The First International Conference in Iran on Shakespeare Studies

A fascination with the genius of William Shakespeare has long been a staple of Iranian intellectuals and men of letters. This fact is attested by the numerous translations of his plays and the lengthy tradition of Shakespeare performances by theatre companies. A glance at the Iranian academia is also very revealing, as each year many theses and dissertations are focused on the different aspects of the Bard's writings and look at his magnificent oeuvre from various perspectives. Nevertheless, for many years, the need for a specialized conference concentrating on Shakespeare was immensely felt, so that Shakespeare scholars from around the country and the world may gather and exchange their ideas. This feat was first accomplished by the University of Tehran which is home to many dedicated Shakespeare scholars and whose Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures is undoubtedly one of the best academic institutions in the country.

This long-anticipated conference which attracted a great number of abstracts from both inside and outside the country, was at last held on the 26th and 27th of November, 2014. The organizers of the conference, Dr. Beyad and Dr. Salami, who both share a love for Shakespeare and have long taught various Bard-related courses at the faculty, made sure that this conference would be as impressive as everyone had hoped. They invited Professor Stephen Greenblatt and Professor Mark Burnett as keynote speakers, making this first conference in Iran a supremely successful and outstanding event, judging by the enthusiastic participation of Shakespeare scholars from around the world.

The immense reputation of the school of New Historicism in Iran has long made Professor Greenblatt, its most celebrated proponent, a well-known and highly regarded intellectual and his presence in the conference was a great sensation for the entire academic community of the country. The hall in which he presented his inaugural lecture became so crowded that many were obliged to stand and still others had to listen to his lecture from the monitor outside the hall. His paper entitled "Shakespeare and the Human Condition" proved to be enormously inspiring for the attendants, who expressed their fascination and enthusiasm by posing many questions after the lecture; questions which impressed Professor Greenblatt for their depth and intelligence.

The first day of the conference became even more dazzling by the unforeseen arrival of Dr. Elahi Ghomshei, a famous Iranian scholar whose wide-ranging interests include Shakespeare and a comparative study of English and Persian literatures. The conference became more intimate than ever when he presented an improvised lecture after Professor Greenblatt and when they sat beside each other warmly exchanging ideas and answering the questions of the audience.

On the second day, Professor Burnett presented a lecture aptly titled "Hamlet, Cinema, Iran." His masterful analysis of a famous Iranian film called Tardid adapted from Hamlet proved to be enormously popular with the audience, and those who left the hall after the lecture felt very warmly towards this celebrated British professor who had taken the time and trouble to acquaint himself so closely with Iran's cinema and whose analysis of this adaptation was so sympathetic to the Iranian temperament.

The afternoon panels of the conference hosted many reputable Shakespeare scholars from around the world, making the event genuinely international. Each panel was dedicated to one aspect of the Bard's works and included, among others, Shakespeare and religious studies, Shakespeare and gender issues, Shakespeare and political discourse, and Shakespeare and adaptation. Many of the lectures were of first rate academic quality and are scheduled to be published in the coming spring by Cambridge University Press.