The event recording is now available:
The Alireza Ahmadian Lecture in Iranian and Persianate Studies presents: Rewriting Romance: Khvājū Kirmānī’s Humāy-u Humāyūn as a Post-Mongol Epic on November 22, 2025.
Humāy u Humāyūn recounts the love story of the Syrian prince Humāy, who falls for the Chinese princess Humāyūn and embarks on an adventurous quest to find her. The epic was composed in 1331 by Khvājū Kirmānī at the court of the last Ilkhanid ruler in Baghdad. With this work, Khvājū continues the Persian romance tradition established by his predecessors Gurgānī and Niẓāmī, yet he faced the challenge of renewing the genre for an audience increasingly attuned to Sufi thought. This talk explores how Khvājū both preserves and transforms the literary heritage, transmitting tradition while simultaneously innovating it.
This talk is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
Date & Time:
Saturday, November 22, 2025 | 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM PT
Location:
Online via Zoom
Speaker
Christine Kämpfer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Iranian Studies at the University of Bamberg (Germany), where she earned her PhD in 2022. Her research focuses primarily on premodern Persian epic poetry and questions of literary transmission. She also works on German travel writing about Qajar Persia and has published in both areas.
About the Alireza Ahmadian Lectures in Iranian and Persianate Studies
Alireza Ahmadian (1981 – 2019) was an enthusiastic researcher, a consummate socio-political analyst, and an opinion leader on foreign policy who nurtured the virtues of diplomatic dialogue and liberal democracy. Alireza was a proud and devoted UBC alumnus, supporter of UBC’s Department of Asian Studies, and beloved member of Canadian-Iranian Community.
The department renamed this lecture series in his honour in 2019. Alireza’s friends in the community have provided funding to support this series, and this generous gift will see these important academic and community engagement events supported through to the end of the 2025/2026 academic year. Read More …
Should you have any questions, please contact the Department of Asian Studies at asian.studies@ubc.ca.
