In this session Dr. Hoodashtian will review some of the fundamental ideas of the well known Iranian philosopher Dariush Shayegan. He will underline his most controversial and problematic ideas, as a part of his philosophical proposal. His approach to the crisis of modernity can be briefly summarized as being that the West should borrow from Eastern mysticism and the East should, in turn, borrow from Western social rationalism. This assumption may appear pragmatic at first glance, but presents, in reality, many contradictions in the way it is argued by the philosopher. We will attempt to see why and how that is so. To open this discussion, other themes will be developed as well...... more >>

Following the monthly video screening of Café Cinema focusing on Iranian Cinema in a one year--twelve sessions--program, the 6th session will include a masterpiece of Iran cinema The Runner. Davandeh is a 1985 film by Amir Naderi, one of the major directors of Iranian cinema before and after the Iranian Revolution. The Runner was perhaps the first of the post-revolution Iranian films to attract worldwide attention. It set the tone for many of the films which followed: realism, child's eye perspective of the world, innocence, gentleness, set in poor neighbourhoods, exposing great disparities in wealth, resting much of the film on the shoulders of one young actor, using children's lives as analogies for, or explicit expositions of, the problems of... more >>

This week CafeLitt, in collaboration with MEKIC, will have two honored guests; Tuka Neyestany from Iran and Aida Ahadiany from Toronto to present their newly released book: "The narrow city". Shahr-e Barik ( The Narrow City) contains 18 short stories, that are mostly point out the apprehensions of an immigrant written by Aida. For each story there is a related illustration by Tuka, the Iranian skillful cartoonist and illustrator. During the session we will show a movie about Tuka's cartoons too. For more information check the flayer and links. آیدا احدیانی متولد آبان ماه هزار و سیصد و پنجاه و هفت است. ده سالی است که داستان کوتاه می نویسد. پنج سال است که مهاجرت کرده و هم اکنون ساکن تورنتو است. بعد از مهاجرت به کانادا در... more >>

CafeLitt sessions are famous for the debates that follows the main talk. Some sessions we have no time to have a discussion. Last week Shahdad Heydari had a great presentation on May 1968: Reforms, Revolt or Revolution. Many of the participants ask for another session to debate the influences and the roots of this movement. This session we will have a discussion on this subject. We will give a short summary of previous session. Then Dr. Ata Hoodashtian will talk about the social impact of MAY 68, and the Philosophical and Intellectual challenges of that period and also the influence of the ideas of MAY 68 in Iran.... more >>

It was a time of student unrest and student dreams around the world, yet the revolt that shook Paris in may 1968 stood out, perhaps because it seemed more romantic than others, perhaps it came so close to forcing the establishment out of power. Indeed for an entire generation it was a personal watershed, an explosion of idealism that with the passage of time took the form of nostalgia for the impossible. What remains today of may 1968. Eventhough it was a political failure for the protesters it had an enormous social impact. What lessons are to be drawn from this event in a time of economic crisis in our stagnating societies.... more >>

Le même à l'écart is a bilingual book in Farsi and French. The book features 40 of my paintings juxtaposed against 40 poems by four contemporary Iranian poets: Yadolah Royai, Hossein Sharang, Bahman Sadighi and Mohammad Hossein Model. This very exciting project has occupied me for the last two years and now I am finally able to present it to the arts community.   در ماه مارس امسال،  گالری و انتشارات کتاب ایران- کانادا " مکیک" نخستین کتاب خود را با نام فاصله درخود در اختیار دوستداران شعر و هنر قرار داد. این کتاب شامل چهل تابلو نقاشی از خسرو برهمندی نقاش ایرانی مقیم مونترآل، و چهل شعر از چهار شاعر ایرانی: یداله رویایی، حسین شرنگ، بهمن صدیقی و محمد حسین... more >>

CaféLitt is not a place; it is a gathering of minds. We are a group of mostly Persian young students, scholars and professionals who gather every Thursday evening around 19h00 in a café to discuss various subjects and share different ideas, ranging vastly from history to science, from literature to fine arts. We started these gatherings on Jan 18th, 2007. Each week, one of us takes the responsibility of presenting a topic (in Persian, English or French) for about an hour in a subject s/he is intimately familiar with or has an expertise in. Afterwards, the evening turns into a discussion forum and all members of the audience will have an opportunity to ask their question(s) and share their points of view.
CaféLitt is open to all comments, suggestion, collaboration and new ideas. CaféLitt provides an unparalleled opportunity for learning about culture, science and philosophy in a relaxed and friendly environment, and for sharing your knowledge and expertise with like-minded members of your community.
CaféLitt is officially registered as a non-profitable group and is a nonpartisan, nonreligious and nonpolitical entity.