students standing in street holding signs

About Danesh Institute

Established in 1994, the Institute is a nonpolitical, independent, not-for-profit educational organization. As such, the Institute has been incorporated in the State of Indiana and recognized as a 501(c)(3) corporation by the United States Internal Revenue Service.

The purpose of the Institute is to stimulate and promote scholarly studies related to contemporary Iranian society and to Iranian communities abroad, particularly the United States. The Institute has pursued this purpose by offering annual conferences, sponsoring special projects, and publishing newsletters and bulletins. Samples of these publications can be found in this website (See Conference).

2011 DANESH Conference

The DANESH Institutes will hold its annual conference Divided Families between the United States and Iran: Challenges and Promises, on Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM at the IU School of Social Work, Indianapolis, IN*. The preliminary program is as follows:

Conflicted Iranian Families in Exile: Iran-U.S. Political Tensions and the Challenges for Maintaining Family Relations among First-Generation Iranian Immigrants by Mohsen Mobasher, Associate Professor, University of Houston, TX    

Iranian Revolution and its Effects on Family Relationships in Iran and the United States by Homa Mahmoudi, Clinical Psychologist, Los Angeles, CA

Movie and Discussion:  Caught Between Two Worlds

Panel Discussion: Personal Narratives - Chaired by Reza Varjavand, Associate professor of Economics at Saint Xavier University, Chicago, Illinois.

Click here for Registration, Program, and Map & Directions.

CEUs are available

Professional Activities of Members

Elderly Iranians and a Transforming World: Modernization, Individualization, and Aging in the Islamic Republic By Mary Elaine Hegland Older Iranians are facing a transforming world. Extended family bonds are diminishing in strength, and the marital relationship and nuclear family are becoming more important. (more)