Persian: student comments
Ali Ardehali (2019-2020)
Taking Persian has been extremely beneficial to me in terms of both learning a new language as well as having an introduction to a separate, unique culture. Through personal dialogue, vocabulary, and grammar, my skills in the Persian language have vastly improved. After taking the class, I have the ability to engage in a full conversation. From having a Persian Wedding and celebrating Chaharshanbe Suri, to learning about the struggles of immigration and the art of Persian cinema, I was able to have conversations about topics that I have never discussed at another class at Northwestern. Taking Persian was an experience that I will never regret, and it inspired me to continue doing what I can to learn Persian.
Leila Foulon (2019-2020)
Taking Persian at Northwestern has been an amazing experience for me. I loved learning not only the language but about the culture. It has been a staple of my Northwestern experience, and I have learned so much from it. I hope to take classes in the future about Iran's history, as well as language classes. I really hope that Northwestern can continue to provide its students with this invaluable opportunity. In fact, it was a large factor in me deciding to come to Northwestern, and the program has only exceeded my expectations.
Shayan Ghodsi (2019-2020)
The Persian language program at Northwestern allowed me to become closer to my family. Every day, I learned more about my background and ancestral history through the daily lessons and also the words we spoke in class. My connection to my culture has never felt stronger. I can directly attribute my work in the Persian classroom to the enjoyment I have speaking with my parents and I know that I am not alone in this situation.
Shayan Olumi (2019-2020)
The Persian program has been vital to my Northwestern experience. It offered me a chance to learn my parent's/grandparent's language. This has allowed me to feel closer than ever to a culture that is too often brought under fire in current times. It has allowed me to communicate with my grandparents - who speak very little to no English. It has allowed me to participate in dinner conversations when I would previously sit in and be awkwardly silent. Of all the classes I have taken here at NU, Persian class is by far the one I utilize out of the classroom the most. Its real-world applications are numerous and result in the eye-opening of a culture that can find itself unaccepted. One of the main reasons I attended NU was because of the Persian program.
Matthew Randle-Bent, PhD Candidate, Interdisciplinary Theater and Drama
My experience learning Persian at Northwestern - between 2016 and 2019 was instrumental in enabling me to conduct my PhD research. One of my dissertation chapters is about theatre in Iran during the 1970s. I simply would not have been able to advance my language skills to the requisite level to engage with primary sources without these years of dedicated language instruction. I have no doubt that my years of studying Persian at Northwestern will be incredibly valuable when the time comes for me to enter the job market, particularly given the relative lack of faculty in my field (Theatre and Performance Studies) engaging with Persian-language sources in US universities.