Hessam Dehghani

Hessam Dehghani 

Assistant Professor of Teaching | Persian Language and Culture
Research Area
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About

About Hessam: Hessam Dehghani is an educator with dual PhDs: one in Linguistics from Allameh Tabatabai University (2011) and another in Philosophy from Boston College (2019). His academic career spans specialized research in Islamic philosophy, Persianate Sufi literature, and Critical Pedagogy combining deep linguistic expertise with a philosophical understanding of Hermeneutics and Phenomenology and critical heritage education. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at University College Dublin and Harvard University, focusing on Islamic and Persianate Sufism, Phenomenology, and the critical study of Sufi Literature. Since 2021, he has directed the Persian Program at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and serves as the founder and director of UBC’s Persian Literature Reading Club (UPLRC), which offers weekly reading sessions and monthly talks to foster a deeper understanding of Persian literature and culture.

Teaching

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Public Presentations 

Hessam Dehghani regularly presents on topics such as critical study of Persian Literature and Culture, and Critical Pedagogy, having lectured at prestigious venues like Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge University and UBC’s Alireza Ahmadian Lecture Series. 

Awards

Donald J. White Excellence in Teaching Award at Boston College (2016)

Dean of Arts’ Leadership and Innovation Award at UBC (2023)
In acknowledgment of his influential work in developing the Persian Language Program and his commitment to curriculum innovation and community-building initiatives. 

Publications 

Hessam Dehghani is actively involved in developing

  • A series of online interactive lesson plans for Persian language teachers, which are designed to bridge the gap between traditional language teaching and contemporary digital platforms.  
  • Dastan Asan, a four-volume online interactive coursebook designed for heritage learners of Persian.  
  • He and his team are also creating an online Persian learners’ dictionary, intended to be a comprehensive resource for students and teachers alike, with dynamic, interactive entries to support nuanced language acquisition.