International Qajar Studies Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The International Qajar Studies Association (IQSA) is an association specialised in the study of the Qajar Era and the Qajar dynasty. The association organises conferences,[1] study days, lectures, cultural events and exhibitions,[2][3] publishes books, a Journal (Qajar Studies)[4] and a regular newsletter, runs a Studies and Documentation Centre and brings together scholars from across the globe.[5][6] The association also assisted in establishing the Harvard University project Women's World in Qajar Iran: A digital Archive and Website [7] and co-funded the foundation of the Centre for the Study of the International Relations of the Middle East and North Africa (Cirmena) of the University of Cambridge.[8]
In the years leading up to the year 2000 several individuals were actively but separately looking for a vehicle for the study of the Qajar Era. Among these persons, were, in Europe: Leo Barjesteh, Ali Mirza Qajar, Hans Timmermans,[9] Willem Vogelsang, Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood and Corien Vuurman, in the United States: Manoutchehr Eskandari-Qajar, Farhad Sepahbody and Majid Tehranian,[10] and in Iran: Bahman Bayani, Mansoureh Ettehadieh and Bahman Farman Farmaian. The study and writing on the history of the era had seen its difficulties since the fall of the Qajar dynasty.[11] In Iran in the 1990s this situation seemed to change and the time to start an association to facilitate a more objective study of the period seemed opportune.
