Khalilullah Afzali is a specialist of Persian literature and manuscript culture. Currently, he is a visiting assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures) where he teaches graduate seminars and conducts research. He is the founder of the Baysunghur Research Institute in Afghanistan, which focuses on the study and preservation of the literary, cultural, and historical heritage of Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Iran. In his research and teaching Afzali focuses on codicology, Sufism, literary history, and Bidel studies. He has published two books and more than 30 papers in Persian both in Iran and Afghanistan. He is also the chief editor of Nama-ye Baysunghur annual journal, which features work on Persian literature, art, and history.
