PETR 3380
Learning from Animals: Ethics in Medieval Persian Literature
Course Description
The course focuses on two key twelfth-century texts: Nasrullah Munshi's Kalila and Dimna (translated by Wheeler Thackston), a collection of animal fables--featuring lions, jackals, elephants, hares, tortoises, snakes, ducks, and even ants--rooted in Indian and Persian moral traditions; and Farid ud-Din Attar's The Conference of the Birds (translated by Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis), a Sufi allegory exploring the soul's journey.