Iranian Intellectuals In The Twentieth Century

Since the middle of the nineteenth century, Iranian intellectuals have been preoccupied by issues of political and social reform, Iran's relation with the modern West, and autocracy, or arbitrary rule. Drawing from a close reading of a broad array of primary sources, this book offers a thematic account of the Iranian intelligentsia from the Constitutional movement of 1905 to the post-1979 revolution. Ali Gheissari shows how in Iran, as in many other countries, intellectuals have been the prime mediators between the forces of tradition and modernity and have contributed significantly to the formation of the modern Iranian self image. His analysis of intellectuals' response to a number of fundamental questions, such as nationalism, identity, and the relation between Islam and modern politics, sheds new light on the factors that led to the Iranian Revolution—the twentieth century's first major departure from Western political ideals—and helps explain the complexities surrounding the reception of Western ideologies in the Middle East.

"This book is the first collection of its kind. It brings together articles by historians, sociologists and political scientists as well as contributions by intellectuals and essayists currently engaged in the intellectual scene in Iran, thus outlining not only a range of intellectual concerns and trends in the tumultuous 20th century but also presenting authentic insights from a number of present-day participants."--Ahmad Ashraf, Center for Iranian Studies, Columbia University Intellectual Trends in Twentieth-Century Iran, a collection of essays by journalists and Iranian scholars based in both North America and the Middle East, examines the major intellectual trends in twentieth-century Iran and explores the role that the intellectual has played in shaping the debates and political culture in both prerevolutionary and postrevolutionary Iran. The issues discussed in this collection are among the most provocative in contemporary Iran and range from the hermeneutics of Mojtahed-Shabestari to the movement of the reformist press to clerical discourses on the subject of women's rights. Additionally, Intellectual Trends discusses broader issues such as Iranian liberalism and the relationship between tradition and modernity with a depth and insight that is essential in understanding the diverse issues facing a contemporary Middle East. Together, the collection provides a valuable account and analysis of the intellectual currents in this pivotal state across the last century. Contents Introduction Part I. Intellectual Discourse in Pahlavi Iran 1. The Ambivalent Modernity of Iranian Intellectuals, by Mehrzad Boroujerdi 2. Khalil Maleki: The Odd Intellectual Out, by Homa Katouzian 3. Ahmad Shamlu and the Contingency of Our Future, by Hamid Dabashi and Golriz Dahdel 4. The Discourse of "Authentic Culture" in Iran of the 1960s and 1970s, by Negin Nabavi Part II. Intellectual Expressions and Dynamics in Postrevolutionary Iran 5. Crossing the Desert: Iranian Intellectuals after the Islamic Revolution, by Morad Saghafi 6. Religious Intellectuals and Political Action in the Reform Movement, by Hamidreza Jalaeipour 7. Improvising in Public: Transgressive Politics of the Reformist Press in Postrevolutionary Iran, by Farideh Farhi 8. Sacral Defense of Secularism: Dissident Political Theology in Iran, by Mahmoud Sadri 9. Women's Rights and Clerical Discourses: The Legacy of 'Allameh Tabataba'i, by Ziba Mir-Hosseini Negin Nabavi is assistant professor of Near Eastern studies at Princeton University.

Studying intellectual trends in Iran in a global historical context, this new intellectual history challenges many dominant paradigms in Iranian historiography and offers a new revisionist interpretation of Iranian modernity.

Since the middle of the nineteenth century, Iranian intellectuals have been preoccupied by issues of political and social reform, Iran's relation with the modern West, and autocracy, or arbitrary rule. Drawing from a close reading of a broad array of primary sources, this book offers a thematic account of the Iranian intelligentsia from the Constitutional movement of 1905 to the post-1979 revolution. Ali Gheissari shows how in Iran, as in many other countries, intellectuals have been the prime mediators between the forces of tradition and modernity and have contributed significantly to the formation of the modern Iranian self image. His analysis of intellectuals' response to a number of fundamental questions, such as nationalism, identity, and the relation between Islam and modern politics, sheds new light on the factors that led to the Iranian Revolution—the twentieth century's first major departure from Western political ideals—and helps explain the complexities surrounding the reception of Western ideologies in the Middle East.

First Published in 1980. The events which took place in Iran during the time of original publication took the world by surprise. A little reflection however will suggest that they were not inexplicable prodigies. They constitute rather a manifestation, albeit sudden and astonishing, of a social, intellectual and political crisis in the throes of which Iran has found itself. The eleven studies included in this book are devoted to the examination of one or other aspect of this crisis and aim to clarify the origins and character of the crisis.

Focuses on the struggle between religious and secular forces as a major factor in shaping Iran's political history from the Constitutional Revolution of 1905-6 through the Iran-Iraq war. Written before the death of Khomeini. Based on interviews and documents in seven languages. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

In Mapping the Role of Intellectuals in Iranian Modern and Contemporary History, Jahanbegloo and contributors examine the role of Iranian intellectuals in the history of Iranian modernity. They trace the contributions of intellectuals in the construction of national identity and the Iranian democratic debate, analyzing how intellectuals balanced indebtedness to the West with the issue of national identity in Iran. Recognizing how intellectual elites became beholden to political powers, the contributors demonstrate the trend that intellectuals often opted for cultural dissent rather than ideological politics.

Political upheaval has marked Iran's history throughout the twentieth century. Wars, revolutions, coups and the impact of modernism have shaped Iran's historiography, as they have the country's history. Originally based on oral and written sources, which underpinned traditional genealogical and dynastic history, Iran's historiography was transformed in the early 20th century with the development of a 'new' school of presenting history. Here emphasis shifted from the anecdotal story-telling genre to social, political, economic, cultural and religious history-writing. A new understanding of the nation state and the importance of identity and foreign relations in defining Iran's place in the modern world all served to transform the perspective of Iranian historiography. Touraj Atabaki here brings together a range of rich contributions from international scholars who cover the leading themes of the historiography of 20th-century Iran, including constitutional reform and revolution, literature and architecture, identity, women and gender, nationalism, modernism, Orientalism, Marxism and Islamism.