Daryoush Ashouri
Encyclopedia
Dariush Ashoori is a prominent Iran
ian thinker, author
, translator
, researcher
, and public intellectual. He lives in Paris, France.
, and has been visiting professor of Persian language and literature at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
, taught in Oriental Institute of the Oxford University, and lectured on political philosophy and political sociology at the University of Tehran. He was a member of the second Academy of Persian Language from 1970 to 1978.
By his prolific publications in several disciplines he is considered an influential and referential figure in contemporary literary and linguistic life of Iran.He has worked extensively as author, essayist, translator, literary critique, encyclopedist, and lexicologist
. His intellectual interests cover a wide interdisciplinary range, including political sciences, literature
, philosophy
and linguistics
. His main domain of intellectual focus is the cultural and linguistic matters of his native country, Iran, as a Third World country encountering modernity.
He has made vast contributions to the development of the Persian vocabulary and terminology
in the domains of human sciences and philosophy by coining new words and modifying existing ones. His works in this domain are compiled in his Farhang-e 'olum-e ensāni (A Dictionary of Human Sciences). Among his major works stands a hermeneutical, intertextual study of the Divan of Hafez
(Erfān o rendi dar she'r-e Hafez) which introduces a new approach to the understanding of the great classical poet. As translator, he has translated numerous classical literary and philosophical works by Nietzsche, Machiavelli, Shakespeare and others into Persian. As a distinguished stylist writer he has elevated modern Persian prose to new standards.
More than 50 long articles in journals of literature and social sciences in the following domains:
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian thinker, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
, researcher
Researcher
A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...
, and public intellectual. He lives in Paris, France.
Work
He studied at the Faculty of Law, Political Sciences and Economics of the University of TehranUniversity of Tehran
The University of Tehran , also known as Tehran University and UT, is Iran's oldest university. Located in Tehran, the university is among the most prestigious in the country, and is consistently selected as the first choice of many applicants in the annual nationwide entrance exam for top Iranian...
, and has been visiting professor of Persian language and literature at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
TUFS is a specialized institution only in foreign language, international affairs and foreign studies, thus it is not as well-known as other big universities such as University of Tokyo and Kyoto University...
, taught in Oriental Institute of the Oxford University, and lectured on political philosophy and political sociology at the University of Tehran. He was a member of the second Academy of Persian Language from 1970 to 1978.
By his prolific publications in several disciplines he is considered an influential and referential figure in contemporary literary and linguistic life of Iran.He has worked extensively as author, essayist, translator, literary critique, encyclopedist, and lexicologist
Lexicology
Lexicology is the part of linguistics which studies words, their nature and meaning, words' elements, relations between words , word groups and the whole lexicon....
. His intellectual interests cover a wide interdisciplinary range, including political sciences, literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
. His main domain of intellectual focus is the cultural and linguistic matters of his native country, Iran, as a Third World country encountering modernity.
He has made vast contributions to the development of the Persian vocabulary and terminology
Terminology
Terminology is the study of terms and their use. Terms are words and compound words that in specific contexts are given specific meanings, meanings that may deviate from the meaning the same words have in other contexts and in everyday language. The discipline Terminology studies among other...
in the domains of human sciences and philosophy by coining new words and modifying existing ones. His works in this domain are compiled in his Farhang-e 'olum-e ensāni (A Dictionary of Human Sciences). Among his major works stands a hermeneutical, intertextual study of the Divan of Hafez
Hafez
Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī , known by his pen name Hāfez , was a Persian lyric poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian poetry are to be found in the homes of most Iranians, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day...
(Erfān o rendi dar she'r-e Hafez) which introduces a new approach to the understanding of the great classical poet. As translator, he has translated numerous classical literary and philosophical works by Nietzsche, Machiavelli, Shakespeare and others into Persian. As a distinguished stylist writer he has elevated modern Persian prose to new standards.
Publications
- Articles :
More than 50 long articles in journals of literature and social sciences in the following domains:
-
- Historical and socio-cultural problems of Iranian society’s encounter with the Western modern culture.
- Literary criticism concerning with classical and modern Persian poetry, and hermeneutical insights into the language of the poetry and poetical way of thought.
- Critical and analytical study of the contemporary Persian language dealing with its handicaps in encounter with lexical and terminological demands of modern sciences and thought, proposing methodological and technical ways for its development.
- Selected Books :
- Ta’rifhā va mafhum-e farhang (Concept and Definitions of Culture)
- Erfān o rendi dar she’r-e Hāfez
- Mā va moderniyat (a collection of articles on the cultural crisis of Iranian society facing with modernity)
- Farhang-e ‘olum-e ensāni (English-Persian Dictionary for Human Sciences)
- She’r-o-andisheh (Poetry and Thought)
- Bāz-andishi-ye zabān-e fārsi (Persian Language, Rethought)
- Dānesh-nāme-ye siāsi (An Encyclopaedia of Politics)
- Chenin goft Zartosht, a translation of the Also Sprach Zarathustra by F. Nietzsche
Sources
- Iran Heritage: The Legacy of the Constitutional Revolution in Iran: A Hundred Years of Struggle For Democracy, Lecture Series by Dariush Ashoori
- Aftab article on Dariush Ahouri