Speakers

• Soli Shahvar

• Talk Video (English)

• Talk Video (Persian)

• 

  Dr Shahvar is a graduate (1986) and post-graduate (1991) of Tel Aviv University (both with magna cum laude), and earned his doctorate at the School of Oriental & African Studies, the University of London (1997).

  Dr Shahvar carried out post-doctorate work in the Departments of Middle Eastern History at Ben Gurion University of the Negev and Haifa University. During 1996-2000 he was concurrently employed by the Dept of Middle Eastern History at four universities in Israel (Ben Gurion, Hebrew, Tel Aviv and Haifa Universities) before embarking on a tenure-track path at Haifa University, first as Lecturer (2001) and later (2008) as Senior Lecturer.

  In 2000 Dr Shahvar initiated an academic cooperation program between Haifa University and the Baha'i World Center (BWC), which is located in that city. The result of this academic cooperation has been a very successful Lecture Series in Baha'i Studies, which has been running since, as well as a number of research projects, which has, up to now, resulted in two books and a number of articles. Dr Shahvar acts as the head of this program.

  In 2007 he set up the Ezri Center for Iran & Persian Gulf Studies at the University of Haifa, and has since been its director. In addition to his teaching at the Dept of Middle Eastern Studies and directing the Ezri Center, Dr Shahvar holds a number of other academic positions, such as Chairman of the Research Committee at the Faculty of Humanities and member of the MA Committee in his department. On the international level, Dr Shahvar is: Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, London, U.K.; Research Fellow at the Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace, the Hebrew University; and Member of the International Society for Iranian Studies as well as of the Iranian Studies Forum. Dr Shahvar is also a consultant and commentator on Iran- and Middle East-related issues, as well as lector for academic research funds, journals and publishers.

  The range of Dr. Shahvar's publications, research interests and projects are wide, and it includes the following: The foreign policy and relations of Iran (and especially Israel-Iran relations); Iran and the Persian Gulf; opposition and popular protest in modern Iran; Shi'i Islamic fundamentalist groupings in modern Iran; Iran and the Shi'i networks in the Persian Gulf region; religious minorities in Iran; merchants, businessmen and entrepreneurs in Iran; the contemporary Iranian cinema; the army and the modernization of Iran; the advent of modern technology into the Middle East; Iran and the Ottoman Empire during the 19th century; reformist thought in modern Iran; foreign influences on the Persian language; and language purification policy in Iran.