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NEW FACULTY MEMBER

Welcome Dr. Ciruce Movahedi-Lankarani

Dr. Movahedi-Lankarani joined USC as a Postdoctoral Scholar - Research Associate this academic year and will commence his role as an Assistant Professor in August. In addition to teaching MDES 201 (The Middle East: Global and Environmental Perspectives), Dr. Movahedi-Lankarani will offer MDES 313 (Modern Iran) in Fall 2021. This exciting course asks who and what have made modern Iran? To answer this question students will consider the interwoven political, social, technological, and environmental forces that have driven the country's wide-ranging transformations.

Dr. Movahedi-Lankarani comes to USC as the Farhang Foundation Early Chair of Iranian Studies and recently completed his Ph.D. in History at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on the history of natural gas energy in twentieth-century Iran and the ways its use reflected and influenced differing notions of development, modernity, prosperity, and the environment in Iran. With a background in engineering, Dr. Movahedi-Lankarani is excited to be joining a department and university with such strong commitments to addressing environmental and sustainability issues. When not at his desk, you'll probably find him running, hiking, or traveling.

LANGUAGE AWARDS

Arabic and Persian Language Awards

Congratulations to our five recipients of Language Awards from the Department of Middle East Studies in 2021. Hana Ayoub, Domenic Camicia, and John Klopotowski were honored for demonstrated academic excellence in the study of Arabic and Danial Hashemi and Melody Jebraili were honored for demonstrated academic excellence in the study of Persian. All five received a certificate and a monetary award for their accomplishments.