Online video libraries with citable research tools, capturing recent intellectual forays, and constituting a novel source of scholarly publication that enhances the academic discourse on all aspects of Iranian antiquity, including its reception in the medieval and modern periods.
Established in 2017 as the premier research center for the study of ancient Iran, the mission of the Pourdavoud Institute for the Study of the Iranian World is to engage in transformative research on all aspects of Iranian antiquity, including its reception in the medieval and modern periods, by expanding on the traditional domains of Old Iranian studies and promoting cross-cultural and interdisciplinary scholarship. The Pourdavoud Institute serves as a disciplinary home to stimulating intellectual encounters and exchanges for scholars working on ancient Iran and the ancient world, and contributes to the development of collaborative research projects in such diverse areas as Assyriology, Biblical Studies, Central Asian studies, Classics, Egyptology, ancient History, Indology, Sinology, and the Study of Religion. The Yarshater Center at UCLA, housed within the Pourdavoud Institute, is a leading research hub for the publication and dissemination of Iranian literary traditions worldwide.
The Institute and Center’s success reposes on the quality of events it organizes (conferences; workshops; and lectures), which are distinguished by their cross-disciplinary character, illustrating the entanglement of the ancient worlds in dialogue with the history of ancient Persia, as well as their systematic audiovisual dissemination, for the benefit of a global audience. This has led to the Pourdavoud Video Library (https://pourdavoud.ucla.edu/videos/) and the Yarshater Video Library (https://yarshater.ucla.edu/media/video-library), which represent citable research tools, capturing recent intellectual forays, and constituting a novel source of scholarly publication that enhances the academic discourse. We are now able to sort by author, time period, and event name (for particular conferences, symposia, lecture series, etc.). Each video now also comes with a suggested citation on the information page.
Published: Friday, November 6, 2026
