put forward "the theory of arbitrary rule, and the fundamental state-society conflict in Iranian history" which has led him to comparative studies of the sociology of Iranian history with that of Europe. The theory has been described virtually in all of his major writings on Iranian history, but, within a single volume, it is propounded in his Iranian History and Politics, the Dialectic of State and Society (2003). Here, he has also introduced the concept of The Short-term Society or “Jameheh-ye Kolangi”, literally meaning "the pick-axe society", an allusion to the Iranian practice of demolishing buildings after only a few decades, considering them to be "dilapidated". He has developed and discussed this theory more extensively in the article, "The Short-Term Society, A Comparative Study in the Long-Term Problems of Political and Economic Development in Iran", published in Middle Eastern Studies, 40, 1, 2004. On Persian literature Katouzian has both taught and written on modern as well as classical Persian literature and has taught modern poetry and fiction at Oxford University. Modern writers he has written about include Sadeq Hedayat, and Mohammad Ali Jamalzadeh, the founder of modern Persian fiction. He has also published on modern poets such as the Poet Laureate Mohammad Taqi Bahar and Iraj Mirza, and modernist poets such as Forugh Farrokhzad. He has taught classical Persian literature from the 10th century to the 19th century, both in prose and poetry. His special subject is the great Persian classic, Sa‘di, on whom he has published four books in Persian and English. Personal information Katouzian has a son and a daughter, both living in Oxford. Publications Books in English Poetry and Revolution, Poets and Poetry of the Constitutional Era of Iran: Routledge (co-ed), London and North America, July 2022. Sa’di in Love, paperback edition, I. B. Tauris, London and New York, September 2022. Sadeq Hedayat, The Life and Legend of an Iranian Writer, second edition, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, Oxford, New York, New Delhi, Sydney, November 2021. Khalil Maleki, the Human face of Iranian Socialism, London: Oneworld, 2018. Sa’di in Love: The Lyrical Verses of Persia’s Master Poet, London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2016, supported by Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute and Soudavar Memorial Foundation. IRAN: Politics, History and Literature (hb&pb), London and New York: Routledge, 2013. Iran: A Beginners’ Guide, London: Oneworld, 2013. Sadeq Hedayat, His Work and His Wondrous World, ed., London and New York: Routledge, paperback