VOL. 23, NO. 12	JANUARY 23, 1998

Payam Sharifi. Record Photo by Amy Callahan.

ayam Sharifi has lived much of his life "in between." He's a Columbia College student of comparative literature who uses architectural and film theory to enhance his studies in literature and critical theory. He's a Texan of Iranian extraction. He even moves through the often sartorially conservative world of academe in red crushed velvet pants.

  And recently, he has been selected as one of only 38 American students to receive a 1998 Marshall Scholarship from the British government, which provides two years of study at a British university.

  As a Marshall Scholar, Sharifi, CC'98, plans to work toward an M.Phil. in Russian literature at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University of London.

  The soft-spoken Sharifi has mastered the art of interdisciplinary studies, and by combining many fields has sharpened his focus on his true area of interest: 1920s art and literature.

  Sipping hot tea in the Avery cafe, the 21-year-old native of Houston explains, "I'm not just a dilettante dabbling here and there." He has taken ten graduate-level courses and maintains a 3.9 G.P.A. To him, it's all connected, and one discipline informs the next.

  When he arrived at Columbia four years ago, he built on his foundation in French literature with Russian literature. In learning Russian, he mastered his fourth language (he also speaks Farsi). He has directed two plays at Columbia (one in French and one in his own English translation of the French), not because he is particularly interested in theater, but because he wanted to explore how the language of the texts could be visually represented.

  He has studied the Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein's montage technique because it so closely relates to language theory, Sharifi says. He has made a short film in Russian, worked as a research assistant at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and is now co-curating an exhibit of international laser copy art that will open at Columbia in April and later move to a downtown gallery. And his new interest in architecture is a product of his studies into how architectural images reflect the literature of the time period.

  "Architecture allows a fresh perspective on literature," he explains, noting that he finds many connections in theories of language, film and architecture. "Language led me to film, film led me back to language. It's like a ricochet."

  It was in his essay to the Marshall committee, that Sharifi pointed out his life has been lived "in between" cultures, countries and academic departments. But he has always employed an "intention to integrate" and insisted: "Being 'in between' does not necessarily imply a compromise at the two ends of the spectrum." For instance, his uncompromising devotion to studying literature in its original language—whether its the work of Konstantin Vaginov or Jean Genet—led to his swift mastering of the Russian language, which he began to study only a few years ago. Immersion helped: He has lived abroad twice: two years in France and one year in St. Petersburg, Russia.

  His studies have also been channeled through his research assistantships to Prof. Keith Moxey, chairman of the Barnard art history department, and now to Prof. Hillary Ballon, whose expertise in architectural history corresponds with Sharifi's growing architectural interest.

  Sharifi plans a future in academe, and expects to pursue his Ph.D. in comparative literature. But he plans to remain active in his thinking and to continue bridging academic fields.

  "I would be disappointed in myself," he says, "if I ever became so withdrawn into academia that I lost sight of artistic and social issues that have importance to me."