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Pellissippi State hosts 10/8 discussion by Iranian faculty members

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE— October 2, 2008

The tale of a young Iranian girl whose world is literally and figuratively blown apart by war is the theme of “Persepolis,” this year’s book choice for the Common Academic Experience at Pellissippi State Technical Community College.

The book, which is being read and discussed by select classes during the academic year, recounts author Marjane Satrapi’s childhood during the Islamic Revolution and the Iran—Iraq war.

On Oct. 8 at 12:55 p.m., the public is invited to join students and faculty in a discussion of the novel led by a panel of four Pellissippi State faculty members from Iranian backgrounds. Participants also will have the opportunity to partake in conversation and in Persian pastries special-ordered from Atlanta.

The event takes place in the Goins Auditorium on the Pellissippi Campus on Hardin Valley Road.

Saeed Bejnood, Allen Farvin, Vida Hashemian and Mike Negabhan will take questions from the audience.

“We decided to let the audience direct the conversation,” said Farvin.

“Persepolis,” says Hashemian, is a study of human beings with which all readers can identify.

“Regardless of our differences, we’re the same,” she said. “We want the same things: safety, happiness, acceptance. That’s what we all want.”

Hashemian left Iran in 1973 before the Islamic revolution. She has been an art director at the United Way in San Francisco and worked with many international companies in the field of graphic design. She is an associate professor in Communication Graphics Technology at the college.

Saeed Bejnood was raised in Iran and lived there until age 23. He attended Pahlavi University in Shiraz, coming to the U.S. in 1974, five years before the Iranian Revolution. The associate professor began teaching physics at Pellissippi State in 1991. He has also worked at the Oak Ridge National Lab.

Professor Allen Farvin was born in Shiraz. He obtained a B.S. in physics from Isfahan University, served in the Army for two years and taught for four years before coming to the United States. Farvin returned to his native country and worked for the Iranian Energy Commission from 1983 till 1988. Since 1990 he has been teaching math and physics at Pellissippi State.

Mehdi (Mike) Negahban, an associate professor of Computer Science and Information Technology, was born in Tehran, the capital of and largest city in Iran. He came to the U.S. in 1971 in order to continue his education. Negahban started teaching in the Tennessee Board of Regents system, of which Pellissippi State is a member, in 1981 and became a U.S. citizen in 1988.

“This is a terrific opportunity for our students to learn more about Persian culture and the setting for “Persepolis” and to realize there are a lot more Iranian people we come in contact with than we may realize,” said Todd Duren, an assistant professor in Communication Graphics Technology and organizer of the event.

For more information, contact Duren at (865) 694-6753.