The 2nd International Conference on Talishi Studies at Yerevan, Armenia on 12-13 Nov 2011

The 2nd International Conference on the Talishi Studies shall be held at Yerevan, Armenia on 12-13 Nov., 2011.

The Conference is organized by the International Journal “Iran and the Caucasus” (BRILL, Leiden-Boston) in the Framework of the Celebration of its 15-th Anniversary, in cooperation with Modus Vivendi Center, Yerevan; Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies, Yerevan; International Society for the Study of Turkey, Iran and the Caucasus (ISSTIC), and ARMACAD (supported by Hyksos Foundation).

Below is a synopsis of the 2-day conference (presenters, topics, etc):

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DAY 1, November 12, 2011

9.00 – 10.00: Registration

10.00 – 11.40: GENERAL SESSION

OPENING SPEECHES AND KEY PRESENTATIONS

Dr. Prof. Garnik Asatrian (Armenia), Head of the Organizing Committee; Editor, “Iran and the Caucasus”, Chair, Department of Iranian Studies, Yerevan State University

Talishi Studies: Present State and Perspectives.

Dr. Prof. Ali Granmayeh (United Kingdom), London Middle East Institute, SOAS, University of London-Talishi Language and Culture: How to Save them?
Dr. Prof. Kaveh Farrokh (Canada), University of British Columbia-The Process of the De-Iranianization of Caucasian Azerbaijan (1828-Present).
Dr. Vardan Voskanian (Armenia), Iranian Studies Dept, Yerevan State University-New Talishi Alphabet based on the Avestan Script (Project Presentation).

PRESENTATION – The new monograph by the Iranian Studies Department, Yerevan State University “Introduction into the History and Culture of the Talishi People”(in Russian) (ed. by Garnik Asatrian, Yerevan, 2011).

11.40 – 12.00 Coffee-break

HISTORY AND POLITICAL ISSUES – I (12.00 – 13.30)

Chairs: Ara Papian and Kaveh Farrokh

Andrey Areshev (Russia) – The Talysh Region and the Current Political Transformations in the South Caucasus
Ali Granmayeh (United Kingdom) – The Question of Talish and Communal Problems in Northern Iran
Roman Smbatian, Sona Davtyan (Armenia) – The political situation in Talishi inhabited territories in 1720-40s

13.30 – 15.00 Lunch

HISTORY AND POLITICAL ISSUES – II (15.00 – 16.30()

Chairs: Ali Granmayeh and Victoria Arakelova

Caspar Tristan ten Dam (The Netherlands) – The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: causes and consequences, brutalisation and radicalisation, and the chances of re-ignition – preliminary findings
Timirlan Aytberov (Russia) – On the main problems of the Avars in Azerbaijan and their solutions
Garnik Gevorgian (Armenia) – Настоящие границы поселения талышей (Real borders of the Talishi Habitat)
Elnur Aghayev (Talishi Academy of Sciences) – Наблюдения за динамикой развития талышского культурного возрождения (конец 80-х годов ХХ века) (On the Dynamics of the Talishi Cultural Revival: the late 80s of the XX c.)

16.30 – 16.50 Coffee-break

HISTORY AND POLITICAL ISSUES – III (16.50-18.20)

Chairs: Andrey Areshev and Timirlan Aytberov

Shahban Khapizov (Russia) – Demography of indigenous peoples of Azerbaijan
Irina Natchkhebia and Gia Jorjoliani (Georgia) – Путешествие в Талыш Джеймса-Бэйли Фрезера в 1822 (James Baillie Fraser’s Travel in Talish in 1822).
Babak Rezvani (The Netherlands) – Diversity, conflict and coexistence: the Iranian and the (post-Soviet ethno-political systems compared

19.30 – Welcome Party with Banquette (Mush Restaurant, Jrvezh)

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Frontal view of the State University of Yerevan, host to the 2nd International Conference on the Talishi Studies on 12-13 Nov., 2011. The university is host to an excellent Iranian Studies program, staffed by exemplary researchers such as Professor Garnik S. Asatrian (Chair, Iranian Studies Dept., Yerevan State University; Editor, “Iran and the Caucasus”, BRILL, Leiden-Boston) and Professor Victoria Arakelova (Associate Professor, Department of Iranian Studies, Yerevan State University; Associate Editor, “Iran and the Caucasus”, BRILL, Leiden). The conference of Nov.12-13 has been possible through the works of Professors Asatrian and Arakelova.

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DAY 2, November 13, 2011

AUDITORIUM I

LANGUAGE – I (10.00 – 11.30)

Chair: Mehrdad Naghzguy Kohan

Mahmood Jaafari-Dehaghi (Iran) – Historical Changes in the Sound System of Central Talishi
Vardan Voskanian (Armenia) – On linguistic contacts between Talishi and Armenian
Shadi Davari (Iran) – On Talishi Oblique Case : A Case of Syncretism
Mahmoud Ja’afari-Joneidi (Iran) – Landscape and Dialects in Talesh.

11.30 – 11.45. Coffee-break

LANGUAGE – II (11.45 – 13.15)

Chair: Vardan Voskanian and Gia Zhorzholiani

Hasmik Kirakosyan (Armenia) – Об азари-талышских лексических параллелях (On Azari-Talishi Lexical Parallels)
Donald L. Stilo (US) – The Diachrony of the Present, Subjunctive, and Future Formations and their Derivatives in the Araxes-Iran Linguistic Area
Mohammad Jaktaji (Iran) – On Some Lexical Comparisons between Lenkoran Talishi and Gilaki
Aharon Vardanyan (Armenia) – Linguistic archaisms in the Talishi language
Zaxiriddin Ibrahimi (Russia) – Некоторые проблемы формирования талышского литературного языка (On Some Problems of Formation of the Talishi Literary Language)

13.15 – 15.00 Lunch

LANGUAGE – III (15.00 – 16.30)

Chair: Mahmood Jaafari-Dehaghi

Shadi Davari and Mehrdad Naghzguy Kohan (Iran) – Possessive Construction in Southern Talishi (Masali Area) A Typology-Based Study
Mehrdad Naghzguy Kohan (Iran) – A study of grammatical characteristics of postpositions acting as case assigner: A case study in Talish
Mostafa Farzpourmachiani (Iran) – Common features of Tati, Talishi and Gilani.
Ali Zabihi (Iran) – The word “twl” in Talishi, other Iranian Language and Semitic Languages

16.30 – 16.50. Coffee-break

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (16.50 – 18.20)

Chair: Hasmik Kirakosian and Arezoo Yahyanezhad

Ali Rafie and Yasir Karamzoda (Iran) – نگاهی به شعر تالشی (On the Talishi Poetry)
Elahe Taghvayi (Armenia) – Comparative Analysis of Talishi and the Dialects of Vafsi ad Ashtiani
Hoseyn Arefniya (Iran) – نكته اي چند از زبان هرزني (On Some Issues if the Harzani Dialect)
Ali Farshidvar (Armenia) – ذخیره‌ی لغوی زبان تالشیو زبان مازندرانی (On the Vocabulary of Talishi and Mazandarani)

AUDITORIUM II

RELIGION AND SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY – I (10.00. -11.30)

Chair: Garnik Asatrian and Irina Natchkhebia

Sekandar Amanolahi (Iran) – The Taleshis’ Ecological Adaptation and its Significance in Comprehending the Origin of Pastoral Nomadism in Iran.
Victoria Arakelova (Armenia) – Demonic creatures and demonized deities in the system of Talishi Folk beliefs.
Asya Asbaghi (Germany) – Akhbarname – a lost book
Peyman Matin (Armenia) – Folk plants in Talishi culture

11.30-11.45 Coffee-break

ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY (11.45 – 13.15)

Chair: Shahban Khapizov and Roman Smbatian

Raisa Amirbekian (Armenia) – Talishi Applied Art: View Through Centuries
Alexander Skakov (Russia) – Талыш-муганская археологическая культура. Краткий очерк (Talish-Mughan Archaeological Culture: Short Overview)
Zhores Khachatrian and Armen Nakhshkarian (Armenia) – К вопросу о происхождении ардебильской керамики (On the Problem of the Origin of Ardabil Pottery)
Samvel Markarian (Armenia) – From the Medieval History of the Talishi People.

13.15 – 15.00, Lunch

RELIGION AND SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY – II (15.00-16.30)

Chair: Sekandar Amanolahi and Khachik Gevorgyan

Arezoo Yahyanezhad (Iran) – Marriage rituals among Talishi ethnic groups
Mojtaba Ta’attof (Iran) – A short look at the effects of geographical features on people’s lives in Talesh
Ibrahim Safari (Iran) – آن قلمرو زندگی تالشان در گیلان و گویش های (The Life Space of the Talishis of Gilan and their Dialects)
Masoumeh Ebrahimi (Iran) – Imaginary beings in Talishi folklore

16.30-16.50 Coffee-break

FAREWELL DINNER -19.30- University Guest House, Mashtots Ave. 52.

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For more information on the above topics and abstracts kindly see:

Abstracts of Papers, The 2nd International Conference on the Talishi Studies, 12-13 Nov., 2011, Yerevan, Armenia

Kaveh Farrokh’s topic at the conference is outlined in the abstract below:

The Process of the De-Iranianization of Caucasian Azerbaijan (1828-Present)
This topic examines the process of de-Iranization in those regions of the Caucasus corresponding to the modern-day Republic of Azerbaijan from 1826 to the present. This process can be broken down into four phases. The first phase (1826-1917) took place during the Czarist Era when Russian authorities sponsored and promoted Turkic cultural developments in the endeavor to diminish the region’s ancient Iranian influence. A prime example of Russian policies was the promotion of the Akinci plays followed by the Akinci newspaper (with Zardabi as editor) which was stridently anti-Persian. In tandem with Russian policies, the rise of Pan-Turkism in the Caucasus (1850s-1917) also promoted the process of de-Iranization in the Transcaucasus. By the early 20th century a number of pan-Turkist and anti-Persian writers with ties to the Young Turks of the Ottoman Empire (i.e. Ali Husseinzade) had risen to prominence. By this time Russian authorities were also sponsoring the anti-Persian Mullah Nassreddin magazine. The second phase of de-Iranization occurred with the arrival of the Musavat Regime in Baku and the application of the term “Azerbaijan” (until 1918 only geographically recognized as the Iranian province of that name below the Araxes river) (1918-1920) during which pan-Turkism and de-Iranization were ideologically rationalized for the first time in Pan-Azeri terms (the union of Iranian and Caucasian Azerbaijan). The third phase of de-Iranization occurred after the fall of the Musavat s to the Soviet Union; during the latter’s tenure, a determined process of de-Iranization was implemented from the 1930s to 1990. As noted by Mehdiyova “…Soviet authorities falsified documents and re-wrote history books”. The final (fourth) phase followed the rise of the independent Republic of Azerbaijan (ROA) in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. The de-Iranization policies implemented in 1826-1990 continue to be promoted at the educational and cultural levels by ROA authorities.

For readers interested in a summary of the topic, kindly consult: