Perso Indica

Indo-Persian studies have recently enjoyed renewed attention thanks to the pioneering work done by senior and junior scholars. In the last decades, a number of researchers, working in the fields of Connected History, Philology, Religious Studies, History of Science or Art History, brought new perspectives to Early Modern South Asian History and Cultural Studies. However, in Europe in particular, students and young scholars focusing on Indo-Persian topics (Mughal History, Indo-Persian literature etc.) are somewhat isolated and often struggle to link their discipline with well-established academic categories such as Classical Indology or Iranian Studies. The aim of this workshop is to allow students, PhD candidates and young scholars working in the field of Indo-Persian studies in different universities across Europe to meet with each other and to exchange ideas, scholarly perspectives and expertise. Our intention is to use this gathering as a start for future scientific events, including other editions of this workshop. We decided to focus on the topic of translation for this event as scholars have repeatedly emphasised the deep cultural and historical significance of the immense translation movement that took place in South Asia during the Early Modern Period. The practice of translation from Sanskrit or the vernacular languages to Persian and the other way round from the stage of the Delhi Sultanate onward allowed ample cultural exchanges in South Asia. The extent of the translated literature that came down to us is impressive, and includes a variety of disciplines such as technical and scientific knowledge, religious discourses or literary works. We tried to represent, as much as possible, the cultural magnitude of Indo-Persian ‘translated literature’ in the workshop with a variety of speakers studying texts in Persian, Sanskrit, Awadhi or Urdu. We also tried to embrace, to the best of our abilities, the chronological depth of this field of studies, starting with the rise of the Sultanate of Delhi, encompassing the Mughal Period and reaching as far as the Colonial Period. Many literary genres will also be represented: devotional literature, poetry, scientific treatises, texts on ethics and the political sciences. It is our hope that this workshop will allow students and young scholars to communicate, present their research and successfully connect with one another to lay ground for further scientific events and collaboration. 

Location and info

Venue : École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Centre de la Vieille Charité, salle A, 2 rue de la Charité, 13002, Marseille. 

Organisation: Lingli Li (EHESS-Georg August Universität), Raffaello Diani (EHESS) and Victor Baptiste (EPHE)