Phd in CIVILIZATIONS OF ASIA AND AFRICA

email: mario.casari@uniroma1.it
phone: 06-88378024
building: Marco Polo
room: 315

Mario Casari studied Persian and Arabic languages in the Faculty of Arts at ‘La Sapienza’ University of Rome (Degree awarded in 1997), further extending his expertise in the course of his degree through study at specialised institutes in Iran and Syria. In 2001, he obtained a PhD in Iranian Studies at the Istituto Universitario Orientale, Naples. Between 2002 and 2004, he held a Research Award in Persian Language and Literature at the Faculty of Oriental Studies at ‘La Sapienza’ University of Rome; between 2004 and 2008 he was University Lecturer in Arabic Literature at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature, University of Urbino, as well as University Lecturer in Persian Language and Literature in the Faculty of Arts at ‘La Sapienza’ University of Rome (2005-08). In 2008-09 he was Andrew W. Mellon Fellow at the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, Villa I Tatti, Florence. In 2009 he was appointed Researcher/Lecturer in Arabic Language and Literature at the Faculty of Foreign languages and literatures, University of Salento, Lecce. After having been Researcher/Lecturer in Arabic Language and Literature (2012-17), then Persian Language and Literature (2017-19) at the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies, 'Sapienza' University of Rome, currently he is Associate Professor in Persian Language and Literature at the same Institute. In 2018 he qualified as Full Professor in Sector 10-N1 (Cultures of Ancient Near East, Middle East and Africa). He has taught a number of courses at different levels of Arabic language, Persian language, Arabic literature, Persian literature, and History of the Islamic world. He has presented lectures, seminars, and conference papers on all aspects of his research in Italy and internationally. Since 2015 he has been responsible for the 'Islamic Civilisation' Curriculum for the Doctorate, 'Civilisations of Asia and Africa', 'Sapienza' University of Rome, and since 2021 he is Deputy Director of the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Rivista degli Studi Orientali, a member of Scientific Board of the Institut für Iranistik, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien, and a member of the Advisory Board for the Brepols Book Series Global Perspectives on Medieval and Early Modern Historiography. In 2011 he was awarded the Al-Farabi-UNESCO prize for his book Alessandro e Utopia nei romanzi persiani medievali (1999), and in 2018 he was awarded the Premio per la Cultura Mediterranea – Fondazione Carical for his translation work from Arabic and Persian. In November 2018 he was Invited Lecturer for the «Ehsan and Latifeh Yarshater Distinguished Lectures on Iranian Studies / Conférences d’Études Iraniennes Ehsan et Latifeh Yarshater» – Paris, Collège de France.