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The Presentation focused on the medieval Persian writers' perception of the Other and their level of tolerance for diversity using the example of Aziz al-Din Nasafi, Jalal al-Din Rumi, and Sa'di of Shiraz. Dr. Keshavarz examined these writers' perception of the Other imagined to be residing in unfamiliar/hostile politcal, cultural, and religious geographies. The examples included poetry and prose.
Fatemeh Keshavarz, born and raised in the city of Shiraz, completed her studies in Shiraz Univesity, and University of London. She taught a Washington University in St. Louis for over twenty years where she chaired the Dept. of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from 2004 to 2011. In 2012, Keshavarz joined the University of Maryland as the Roshan Institute Chair in Persian Language and Litrature, and Director of the Roshan Institute Center for Persian Studies. Keshavarz is the author of award winning books including Reading Mystical Lyric: The Case of Jalal Al-Din Rumi (USC Press, 1998), Recite in the Name of the Red Rose (UNC Press, 2007). She has also published other books and numerous journal articles. Keshavarz is a published poet in Persian and English and activist for peace and justisce. She was invited to speak at the UN General Assembly on the signifincance of cultural education. Her NPR show "The ecstatic faith of Rumi" brought her the Peabody Award in 2008. In the same year, she recieved the "Herschel Walker Peace and Justice Award."