his dissertation as the base for writing Persian for Beginners. This book, which has been revised four times, is available in both English and Russian languages. Bashiri was promoted to Associate Professor in 1977 and to Professor in 1996. Bashiri is currently a professor of history at the University of Minnesota. Professor Bashiri's courses at Minnesota include Iranian history (from ancient to modern times), Persian Literature (poetry and prose), and Iranian Languages and Linguistics. He also has developed and taught courses on the history of the peoples of Central Asia and Afghanistan. In 1980, he was recognized as one of the College of Liberal Arts' Distinguished Teachers. Bashiri has traveled extensively in Iran and Central Asia, including stints as a visiting scholar in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Bashiri has also worked closely with the Tajik division of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. While teaching at the University of Minnesota, Bashiri also taught and carried out research at other universities including the University of Michigan, the University of Texas at Austin, the State University of Kyrgyzstan, and the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan. Finally, while carrying out research and teaching, Prof. Bashiri has also been involved in the administration of his home University. Between 1975 and 1979, he was the head of the Middle East Studies Department and later the South Asian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota. Several times between 1987 and 2005, he was the Chair of, first, the Russian and East European Studies, and later the Slavic and Central Asian Languages and Literatures. He also has been active in College committees, especially in relation to curricula. In 2005, he was both the Head of the College of Liberal Arts Assembly and the Head of the Executive Council of the college. Currently, he is the Interim Director of the Institute of Linguistics, English as a Second Language and Slavic Languages and Literatures. Bashiri is married to Carol L. Sayers and together they have three children and five grandchildren. His hobbies include writing realist fiction, fishing, and painting Central Asian and Iranian rural life. Partial list of published works Books: Persian for Beginners, 1972, 1975, 1981, 1991. Persidskij yazyk dla nachinaushchikh Osnovnoj kurs (trans., Persian for Beginners by V. Bazukin), 2000. 'To Be' as the Origin of Syntax: A Persian Framework, 1973. The Fiction of Sadeq Hedayat, 1984. The Black Tulip (novella in English and Persian), 1984. The Pearl Cannon