Mohammad Hossein Papoli Yazdi Information

Mohammad Hossein Papoli Yazdi (born 1948, Yazd) is an Iranian geographer, researcher, and author who has significantly contributed to the field of cultural geography. As the founder and editor-in-chief of the Geographical Research Quarterly, the first Iranian to win an award from the French Geographical Society, and a prominent academic, he has played a pivotal role in advancing geographical studies in Iran and globally.

 Life

Mohammad Hossein Papoli Yazdi was born in 1948 in the historic city of Yazd. After completing his early education there, he moved to Mashhad to pursue higher studies. In 1967, he enrolled in the bachelor’s program in geography at the University of Mashhad, graduating in 1971. He served his military service in the Geography Department of the same university and was officially employed there in January 1972.

In 1976, Papoli Yazdi traveled to Paris to continue his studies at the Sorbonne University, where he earned a master’s degree in cartography in 1978 with a thesis on Iran’s internal transportation. In 1983, he became the first Iranian to obtain a Doctorat d’État (State Doctorate) in geography from a French university, defending his dissertation under the supervision of Professor Xavier de Planhol. His dissertation was so well-received that it was published as a book, and he was invited to join the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France, where he remains an associate member.

 Academic and Professional Activities

Papoli Yazdi began his career at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 1971 as an expert, progressing through the ranks of assistant and associate professor, and becoming a full professor in 1999. In 1986, he founded the Geographical Research Quarterly, the only privately-run scientific-research journal in Iran, which has published over 1,300 articles in geography and related fields. He also served as editor-in-chief of Eghlim magazine from 2005 to 2015.

In 1989–1990, he was invited by the CNRS to collaborate on the Atlas of Iran project in Paris, where he spent 18 months. In 1990, he taught as a visiting professor at the Sorbonne, and in 1991, he lectured at Meiji University in Japan. In 1996, he was elected as one of the 10 core members of the Cultural Geography Commission of the International Geographical Union, representing one of Asia’s three seats. He has taught at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran, and the Sorbonne.

Papoli Yazdi is an advocate for forming a union of Islamic countries and has proposed a transcontinental railway connecting Muslim nations. In 2001, he joined Tarbiat Modares University and retired in 2006 after 35 years of teaching. Since January 2017, he has served as the president of the Iranian Geopolitical Association.

 Theories and Perspectives

Papoli Yazdi’s definition of geography as “the mutual interaction between humans (culture), technology, management, and the environment” sparked a scientific movement among geographers in Iran and internationally. In 1986, in the Geographical Research Quarterly, he predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union three years before it occurred, showcasing his foresight. In issue 61 (Summer 2001), he offered a poignant definition of the Third World: 

> “The Third World is a place where those who wish to build their country see their homes destroyed, and those who wish to build their homes must contribute to their country’s destruction.” 

This quote, often misattributed, underscores his critical perspective.

 Works

 Authored

– Tourism: Nature and Concepts, SAMT, 2007

– Theories of Rural Development, SAMT, 2007

– Theories of City and Periphery, SAMT, 2007

– Proceedings of the International Conference on Cultural Approaches to Geography, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, 2002

– Shah Abbas and the Cobbler, Papoli, 2004

– Khorasan: Geopolitics and Development, Papoli, 2004

– Memoirs of Shazdeh Hammam: Social Conditions of Yazd in the 1950s–60s, Papoli, 2005 (18th reprint 2015)

– Praise and Remembrance of God in the Shahnameh, Papoli, 2007

– Nomadism in North Khorasan, translated by Asghar Karimi, Astan Quds

– Atlas of Iran (co-authored with Mahmoud Taleghani, Bernard Hourcade, and Hubert Mazurka), Paris, 1998

– Directory of Settlements and Religious Sites of Iran, Astan Quds Razavi, 1989

– Proceedings of Geography Seminar (Issues 1–4), Astan Quds, 1986

– Geographical Indicators of World Countries, Papoli and Hassan Farrokhi, Mahvan

– Afghanistan: Tribes and Nomadism, Papoli, 1993

– Afghanistan: War and Politics, Papoli, 1993

– Taft Aqueducts (with Majid Labbaf Khaneiki), Papoli, 1993 (reprinted 2009)

– Qasbeh Gonabad Aqueduct, Papoli, 1992 (reprinted 2009)

– Shazdeh Hammam (Volumes 2 and 3), Papoli, 2009

– Shazdeh Hammam (Volume 4), Papoli, 2016

– Religion of Love, Papoli, 2019

– Shazdeh Hammam (Volume 5: Shazdeh Hammam Among the Kurds of Sulaymaniyah), Papoli, 2020

– Shazdeh Hammam (Volume 6: Moonlight Flowers), Papoli, 2022

– Shazdeh Hammam (Volume 7: Shazdeh Hammam in Paris), Papoli, 2024

 Translated

– Nomads and Shepherds by Xavier de Planhol, SAMT, 2004

– The Aqueduct by Henri Goblot (co-translated with Abolhassan Sarvaghad Moghaddam), Astan Quds, 1992 (reprinted 2010)

– Cultural Geography by Paul Claval (co-translated with Abolhassan Sarvaghad Moghaddam), SAMT

 Positions and Roles

– Professor at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Tarbiat Modares University, and Sorbonne University

– Deputy of the Astan Quds Razavi Islamic Research Foundation (1984–1986)

– Executive Secretary of the International Geography Seminar of the Islamic Republic (1983)

– Member of the Geography Planning Committee, Cultural Revolution Council

– Editorial board member of journals including Ferdowsi University’s Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Roshd Geography, Abstract-Iranica, and CEMOTI

– Member of Iran’s National Climate Committee

– Board member of the Iranian Geographers Association

– Director of Amir Kabir Research Institute

– Editor-in-chief of Papoli Publications

– President of the Greater Khorasan Large-Scale Cooperatives Union

– Editor-in-chief and owner of Geographical Research Quarterly (1986–2016)

– Editor-in-chief of Eghlim magazine (2005–2015)

– Executive and scientific secretary of conferences such as Rural Migration (1987), Silk Road (1990), Geography as a Platform for Dialogue of Civilizations (1999), Capital Decentralization (2014), and Sustainable City (2016)

– Deputy and scientific advisor of the Permanent Secretariat for Tehran Reorganization (2016)

– President of the Iranian Geopolitical Association (since January 2017)

 Awards and Honors

– First Iranian to win the J. Morot Award from the French Geographical Society for Nomadism in North Khorasan (published in French in 1991 by the French Institute of Iranian Studies)

– Book of the Year Award in Social Sciences for the Persian translation of Nomadism in North Khorasan (1993)

– First prize for university projects at the inaugural Ferdowsi Festival

– National Distinguished Researcher for contributions to the Atlas of Iran, Iran’s first digital atlas (1992)

– Recognized as a lasting figure by Iran’s Civil Registration Organization

– Honored with a festschrift featuring articles by scholars like Mohammad Hassan Ganji, Hossein Shakui, Ebrahim Bastani Parizi, and Manouchehr Sotoude