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The Naby Frye Assyrian Fund for Culture, the Assyrian Foundation of America, and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, are pleased to present the exhibit
Assyrians from Persia (Iran) to the United States, 1887-1923: Assyrian Education, American Missionaries and the Search for a Home
Please note: This exhibit is open Monday-Thursday, 9am-5pm.
Assyrians are the last Aramaic-speaking group indigenous to a homeland between Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran. Their communities were transformed by missionary education beginning in the 19th century; but documenting this history through Assyrian voices has proven elusive in the wake of their displacement. This exhibit's unique collection of papers and objects from the Lake Urmia region, Iran, documents the life, travels, and education of one Assyrian-Iranian family in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The letters, journal, historic images, passport, and currency that form the exhibit are intended to highlight the importance of archiving and preserving family-held documents that enhance deeper understanding of the modern evolution of social and cultural change, especially among indigenous minority populations. A secondary purpose of the exhibit is to stimulate research ideas among students and scholars of Middle Eastern studies. The exhibition catalogue may be ordered at: https://qarajalutosantaclara.com.
Please join us for the opening reception and talk on Sunday, April 16 at 3pm. Eden Naby, Indepedent Scholar, will give a talk entitled, The Modern Assyrian Historical Record: An American Family Adventure.
Additionally, Mira Xenia Schwerda, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Edinburgh, will give a virtual talk on early Iranian photography and the Ali Khan Vali photo album. The date and time of her talk will be announced soon.
Contact: Liz Flanagan