Shahrooz Yousefian
Shahrooz Yousefian is an Iranian Vancouver-based media art scholar and drama studies associate professor. He is passionate about exploring how film, theatre, and literary adaptations interact. He has been a member of the International Federation of Theater Researchers (IFTR) since 2012. He is also on the advisory board of the Journal of Arab Stages by the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center of New York University. The Segal Theatre Center published his joint book with Marvin Carlson, a series of adaptations of Persian religious culture entitled Ta’ziyeh: Ten Contemporary Indigenous Plays from Iran (2023). He is currently a Federation of British Columbia Writers (FBCW) member and researches the interdisciplinary capabilities of film, theatre, and literary studies. Additionally, he is a member of the Film and Media Studies Association of Canada (FMSAC).
Since 2010, Dr. Yousefian has contributed numerous scholarly articles to prestigious international academic journals as a lecturer at Tarbiat Modares University. Translating Daniel Frampton's Filmosophy (2004) into Farsi opened up an innovative ground for studying film aesthetics in Iran. Over the past two decades, He has conducted academic courses such as the “Evolution of Cinematic Language and Expression,” “Globalization and Iranian National Cinema,” and a series of scholarly discourses on “Kiarostami's Unfinished Films” and “Postmodern Cinema.” Moreover, he has conducted over fifteen professional workshops and master classes focused on short film production, primarily commissioned by the Iranian Youth Cinema Society (IYCS) from 2004 to 2020. Additionally, he collaborates with the American Drama and Theater Society (ADTS).
In 2020 and 2022, he was honored as an outstanding lecturer at Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. His research interests encompass a broad spectrum of intermedial connections among Film, Theatre, and Literature. His research topics include dramatic adaptations of classical and modern Iranian literary texts, intercultural film studies, and the historical evolution of Iranian drama. Dr. Yousefian was an awardee of the National Center of Iranian Theater Critics in 2014 and 2016, and he is one of the founding members of the Scientific Association of Dramatic Literature of Iran. In addition to writing poetry, short stories, and plays, he has published several articles in prestigious academic journals. His most recent co-authored book, Meta-historiography in Iranian Drama, was published in the winter of 2023. His latest article on Iranian Poetic Cinema is scheduled to be released in the Cinema Iranica Encyclopedia: A Digital Research Compendium at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Toronto.
Interests
Iranian Studies, Intercultural Theatre and Performances, Film Aesthetics, Iranian Drama, Ta’ziyeh & Islamic Philosophy, Contemporary Arts and Literature, Orientalism, Literary Criticism and Theory.
Highlights
- Member of American Drama & Theatre Society (ATDS)
- Member of the International Federation of Theatre Researchers (IFTR)
- Member of Canada Association Theatre Research (CATR)
- Member of the Federation of British Columbia Writers (FBCW)
- Member of Film and Media Studies Association of Canada (FMSAC)
Publications and Exhibitions
- 10 Plays of Iranian Ta’ziyeh. Edited by Marvin Carlson. Martin E. Segal Theater Center Publication, New YorkUniversity.2023.
- Meta-historiography in Iranian Drama. Logos Publishing Centre. Tehran. 2023.
- ‘An Intercultural Analysis of Iranian Dramatic Translations of in Last Two Decades’ (Case studies: The Mares’ Dance and Based on The Duchess of Malfi). HonarHa-Ye-Ziba: Honar-Ha-Ye-Namayeshi Va Mosighi 27 (1), 27-38. 2022
- ‘The Challenge of Form and Content in Dramatic Adaptation of Iranian Composite Novel; With a Focus on Two Selected Fictional Narratives (the Fog and the Low Tide and Summer of …)’. Journal of Literary Criticism and Rhetoric 10 (4), 21-34. 2022.
- ‘Development of Diegetic Practices in Iranian Indigenous Performances: A Historical View’. Arab Stages, Volume 5, N umber 1 (Fall, 2016).
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (2020). “A Study on Patterns in Dramatic Discourse from a Metahistorical Perspective”. Shafa-e-Del. 3 (5001009), 13-36
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (2019). “Survey of Stigma (Erving Goffman), Pride Mark in Selected Iranian Contemporary Drama”. Journal of Dramatic Arts and Music. 9 , 23-44
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. and Parastoo Mohebbi (2018).Diegesis vs. Mimesis; The Analysis of Narrative Aspects in Selected Works by Bahram Beyzai. Journal of Dramatic Arts and Music. 8 , 37-53.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. Sajjad Sotoudeh & Ahmad Alasti (2017). “Development of Visual Expression in Dialogic Moments of Iranian Cinema over the Period 2001-2011”. Journal of Dramatic Arts and Music. Honar-haye-Ziba.22 (214), 103-114.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. and Zohreh Gholipour (2016). “ A Comparative Study on Narrative Point of View & Possible Worlds in Iranian Fiction and Dramatic Literature; a Linguistic Approach. The Case Studies: The Short Story "Snail Cracker"(by Shahryar Mandanipour) and the Play "Hovel of Trauma Agony"(by Mahmoud Ostadmohammad).Language Related Research. Volume 7, Issue 5. 239-267.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. Faraz hesami and Mahmood Hoseinizad. (2016). “Significant Differences and Cultural Implications in the Persian Translation of Bertolt Brecht’s Play”s (case studies: Herr Puntila und sein knecht Matti, Baal, Im Dickicht der Stadte,Die Geschichte der Simone Machard). Volume 6, Issue 7 (2016). 117-141.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. BS Shahabi and SM Mokhtabad. (2016). “The ‘Place’in the Play ‘Melody of a Rainy City’by Akbar Radi: A Semiotic Study”. Journal of Dramatic Arts and Music. 6, 19-33.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. and Majid Kianian. (2015). “Study on Dialogic Beats and Their Dramatic Functions in Four Plays of Mohammad Yaghoubi” (An Approach to Paul C. Castagno’s Language-Based Strategies). Volume 6, Issue 2 (2015): 215-234.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. S.Sotoudeh and A. Alasti. (2015). “The Analysis of Camera Movement Aesthetics in Iranian Cinema (2001-2011)”. Journal of Dramatic Arts and Music. 5 (10), 49-66.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. Majid Kianian and M. Mokhtabad (2015). “A Comparative Study on Dramatic Ending Strategies in Past Decades Plays of Iran”. Honar-ha-ye-Ziba. 20 (1), 57-66.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. and MM Fayyazikia. (2014).”Ritual and its Theatrical presentations in Iranian Religious Lifestyle: an Anthropological Approach”. Iranian Journal of Anthropology. volume 12 , Number 20; Page(s) 160 - 188.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. and Parvaneh Ahmadi. (2014). “A Study on Musical Aspects of Polyphonic Narratives in Iranian Novels and Plays; Case studies: The Last Play of the Lady by Belqeis Soleimani and Afra by Bahram Beizai). Journal of Motaleate-e Tatbighi-e Honar, Volume:4 Issue: 7, 2014. 15-28.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (2013). "Transformative Effects of Ta'ziyeh versus Intercultural Models of Performance Theory". Chapter Book: In Khalid Amine & George Robersons' (ed.) Performing Transformations. Denver, Amherst, Tangier: Collaborative Media International Center for Performance studies (Amazon). ISBN 978-0-9824 409-6-4
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. and Majid Kianian (2013)."Iranian Drama: a Comparartive Study on Dramatic Ending Strategies". European Journal of Scientific research. Vol 116 (1). pp 148-160.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. and Akram Bahramian (2013). "A Comparative Review of the Functions of Narrative Time in New Novel and Iranian Drama; A Genettian Approach to Narratology". European Journal of Scientific research. Vol 103 (1). Pp 132-145.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. Akram Bahramian, Mostafa Mokhtabad and.(2012). "A Comparative Study of Bakhtinian Polyphonic Effects in Iranian Novel and Drama. Honaha-ye ziba. University of Tehran Journal Publication. No 44. Autumn & Winter 2012. Pp 13-23.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. and Parastoo Mohebi (2011). Dramaturgy and Performance (trans.), by: Cathy Turner and Synne Behrndt (2008), Tehran: Afraz Publisher Company.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (Shahrooz) [2008]; Filmosophy: Film as a Thinking Device (trans.), by: Daniel Frampton (2006), Mashhad: Jahad-E-Daneshgahi Publishers.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (2011); “An Analysis of Grice’s Conversational Indicators in Akbar Radi’s Play ( A Melody of Rainy City)”, proceedings of Language and Iranian Drama, Tehran: Research Center of Roudaki’s Hall.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (2011); “An Analysis of Unaccomplished Intercultural Relations in Tickets (2005) Trilogy (Ulmi, Kiarostami and Loach)”, Tehran: University of Arts, Name-ye-Honar-ha ye Namayeshi Quarterly, New sequentials, No.2, spring 2011.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (2011); “An Analysis of Deconstructive Modes of Language in Artaud and Becketts’ Theatres”, Tehran: University of Arts, Name-ye- Honar ha ye Namayeshi Quarterly, New sequentials, No.3, summer 2011.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. and Mostafa Mokhtabad (2010); “Kiaraostami’s Unfinished Cinema and it’s Postmodern Reflections”, International Journal of Humanities (IJH), Vol. 17 (2): (23-37).
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J., Mostafaa Mokhtabad and Mohamma Zeymaraan(2009); “Iranian National Cinema and the Rage of Globalization”, Honar-Ha-ye-Ziba; A Journal of University of Tehran,No.38, Autumn 2009, pp15-25.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. and Mahmoud Taavousi (2009); “A New Exploration on the Antique Origins of Gilgamesh Epic”, Journal of Persian Language and Literature Research, University of Isfahan, Faculty of Humanities, No.4, Winter 2009, pp 1-18.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (Shahrooz) and M.B. Ghahremani (2007),“Interactive Drama: An aesthetic Approach to Logics of Drama and Computer Relationships”,Honar-Ha-Ye Ziba, Academic Journal of Tehran University, No.31, autumn 2007, pp 101-111.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (2007); “ Meta Semiotics of Iranian Ta’ziyeh”, Ketabe-Mah-e- Honar, No. 111-112, December 2007, pp44-52.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (2007); “Structure as a Difference: A Critical View on Major Differences of Long & Short Film Narratives”, indoor Magazine of Iranian Youth Cinema Society, winter release, pp60-61.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. and M.R. Pour Jafar (2006); “Stdying Dramatic Aspects of Turkish Sufi Rituals and their Impacts from Mevlana’s Menevi”, Honar-Ha-Ye Ziba, Academic Journal of Tehran University, No.28, winter 2006, pp 115-127.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J.(Shahrooz) (2006); “ Abstract Painting: A Discussion on Structuralist Readings of Representation ”, Khiyal; The Quarterly, Periodical of the Iranian Academy of the Arts, No. 18, summer 2006, pp96110.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (2005); “Umberto Eco: A Critical Approach to Performative Signs and Significations”, Barg-E-Farhang, A Cultural Quarterly of Tehran University, 6th year, No.17, spring 2005, pp 78-82.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J.(Shahrooz) (2006); “ Verfremedungseffekt: An Episteme of Modern Theatre”, Khiyal; The Quarterly, Periodical of the Iranian Academy of the Arts, No. 14, summer 2005, pp90-114.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (2005); “of Lonesome Stars and Broken Hearts: Trends in Purto Rican Women’s Film/Video Making”, trans., by: Frances Negron-Montaner, Farabi Quarterly; Special Issue on Latin American Cinema and Literature, Vol. (15), No.2, Sequential No. 58, winter 2005, pp 90-114.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (2005); “The Legacy of New Latin American Cinema: Introduction to the Sandista Documentary Cinema”, trans., by: John Ramirez, Farabi Quarterly; Special Issue on Latin American Cinema and Literature, Vol. (15), No.2, Sequential No. 58, winter 2005, pp 211-216.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J.( Shahrooz)(2005). “Ta’ziyeh: The Climax of Iranian Performance”, Khiyal; The Quarterly, Periodical of the Iranian Academy of the Arts, No. 12, summer 2005, pp 66-84.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (Shahrooz)(2004). “Performance Art and American Avant-gard Theatre”, trans., by: Arnold Aronson (2002), Newsletter of Fajr International Theatre Festival, No 4 & 5, February 2004, pp29-30 & 15-16.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J.(Shahrooz)(2004). “Today’s Cinema: A National or Global Challenge?” Newsletter of International Conference on Art and Globalization, winter 2004, pp 6-9.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (Shahrooz)(2003); “In Glory of Godard”, Fanous-EKhiyal Magazine, Mashhad: Jahad-E-Daneshgahi Publications, No.2, june 2003, pp 30-31.
- Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (Shahrooz)(2002). “An Approach to Image System; Decoupage as a System of Synthesis or Analysis”, Fanous-E-Khiyal Magazine, Mashhad: Jahad-E-Daneshgahi Publications, No.2, February 2002, pp28-29.
- An Interview: Yousefian Kenari, M.J. (2009). “Post Colonial Theatre”, Namayesh Monthly, Vol. 11, No. 117-118, june 2009, p 30.