Tellings, Translations, and the Uncanny: Thinking about Dastan-e Amir Hamza, featuring Mariam Zia (Lahore School of Economics; Fellow at the South Asia Institute) in conversation with Ali Asani (Harvard University). Sponsored by the Harvard University Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute; please RSVP here.

Ostensibly based on the life and legendary exploits of Prophet Muhammad’s uncle, Hamza ibn Abd-al Muttalib (566-625 C.E.), the Dastan-e Amir Hamza depicts a fantastical world of talismans and jinn, war and jihad, treachery and trickery, and the mightiest force of them all: Fate. Spanning 46 volumes, this Indo-Persian epic rivals The Arabian Nights. Famed the world over through the Hamzanama miniature paintings (1562-1577), it speaks to art history, fairy-tale and fantasy studies, literary and critical theory, and translation studies.