**, Center for Arab and Middle
| Eastern Studies (CAMES), American University of Beirut
## Honors, Awards, and Grants
* Ehsan Yarshater Fellowship in Iranian and Persian Studies, Yale University (2017-2018) (declined)
* Collection Care and Emergency Response Grant (£5,000), Islamic Manuscript Association (2017) (for PMI project in the Raja of Mahmudabad Palace Library)
* DRIF Conference Grant for "Manuscripts in the 21st Century" workshop
* Global Classroom Initiatives Grant (2015) for development of the *Islamicate World 2.0: Studying Islamicate Cultures through Computation Textual Analysis* course ($12,000). More information on the course is available [here](http://islamicate-dh.github.io/IW2Course_2016/)
* Tier 1 University of Maryland Grant (2015) for Persian Digital Library project ($50,000)
* Roshan Institute Research Fellowship, University of Maryland, College Park (2014-2016)
* Dissertation Fellowship, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, Washington University (2013-2014)
* Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute Fellowship for Excellence in Persian Studies (2012-2013)
* Mellon-Sawyer Graduate Fellowship (2011-2012)
* University Fellowship from Washington University (Fall 2009-Spring 2010)
* Full Tuition Remission from Washington University for Doctoral Studies (2009-2014)
* University Fellowship from Washington University (Fall 2007-Spring 2008)
* Full Tuition Remission from Washington University for MA Studies (2007-2009)
* Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society (Spring 2007)
* Recipient, Hoopes Undergraduate Research Grant (Spring 2006)
* Recipient, International Activities Fund Research Grant (Spring 2006)
* Dean’s List (Spring 2004, Fall 2004, Spring 2006, Fall 2006, Spring 2007)
* Member, National Society of Collegiate Scholars (Fall 2004-Present)
* Arts and Sciences College Scholar, Washington University
* Eliot Scholarship from Washington University (Fall 2003-Spring 2007)
## Teaching Experience
* Instructor, *Sex, Love, and Desire in Persian Poetry* (Spring 2018)
* Instructor, *Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in the Islamic World* (Spring 2017, Fall 2018)
* Instructor, *The Islamicate World 2.0: Studying Islamic Cultures through Computational Textual Analysis* (Fall 2016). More information on the course is available [here](http://islamicate-dh.github.io/IW2Course_2016/)
* Instructor, *Introduction to Global Digital Humanities* (Spring 2016)
* Instructor, *Introduction to Persian Literature in Translation* (Spring 2015, Fall 2017)
* Instructor, *Lyrics of Mystical Love, East and West* (Fall 2014)
* Instructor, *Words and Worlds: A Critical Literacy Approach to Reading and Writing* (4/2014-7/2014)
* Co-Instructor (with Dr. Fatemeh Keshavarz), *Lyrics of Mystical Love, East and West* (Fall 2011)
* Teaching Assistant, *Beginning Arabic I* (Fall 2010, Spring 2011)
* Teaching Assistant, *Introduction to Religious Traditions II: Asian Religions* (Spring 2009)
* Teaching Assistant, *Introduction to Islamic Civilization* (Fall 2008)
* Teaching Assistant, *Introduction to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam* (Fall 2007)
## Invited Talks
* "Distant Reading Persian Poetry: A Topic Modeling-Driven Approach to Studying Generic Categories in Medieval Persian Poetry." *DHAsia Conference*, Stanford University (April 27th-28th, 2018).
* "Developments in Arabic-Script OCR at OpenITI." *Agenda for an Agenda for Historical and Multilingual OCR*, Northeastern University (February 7–8, 2018).
* "What is ‘Digital Humanities’ and What is it Doing in Islamicate/Middle Eastern Studies?" Tufts University (October 18th, 2017).
* “Poetic Performance as Argument: Hasan the Singer’s Embodied Performance-*cum*-Defense of Sufi (Homo)Eroticism in ‘Erâqi’s Hagiography.” Harvard University (April 21st, 2017).
* "Making a Digital Persian Manuscript Archive: The Persian Manuscript Initiative and Manuscript Studies in the Digital Age." *Rediscovering Words and Worlds – Arabic Script Collections at Columbia University Workshop*. Columbia University (February 16th-18th, 2017).
* "PersDig@UMD, OpenITI, and the Construction of the Infrastructure for ‘Digital Humanities’ Scholarship on the Premodern Islamicate World." Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ (November 11th, 2016).
* “The Persian Digital Humanities: Projects, Possibilities, and the New Collaborative Humanities.” University of Tehran (October 2nd, 2016).
* “PersDig@UMD: PMI, PDL, OpenITI, and the Persian Digital Humanities.” *Activism, Advocacy, and Scholarship on Islam in the Digital Realm: Prospects, Progress, and Challenges Workshop*, Boston University (September 16th, 2016).
* “Bodiless Forms: Embodiment, (Homo)eroticism, and the ‘Straightening’ of Sufi Desire.” University of Pennsylvania (February 1st, 2016).
* “Embodying the Beloved: (Homo)eroticism and Embodiment in Medieval Sufism.” *The Persian Book Lecture Series*, Library of Congress (September 3rd, 2016).
* “The ‘Rogue Lyrics’ of Medieval Persian Poetry: The Qalandariyyat as Heterotopic Countergenre of the Sufi Carnival.” *Fools and Vagabonds: Non-Violence in the Islamic Mystical Tradition Conference*, Leiden University (June 4th, 2015).
* “Hafez and The Persian Ghazal (Lyric).” Georgia College & State University (April 8th, 2014).
## Conference Presentations
* "Topic Modeling Genre in Medieval Persian Poetry: A Computational Approach to Medieval Thematic Collections of Poetry." *Middle East Studies Association Conference* (November 18th-21st, 2017).
* “The Qalandariyyāt as Heterotopic Countergenre: A Case Study of a Distant Reading Approach to the ‘Rogue Lyrics’ of Early Persian Poetry.” *2nd Khamriyya Workshop*, University of Cambridge (June 21st, 2016).
* “Embodying the Beloved in Textual Performance Contexts: A Queer Reading of Medieval Bio-/Hagiographical Accounts of Poetic Performance.” *Modern Language Association Convention* (January 9th, 2016).
* “Computational Explorations of Genre in ‘Classical’ Persian Poetry.” *Digital Arabic and Digital Persian Research Workshop*, University of Leipzig (December 17th, 2015).
* “Workshop on the Persian Digital Library (PDL): Status Update and Strategic Planning.” *Digital Arabic and Digital Persian Research Workshop*, University of Leipzig (December 17th, 2015).
* “Queering the Qalandariyyat: The Poetics and Cultural Politics Desire in the Poetry and Biographical Tradition of the Qalandari Poets.” *American Comparative Literature Association Convention* (March 26th-29th, 2015).
* “A Cognitive Poetics of the ‘Winehouse of Love’ in the Qalandariyyat of ‘Erāqī.” *Modern Language Association Convention* (January 10th, 2015).
* “Queering Love and Desire in the Antinomian Lyrics of ‘Erâqi.” *Modern Language Association Convention* (January 9th, 2014).
* “Reconceptualizing Medieval Poetic Biographical Traditions as Interpretative and Discursive Constructs: A Case Study of the Biographical Tradition of Fakhr al-Din ‘Eraqi.” *Middle East Studies Association Conference* (October 11th, 2013).
* “Aesthetic Homonormativity in Medieval Persian Sufism: A Cultural Poetics of Sufi Homoeroticism in the Biographical Traditions of Fakhr al-Dīn ‘Erāqī.” *Middle East Studies Association Conference* (November 18th, 2012).
## Conferences, Workshops, and Panels Organized
* *A New Corpus for the Islamicate World and Methods for Its Exploration.* Middle East Studies Association Conference (November 18th-21st, 2017).
* *Manuscripts in the Twenty-First Century Workshop*. University of Maryland, College Park (November 4th-5th, 2016).
* *Topic Modeling Persian Workshop/Hackathon: Scripts and Work Flows for Pedagogical and Research Applications*. University of Maryland, College Park (March 3rd-4th, 2016).
* *Permutations of Desire in Persian Literature*. American Comparative Literature Association Convention (March 26th-29th, 2015).
* *New Approaches to Love in Medieval Persian Poetry: Critical Interventions*. Modern Language Association Convention (January 10th, 2015).
* *Re-Interpreting Love and Desire in Medieval Persian Literature: Case Studies on ‘Attar, ‘Eraqi, and Gurgani*. Modern Language Association Convention (January 9th, 2014).
* *Persian Literary Historiography: Perspectives on the History and Interpretation of Persian Literature*. Middle East Studies Association Conference (October 11th, 2013).
## Roundtables
* Participant in *Non-traditional methods for Teaching Traditional Languages* roundtable, discussing collaborative, global classroom learning model of the *Islamicate World 2.0* course. *Middle East Studies Association Conference* (November 19th, 2016).