The Zoroastrian Flame

Key information

Start date
End date
Year of study
Year 3
Duration
Term 2
Module code
158000187
FHEQ Level
6
Credits
15
Department
Department of Religions and Philosophies

Module overview

This module introduces students to the major aspects of the Zoroastrian philosophy through an overview of its religious features, the engagement with relevant texts, and the study of its development from ancient to modern history. 

We will begin by identifying key philosophical aspects emerging from textual sources of ancient Iran, late antiquity and the modern period such as Good and Evil, the creation of the world and death. The second half of the module will engage with key questions, debates and challenges that the field of Zoroastrian studies offers to the discipline of Philosophy. We will look at critical aspects of epistemology, ethics, metaphysics and ontology emerging from the Zoroastrian esotericism, philanthropy, ritual performance and scholarship. 

Objectives and learning outcomes

  • Demonstrate a solid understanding of the major philosophical themes that characterise Zoroastrianism 
  • Analyse critically the source materials for the study of religion 
  • Engage with and evaluate concepts emerging from different disciplines 
  • Build on core skills in self-reflection, critical thinking, evaluation and presentation 

Workload

A total of 10 weeks teaching with 1-hour lecture and 1-hour tutorial per week.

Scope and syllabus

  • Week 1. Introduction and overview of the module 
  • Week 2. Good and Evil in Avestan and Middle Persian sources: the evolution of Zoroastrian dualism 
  • Week 3. The journey of the soul in the afterlife and the meeting with the daēnā: individual and universal eschatology 
  • Week 4. The encounter between the spiritual and the material worlds: consubstantiality of body and soul in the Dēnkard School 
  • Week 5. Colonial modernity, politics of authenticity and hermeneutical polyphony among Zoroastrians in India 
  • Week 6. Reading Week 
  • Week 7. Stretched epistemologies: Zoroastrian esotericism as a form of knowledge  
  • Week 8. Good thoughts, good words, good deeds: the ethics of philanthropy across the Persianate world 
  • Week 9. Spiritualising matter: the metaphysics of ritual performance in contemporary India 
  • Week 10. Multiple ontologies: problematising the emic-etic dialectic in the study of Zoroastrianism 
  • Week 11. Summary, general discussion and feedback  

Method of assessment

  • AS1-Essay, 1000 words (25%)
  • AS2-Essay, 3000 words (65%)
  • Seminar attendance and participation (10%)

Suggested reading

  • M. Boyce, Textual Sources for the Study of Zoroastrianism. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1984. 
  • P. Kreyenbroek, Living Zoroastrianism: Urban Parsis Speak about their Religion. Richmond: Curzon, 2001. 
  • A. Marashi, Exile and the Nation: The Parsi Community of India and the Making of Modern Iran. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2020. 
  • S. Shaked, Dualism in Transformation: varieties of Religion in Sasanian Iran. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, 1991. 
  • M. Stausberg, Zoroastrian rituals in context. Leiden: Brill, 2004. 
  • M. Stausberg, Y. S.-D. Vevaina, A. Tessmann (eds.), The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2015. 
  • S. Stewart, Voices from Zoroastrian Iran, Oral Texts and Testimony. Vol. I: Urban Centres. Wiesbaden: Harrasowits, 2018. 
  • A. Williams, S. Stewart, A. Hintze (eds.), The Zoroastrian Flame. London: Bloomsbury, 2016. 

Disclaimer

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.