Showing papers in "Iranian Studies in 2011"
TL;DR: The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam will Shape the Future, Vali Nasr, New York: W. W. Norton, 2006, ISBN 978-0393062113, 304pp as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam will Shape the Future, Vali Nasr, New York: W. W. Norton, 2006, ISBN 978-0393062113, 304pp. Marshall Hodgson famously wrote that an extraterrestrial vis...
140 citations
TL;DR: The claim to belong to the "Aryan race, believed to be rooted in the ancient self-designation ariya, is a fundamental pillar of the Iranian nationalist discourse as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The claim to belong to the “Aryan race,” believed to be rooted in the ancient self-designation ariya, is a fundamental pillar of the Iranian nationalist discourse. This paper aims to show that in fact it is a twentieth-century import from Europe, where after being instrumentalized for colonial endeavors and Nazi atrocities, it has become almost completely discredited. Yet Iranians continue to nonchalantly refer to themselves as Aryans and the myth of the “land of Aryans” persists, even in academic circles. It will be argued that the reason for this resilience is the specific role Aryanism plays in Iranian identity politics, and the strategies designed to manage the trauma of the encounter with Europe.
51 citations
TL;DR: The economic crisis has hit Iran's youth particularly hard, especially those from lower economic backgrounds because the country's rigid formal labor market preserves jobs for older workers as mentioned in this paper, while economic pressures have reduced the ability of youth to get married and form families.
Abstract: Young people play an important role in shaping Iran's politics but have only a marginal role in its economy. Youth (ages 15–29) are more than one-third of the country's population and are better educated than the generation they are replacing, while accounting for more than two-thirds of the unemployed. Demographics have thrown the marriage market out of balance, with a “shortage of men” of about 25 percent, while economic pressures have reduced the ability of youth to get married and form families. The higher education system has expanded to absorb ever greater numbers of youth but because education quality is low this has not helped in reducing unemployment. The demographic pressures have amplified since 2008 when the economy entered a period of stagnation. The economic crisis has hit Iran's youth particularly hard, especially those from lower economic backgrounds because the country's rigid formal labor market preserves jobs for older workers. The record number of youth entering the labor market has to...
39 citations
TL;DR: A first look at the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the second generation at the national level, and compares them with those of the first generation (Iran- or foreign-born population) is presented in this article.
Abstract: More than a generation has passed since the substantial immigration of Iranians to the United States in the late 1970s, resulting in a sizable second-generation population (defined by convention as persons born in the United States and those who immigrated under the age of thirteen). This article presents a first look at the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the second generation at the national level, and compares them with those of the first generation (Iran- or foreign-born population). It uses the 2005–07 merged data set compiled by the United States Census in the American Community Survey (ACS). The results indicate a preliminary continuation of economic and educational success from the first- to the second-generation Iranians. Moreover, this achievement has become more balanced across gender lines in the second generation. Specifically, in terms of educational attainment and labor force participation, females have quickly closed the gap with their male counterparts. Because the second...
33 citations
TL;DR: Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States, Trita Parsi as discussed by the authors, 1997, ISBN 978-0-300-12057-8, 352pp.
Abstract: Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the United States, Trita Parsi. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0-300-12057-8, 352pp. Treacherous Alliance is a sy...
32 citations
TL;DR: The decline and fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran, Parvaneh Pourshariati, London: I. B. Tauris, 2008, reprinted 2009, ISBN 13-978-1845116453,...
Abstract: Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian–Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran, Parvaneh Pourshariati, London: I. B. Tauris, 2008, reprinted 2009, ISBN 13-978-1845116453, ...
21 citations
TL;DR: Foucault and the Iranian Revolution: Gender and the Seduction of Islamism, Janet Afary and Kevin B. Anderson as mentioned in this paper, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2005, ISBN 0-2260-0786-3, xii++ 346 pp.
Abstract: Foucault and the Iranian Revolution: Gender and the Seduction of Islamism, Janet Afary and Kevin B. Anderson, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2005, ISBN 0-2260-0786-3, xii + 346 pp. Miche...
18 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the reasons behind the start of the partnership, the domains within which the British Council was permitted to operate in Iran, and the reasons why the partnership was ended.
Abstract: This paper examines a partnership between the British Council and the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) that emerged in March 2001 as a result of their shared aspiration for collaboration in scientific, academic and cultural arena. The alliance came as a surprise because after twenty-three years of antagonism on the part of the government of the IRI, the hostile attitudes were put aside virtually overnight to reunite with an old adversary for a mutual collaboration. The present qualitative study examines the reasons behind the start of the partnership, the domains within which the British Council was permitted to operate in Iran, and the reasons behind the end of the partnership. The data were gathered from various sources, including field-notes, policy documents analysis, personal interviews, and various online sources. The findings reveal that the duration of the partnership was closely intertwined with the rise and fall of the reformist administration, under President Mohammad Khatami (1...
18 citations
TL;DR: This paper is an attempt to situate sex change and representations of sex change in Iran within a wider theoretical framework than the frequently reiterated conflation with homosexuality, and to open and engage with a wider debate concerning transsexuality in Iran.
Abstract: Transsexuality in Iran has gained much attention and media coverage in the past few years, particularly in its questionable depiction as a permitted loophole for homosexuality, which is prohibited under Iran's Islamic-inspired legal system. Of course, attention in the West is also encouraged by the “shock” that sex change is available in Iran, a country that Western media and society delights in portraying as monolithically repressive. As a result, Iranian filmmakers inevitably have their own agendas, which are unsurprisingly brought into the film making process—from a desire to sell a product that will appeal to the Western market, to films that endorse specific socio-political agendas. This paper is an attempt to situate sex change and representations of sex change in Iran within a wider theoretical framework than the frequently reiterated conflation with homosexuality, and to open and engage with a wider debate concerning transsexuality in Iran, as well as to specifically analyze the representation of transexuality, in view of its current prominent presence in media.
18 citations
17 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined a fathnama sent by Uzun Hasan to Qaytbay on the occasion of the former's victory over Sultan-Abu Sa'id in 1469, here contextualized, translated and subjected to formal analysis with reference to contemporary insha' manuals.
Abstract: Medieval Persian imperial correspondence (tarassul) remains relatively untapped as a source of historiographical information, due in no small part to its stylized and ornate character. This ornateness, far from being merely an obstructive husk to the useful pith of data within, constitutes a rich source of information in its own right; indeed, the formal aspects of a given letter may significantly alter the ostensible sense of the text. This study examines as a representative case a fathnama sent by Uzun Hasan to Qaytbay on the occasion of the former's victory over Sultan-Abu Sa‘id in 1469, here contextualized, translated and subjected to formal analysis with reference to contemporary insha’ manuals. For all its submissive rhetoric, the letter's aggressive intent is shown to be activated by its formal structure, which strategically deploys Uzun Hasanid messianic symbolism to challenge the ascendancy of the Mamluk state.
TL;DR: The Practice of Politics in Safavid Iran: Power, Religion and Rhetoric, Colin P. Mitchell, London: Tauris, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84511-890-7, 292pp as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The Practice of Politics in Safavid Iran: Power, Religion and Rhetoric, Colin P. Mitchell, London: Tauris, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84511-890-7, 292pp. A revised version of Colin P. Mitchell's 2002 doctora...
TL;DR: Katouzian et al. as discussed by the authors present a comprehensive overview of the history of modern Iran, including Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Iran, with a focus on Iran's history.
Abstract: The Persians: Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Iran, Homa Katouzian, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-3001-2118-6, xi + 452pp. Over the past few years Iran has once again come to...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the experience of these zones in Iran in the context of Iran's contradictory and ambivalent approach to international economic integration in general, and show that liberal policies pursued in the free zones have been in marked contrast to the approach in the mainland, which has been generally inward-looking in much of the post-revolutionary period.
Abstract: Since the late 1980s, Iran has pursued a policy of attracting foreign investment and fostering regional trade by granting favored status to the so-called “Free Trade-Industrial Zones” (FTZs) and “Special Economic Zones” (SEZs). To date six FTZs and sixteen SEZs have been set up throughout Iran. The FTZs are strategically positioned for their potential international links and have their eyes on markets beyond Iran, and the SEZs for their value in serving main industries and for improving the country's distribution system and supply network. This paper examines the experience of these zones in Iran in the context of Iran's contradictory and ambivalent approach to international economic integration in general. It is shown that liberal policies pursued in the free zones have been in marked contrast to the approach in the mainland, which has been generally inward-looking in much of the post-revolutionary period. We examine first the rise of free zones as a global phenomenon followed by an overview of Iran's zo...
TL;DR: A number of Iranian women pilgrims to Mecca and the Shi'ite holy shrines of Mesopotamia during the past four centuries have left behind memoirs of their travels as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: A hitherto neglected aspect of the Iranian women's lives and activities is their traveling and travelogues. A number of Iranian women pilgrims to Mecca and the Shi'ite holy shrines of Mesopotamia during the past four centuries have left behind memoirs of their travels. They recorded interesting details about their spiritual experience as pilgrims to the holy lands of Islam and of the difficulties of the journey, especially the notoriously dangerous land route from Iran to Mecca through the Arabian Desert. This paper examines four examples of that genre, the oldest dating from the early eighteenth and the other three from the late nineteenth centuries. As expected, the authors were all members of upper class families: one was a princess, another a former queen, and the other two were also affiliated with the ruling families in one way or another. However, they shared the same goals with all other female, and male, pilgrims: to perform their Muslim religious duty of hajj and to do it right. They all wrote a...
TL;DR: Meisami et al. as mentioned in this paper studied the structure and meaning in medieval Arabic and Persian poetry, focusing on the Orient Pearls of the Middle-East and Persian regions of the world.
Abstract: Structure and Meaning in Medieval Arabic and Persian Poetry: Orient Pearls, Julie Scott Meisami, London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003, ISBN 0-7007-1575-4, 512pp. Structure and Meaning in Medieval Arabic a...
TL;DR: In the early 1800s, the Iranian government sponsored a series of Iranian students to travel to the homeland of its erstwhile British allies in search of the new scientific and technological learning as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Against the background of the Russo-Persian wars of the early 1800s, the Iranian government sponsored a series of Iranian students to travel to the homeland of its erstwhile British allies in search of the new scientific and technological learning. Along with members of the Iranian embassies to London in the same period, the students were the first Iranians to acquire extensive and direct knowledge of British society as it entered the industrial era and the earliest to gain access (albeit short-lived) to the English universities. Yet in spite of the practical agenda of the students and their sponsors, on reaching Britain the students found it necessary to engage extensively with the evangelical and more generally religious agendas of their British co-operators. In reconstructing in detail the intellectual circles in which the Iranian students moved in England between 1815 and 1818, the article uncovers the series of religious negotiations that were a necessary part of Iran's early path to modernization. I...
TL;DR: Abbas Amanat as discussed by the authors is known for two sets of important publications: his apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi'ism, and his book Apocalyptic Islam and Iran's Shi'a Islam.
Abstract: Apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi‘ism, Abbas Amanat, London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84511-981-2, 284pp. Abbas Amanat is known for two sets of important publications: his contri...
TL;DR: The authors examines the four poems attributed to Shah Isma‘il Safavi that are included in the seventeenth-century genealogy of the Safavid dynasty, the Silsilat al-Nasab-i Safawiyya.
Abstract: This article examines the four poems attributed to Shah Isma‘il Safavi that are included in the seventeenth-century genealogy of the Safavid dynasty, the Silsilat al-Nasab-i Safawiyya. The article includes translations and commentary on the four poems, offering insight into the religiosity and concerns both of Shah Isma‘il and the Silsilat's author, Husayn ibn Shaykh Abdal-i Zahidi.
TL;DR: The two decades, 1925-45, witnessed a dramatic transformation and revitalization of the Persian carpet industry in response to developments in Iranian governance, society and economy as discussed by the authors, including the replacement of the Qajar dynasty by a modernizing administration under Reza Shah Pahlavi, and subsequent wartime occupation of Iran jointly by the Soviet Union and Great Britain.
Abstract: The two decades, 1925–45, witnessed a dramatic transformation and revitalization of the Persian carpet industry in response to developments in Iranian governance, society and economy. Two historical watersheds were covered by that period, notably the replacement of the Qajar dynasty by a modernizing administration under Reza Shah Pahlavi, and the subsequent wartime occupation of Iran jointly by the Soviet Union and Great Britain. It was during those two decades that Iran acquired a centralized system of government and the beginnings of a modern industrial base. The accompanying social transformation brought about the emergence of new classes of administrators and managers who constituted the dominant elite of the Reza Shah era. This twin process of centralization and modernization had a telling impact on Iranian culture and the arts, including the carpet arts.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored Salāmān va Absāl, one of seven poems which comprise Jāmī's collection of long masnavīs, known collectively as the Haft aurang.
Abstract: This article explores Salāmān va Absāl, one of seven poems which comprise Jāmī's collection of long masnavīs, known collectively as the Haft aurang. The work, which gained some renown outside Iran due to the English version of Edward FitzGerald, has nevertheless received little attention in modern scholarship. The few investigations of Salāmān va Absāl, moreover, have dwelled on its narrative, which tells the story of the carnal attraction of a prince for his wet-nurse, and never situated the work in its historical context or examined its political content. In addition, the allegorical symbolism of the tale, especially its depiction of key stages of the Sufi path, such as the act of repentance, has not been discussed in terms of representing a work of mystical advice. With these concerns in mind, the present article discusses the possibility that the political elements in Salāmān va Absāl complement the advice it gives on becoming a Sufi. Seen from this perspective, it would appear that Salāmān va Absāl c...
TL;DR: Yeroushalmi et al. this paper presented a new and important book, this paper, which is a source book, full of original documents collected from numerous archives, many translated from Western languages and from Persian.
Abstract: Present-day Iranian Jews, at least those one can contact in the West, tend to have a very dark view of Iranian Jewish history prior to the reign of Rizā Shāh Pahlavī (1925–41), when modernization, including the emancipation of religious minorities, increased its pace considerably. This is not surprising given that their views are, of necessity, colored by the memories of grandparents and great-grandparents, who lived in the nineteenth century. A new and important book by David Yeroushalmi provides ample evidence which justifies this bleak outlook. It is a source book, full of original documents collected from numerous archives, many translated from Western languages and from Persian. The paucity of primary sources does not allow for the reconstruction of Iranian Jewish history in medieval Iran prior to the advent of the _ Safavids. The little that is known suggests that it was not a history of relentless persecution. On the contrary; as the demographic statistics that Yeroushalmi has collected in Section II indicate, Jewish communities were dispersed throughout the kingdom, in large centers as well as in countless smaller towns and villages, which attests to a long, continuous and largely peaceful interaction with the diverse population of Iran. However, many communities, especially the smaller ones, were isolated with little or no Iranian Studies, volume 44, number 4, July 2011
TL;DR: A prominent figure in this process of revival was Mulla Hadi Sabzavari who trained in the seminaries of Mashhad and Isfahan and became the most famous teacher of the works of Mulla Sadra and of philosophy in the second half of the nineteenth century as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The Qajar period witnessed a revival of traditional Islamic philosophy based on the philosophical method of the Safavid sage Mulla Sadra Shirazi. This was philosophy as a way of life, an ethical commitment born of a method that combined both rational discourse and mystical intuition, deployed to defend the intellectual and cultural norms of the old learning against the new European inspired centers in Qajar Iran. A prominent figure in this process of revival was Mulla Hadi Sabzavari, who trained in the seminaries of Mashhad and Isfahan and became the most famous teacher of the works of Mulla Sadra and of philosophy in the second half of the nineteenth century. This paper examines his life and intellectual and pedagogical contribution, and traces some lines of his impact on seminarian philosophy into the twentieth century through the many students who came to study with him in his hometown, including his influence on modern trends within Shi‘i jurisprudence and legal theory.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors put the history of this experimental trend in perspective and examined the works of three of its major post-revolutionary practitioners, including Iran National Theater and Theater Workshop.
Abstract: One of the major trends in experimental theater refashions the representational and presentational techniques of ancient rituals, medieval dramatic forms and popular performing traditions to create new forms of dramatic expression. In pre-revolutionary Iran, the proponents of this trend included those who worked with Iran National Theater and Theater Workshop. The 1979 revolution heralded the arrival of a different kind of drama in response to a host of new subjects and restrictions. However, unlike the political upheavals of previous periods which led to catastrophic discontinuity in the development of Iranian theater, it did not result in a complete breach. The post-revolutionary practitioners continued working with the templates devised by their pre-revolutionary colleagues, creating a dramatic tradition that has produced several masterpieces during recent decades. The purpose of this paper is to put the history of this experimental trend in perspective and examine the works of three of its major post-...
TL;DR: The history of Alborz College in terms of its curricula, mission education, the faculty and Dr. Samuel M. Jordan, founder and president is discussed in this paper.
Abstract: The article addresses the twentieth-century social and cultural history of Alborz College (The American College of Tehran) in terms of its curricula, mission education, the faculty and Dr. Samuel Jordan, founder and president. The courses taught, from the natural sciences and humanities to business and journalism, shaped the lives and aspirations of so many of the graduates for decades. Of great importance were the academic training and personal lives of Dr. Jordan, Mary Park Jordan, and the American faculty, particularly those graduates from Lafayette College (Easton, Pennsylvania) who served as role models of modernity and generous public service that so enriched the lives of their young Iranian charges and won the hearts and minds of the Alborzi graduates. Our students imbibed liberal ideas, they agitated for reforms, they cooperated with other forward-looking patriots in transforming the medieval despotism of thirty years ago [in 1906] into the modern, progressive democracy today.1 1Samuel M. Jordan, ...
TL;DR: In this paper, a broader study with qualitative interviews, hermeneutic content analysis of 40 hours of aired TV programs and a dense description of the production background is presented, focusing on the intentions and strategies of Iranian immigrant media participation, but also the difficulties of access to the public sphere.
Abstract: This paper analyses Iranian television production on Public Access TV channels in Germany. It is based on a broader study with qualitative interviews, hermeneutic content analysis of 40 hours of aired TV programs and a ?dense description? of the production background. Iranian immigrants were amongst the most active mother-tongue TV producers on local Public Access Channels (so called ?Open Channels?) since these were first launched in 1984. These non-commercial channels aim to make alternative themes and voices heard in the local public. However, the 9/11 attacks led to increased difficulties of access for immigrants from the Middle East, such as limited airtime and the obligation to translate programs. These measures diminished dramatically the opportunities to present Iranian TV shows on Open Channels. From the perspective of Communication Studies, this paper aims to analyse the intentions and strategies of Iranian immigrant media participation, but also the difficulties of access to the public sphere i...
TL;DR: The particularity of Iranian war cinema like no other is that it participates in the mourning process of a whole nation fighting against its own ghosts and in s... as mentioned in this paper, which can be seen as a spiritual voyage where the soul hovers between absence and presence.
Abstract: The fascination for the Western world with Iranian cinema lies primarily with the fable-like developments of its stories which often plunge us into a world of exoticism and lured us with its singularity. Iranian war cinema born during the war between Iran and Iraq is not as well distributed in Europe and films with English subtitles are difficult to get hold of. Whether it is interpreted as an anthropological document which opens a dialogue between the protagonist and the spectators, the “I” and the other, Iranian war cinema by Tabrizi, Sinayi, Hatamikia and Ghobadi, among many others, can be seen as a spiritual voyage where the soul hovers between absence and presence. In the wake of war cinema in general, one can draw parallels with mythology, the Judeo-Christian tradition, literature and art. Its function is not only didactic but cathartic, and the particularity of Iranian war cinema like no other is that it participates in the mourning process of a whole nation fighting against its own ghosts and in s...