P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Appendix IV
Bashiri, Iraj
Scholar of Central Asian studies Iraj Bashiri was born on July 31, 1940,
in Behbahan, Iran. He received his early education in the schools of Isfahan
and Shiraz.
Bashiri graduated with a B.A. degree in English Literature from Pahalvi
University in Shiraz, Iran, in 1963. While a student, he worked as a field
reporter for the Kayhan daily (1962). Between 1962 and 1964, he worked
at the British Council and at Pahlavi University, teaching English and
English literature, respectively. He received his M.A. degree in Linguistics
(1968) and Ph.D. in Iranian Linguistics (1972) from the University of
Michigan. While a student at Michigan, he also was a Teaching Fellow,
teaching Persian language courses. Bashiri became an Assistant Professor
of Iranian Studies and Turkish at the University of Minnesota in 1972. He
was promoted to Associate Professor in 1978, and became a Professor of
Central Asian Studies in 1996.
Bashiri's research deals with the history, languages, literatures, and
culture of the Iranian peoples. The major foci of his studies are identity,
Islam, Communism, Westernization, and Sovietization.
Bashiri's contributions include The Fiction of Sadeq Hedayat, 1984; The
Pearl Cannon, an edited and annotated version of the Persian text, 1986;
Firdowsi's Shahname: 1000 Years After, 1994; Kamal Khujandi: Epoch
and Its Importance in the History of Central Asian Civilization, 1996; The
Samanids and the Revival of the Civilization of the Iranian Peoples, 1998;
and online and print editor of Tajikistan in the 20th Century (1999-2002).
Bashiri is the recipient of the Government of Iran Scholarship Abroad
Award (1964-1968) and the University of Minnesota's College of Liberal
Arts Distinguished Teacher Award (1980). He was the IREX Resident
Scholar in Tajikistan in 1993 and 1994. Bashiri is also a recipient of an
Honorary Doctorate in History and Culture from Tajikistan State
University Named after Lenin (1996), and is an Honorary International
Academician of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan (1997).

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