Aria Fani

Aria Fani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures.  His research traces transregional literary connections, particularly between Iran and Afghanistan.

He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley (2019) with a dissertation titled “Becoming Literature: the Formation of Adabiyat as an Academic Discipline in Iran and Afghanistan (1895-1945).” The work analyzes the role of literary associations and faculties of letters in institutionalizing Persian literature drawing primarily from Persian-language newspapers, journals, anthologies, and literary histories published in Iran, Afghanistan, and their diasporas. “Becoming Literature” also examines Iran-Afghanistan literary relations in the 1930s and 40s as part of a scholarly impetus to highlight East-East literary connections.