A biography of Muhammad Musaddiq, who was prime minister of Iran between 1951 and 1953 until he was deposed in a CIA-backed coup d'etat and who has long been regarded as one of the great anti-colonial campaigners of the post-war era.
Buy: https://amzn.to/4hpnbzv
In recent years, Iran has gained attention primarily for negative reasons - its authoritarian religious government disputed its nuclear programme and controversial role in the Middle East - but there is much more to the story of this ancient land than can be gleaned from the news. This authoritative and comprehensive history of Iran, written by Homa Katouzian, an acclaimed expert, covers the entire history of the area from the foundation of the ancient Persian empire to today's Iranian state. Writing from an Iranian rather than a European perspective, Katouzian integrates Iran's significant cultural and literary history with its political and social history. Some of the greatest poets of human history wrote in Persian - among them Rumi, Omar Khayyam, and Saadi - and Katouzian discusses and occasionally quotes their work. In his thoughtful analysis of Iranian society, Katouzian argues that the absolute and arbitrary power traditionally enjoyed by Persian/Iranian rulers has resulted in an unstable society where fear and short-term thinking dominate. A magisterial history, this book also serves as an excellent background to the role of Iran in the contemporary world.
Iran was the first country in the Middle East to experience (in 1905-6) a popular revolution that demanded the rule of law and parliamentary government. However, the democratic constitution established by the revolution plunged the country into a period of turmoil and, despite subsequent popular democratic movements, most notably in the early 1950s and during the Iranian revolution of 1978-9, the country has lived under arbitrary rule for most of the century. Katouzian offers a theoretical framework for studying Iranian history, state and society, which is then applied to social and political developments from the Constitutional Revolution to the fall of the Pahlavi state. This analysis affords essential insights into the present situation in Iran and the alternative prospects for its future, especially relevant since the recent accession of President Khatami.
Sadeq Hedayat is the most famous and enigmatic Iranian writer of the 20th century. This book is the first comprehensive study of Hedayat's life and works set against literary and political developments in a rapidly changing Iran over the first half of the 20th century. Katouzian discusses Hedayat's life and times and the literary and political circles with which he was associated. But he also emphasises the uniqueness and universality of his ideas that have both influenced and set Hedayat apart from other Iranian writers of the period and have given him a mystique that has been instrumental in his posthumous success with acclaimed works such as The Blind Owl.
'In the breath that I die, for you, I'll be longing/ Wishing to turn into the dust of your belonging' - Sa'di, Expressions of Love. With poetry which speaks across the ages, Sa'di (1210-1281) is a vital classical poet and a towering figure of the medieval Persian canon. Comparable in skill and stature to other Persian poets such as Ferdowsi, Hafez, Rumi and Omar Khayyam, Sa'di's verses--best known through his 'Bustan' and 'Golestan' address universal themes of passion, love and the human condition in works which are both psychologically perceptive and beautifully crafted. His mystical writings, contemporaneous with Rumi, reveal a degree of depth, wisdom and insight which have placed Sa'di in the pantheon of world literature. In this essential new translation of Sa'di's work, a leading expert on Iranian studies, Homa Katouzian, seeks to bring the poet's lyrics to a new readership. The book provides the Persian text and Katouzian's English translation side-by-side, creating an indispensable tool for students and enthusiasts of Iranian history, literature and culture.
Following a two-pronged approach, this volume studies both those who the Constitutional Revolution influenced in their works and those who addressed the Revolution with their work, influencing it directly. Through analysing their works, this volume explores influential poets and writers from the period, including Iraj, Vaziri, Afrāshteh, Yazdi, Bahār and ‘Eshqi. It covers female poets who are often overlooked, as well as the significant satirical poets whose work educated and entertained the readers and criticized socio-political events. Analysing the mainstream and marginal poets, this volume argues that the margins initiated Persian poetry's evolution. As Persian poetry and its multifunctional legacy became the standard-bearer of the Constitutional movement, this volume is an essential contribution to understanding Iran.
Humour in Iran is a close and comprehensive study of satire and humour – in verse and prose – over the eleven hundred years since the emergence of classical Persian literature. Combining Persian original texts with their English translations, it covers a range of texts and authors, from the lampoon in Ferdowsi's great epic of the ancient kings in the tenth century through such master satirists as Obeyd Zakani, Sa'di, Rumi, Khayyam, Hafiz, Anvari, Sana'i, Khaqani, Suzani, Qa'ani, Yaghma, and so on. The book also includes twentieth-century authors such as Iraj, Dehkhoda, Bahar, Eshqi, Aref, Hedayat, Jamalzadeh, Al-e Ahmad and more.
Buy: https://amzn.to/4hxDPwr
This unique book is the first publication on the art of teaching Persian literature in English, consisting of 18 chapters by prominent early-career, mid-career and established scholars who generously share their experiences and methodologies in teaching classical and modern Persian literature across various academic traditions worldwide. The volume is divided into three parts: the background to teaching Persian literature, teaching Persian literature: pedagogy, translation and canon, and thematic and topical approaches to the Persian literature class. It includes such topics as the history of teaching Persian literature, the traditional teaching of Persian literature, the political and ideological intentions revealed in the formation of the Persian literature curriculum, the necessity to include marginalized modern Persian literature, such as women's or diaspora literature, and more applied approaches to curriculum development and teaching.
Bahram Beyzaie is one of Iran's leading playwrights and auteur filmmakers. This book examines several of Beyzaie's films and plays and their preoccupation with the modalities and transformations of Iranian contemporary, historical and mythical identity from different perspectives. The chapters analyse Beyzaie's influential plays, such as Arash and So Dies Pahlevan Akbar, and his filmic magnum opuses, such as The Crow, Bashu, the Little Stranger and Killing Mad Dogs, from a range of critical perspectives, including ecofeminist, sociopolitical, new-historicist, archetypal and psychoanalytical readings. They also explore Beyzaie's dialogue with filmic genres such as noir, different Iranian languages such as Gilaki, Iranian epics and ritual practices such as ta'ziyeh plays and javanmardi chivalry cults. Together, the chapters show how Beyzaie's works negotiate narratives of belonging and undermine the dominant exclusionist discourses in Iran. They use the resources of Iranian folk and performance traditions to comment on the position of women, children, intellectuals, and minorities in society.
This study provides a comprehensive examination of the evolution of Islam as a ruling framework in postrevolutionary Iran up to the present day. Beginning with the position and structure of Iran's clerical establishment under the Islamic Republic, Kamrava delves into the jurisprudential debates that have shaped the country's political institutions and state policies. Kamrava draws on extensive fieldwork to examine various religious narratives that inform the basis of contemporary Iranian politics, also revealing the political salience of standard practices and beliefs, such as religious guardianship and guidance, Islam as a source of social protection, the relationship between Islam and democracy, the sources of divine and popular legitimacy, and the theoretical justifications for religious authoritarianism. Providing access to many Persian-language sources for the first time, Kamrava shows how religious intellectual production in Iran has impacted the ongoing transformation of Iranian Shi'ism and ultimately underwritten the fate of the Islamic Republic.
This book maps an emerging cycle of films made by Iranian diasporic women filmmakers and produced outside of Iran, focusing on five significant examples: Shirin Neshat’s Women Without Men (2009), Sepideh Farsi’s Red Rose (2014), Maryam Keshavarz’s Circumstance (2011), Ana Lily Amirpour’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) and Desiree Akhavan’s Appropriate Behaviour (2014). These films speak to the emergence of feminist concerns surrounding gender relations, female subjectivity and sexuality in diasporic filmmaking. The book intends to show how the body of recent Iranian diasporic women’s films demonstrates a substantial shift within the existing exilic and diasporic paradigm, requiring analysis of intersectional relations between ethnicity, culture, nationality, gender and sexuality. Attending closely to the vibrant feminist film culture generated by Iranian women in the diaspora, this book aims to interrogate the diversity of women’s filmmaking practices and their role in shaping new representations of female subjectivity and the diasporic condition.
Iran's prison system is a foundational institution of Iranian political modernity. The Incarcerated Modern traces Iran's transformation from a decentralized empire with few imprisoned persons at the turn of the twentieth century into a modern nation-state with over a quarter million prisoners today. In policing the line between "bad criminal" and "good citizen," the carceral system has shaped and reshaped Iranian understandings of citizenship, freedom, and political belonging.
This work unearths details and provides updated insights into an enduring puzzle of modern Iranian political history. It concludes that the Left's demise came from a combination of Iran's geopolitical setting and internal factors such as splits and factionalism.
"From Oxus to Euphrates: The World of Late Antique Iran" by Touraj Daryaee and Khodadad Rezakhani. The book aims to introduce the world of Late Antique Iran, focusing on the Sasanian Empire, and to challenge the Eurocentric approach to studying this period. The authors argue that the Sasanians were a significant force in the late antique world, shaping the region's political, economic, cultural and religious landscape. The excerpts offer a glimpse into the Sasanian history, ideology, religion, economy, literature, and language and highlight the importance of including the Sasanians in the broader narrative of Late Antiquity. They also critique the portrayal of the Sasanians in Orientalist and Marxist historiography and propose a more inclusive and nuanced approach to studying this period.
Buy: https://amzn.to/3XWQ6nd
This book provides an overview of the tumultuous relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran, exploring the rivalry's impact on the Arab and Muslim world. It traces the origins of the conflict back to the Iranian Revolution of 1979, revealing how both countries have sought to expand their influence through cultural and religious domination. The text analyses the rivalry's role in the rise of sectarianism, terrorism, and violence, culminating in the emergence of the Islamic State (ISIS). It also examines the impact of this conflict on the internal politics of countries like Lebanon, Syria, and Pakistan, where both Saudi and Iranian actors have sought to advance their interests through proxy wars and sectarian tensions.
The book examines the history of modern-day Iran, beginning with the rule of Reza Shah, focusing mainly on the 1979 revolution, the subsequent Islamic Republic, and its relationship with the West. They explore the country’s internal political struggles, role in the Middle East, relationship with its neighbours, and complex history with the United States. The sources highlight how Iranian culture and politics have been shaped by foreign interference and how the Iranian government continues to grapple with the legacy of these interactions. They also explore the issues of human rights in Iran, precisely the challenges faced by women and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Jail. The memoir recounts Rezaian's experience of being imprisoned by Iranian authorities for 544 days, which he describes as a period of interrogation, abuse, manipulation and shameless lying. Throughout his ordeal, Rezaian struggles to maintain his sanity and dignity, constantly working to ensure his release while remaining steadfast in his commitment to journalism. The memoir also examines the broader context of US-Iran relations, the history of hostage-taking in Iran, and how Rezaian's experience reflects broader political and social realities.
"Iran Without Borders" by Hamid Dabashi is a comprehensive study that examines the multifaceted identity of Iran through the lens of its transnational history and cultural interactions. Dabashi argues that Iran’s postcolonial borders are artificial constructs that obscure its rich and complex history of cosmopolitanism, spanning centuries of imperial and colonial exchanges with the broader world. He challenges the notion of a fixed, monolithic Iranian identity by exploring the influence of Indian, Arab, and European cultures on Iranian thought, literature, and artistic expression. Throughout the book, Dabashi examines the interconnectedness of Iranian identity with its surrounding regions, highlighting the influence of labour migration, the impact of the oil industry, and the role of the transnational public sphere in shaping Iran’s cultural and political landscape. By tracing the origins of Iranian cosmopolitanism, Dabashi seeks to liberate Iran from its artificial confines and celebrate its national identity's dynamic, multifaceted nature.
Armies of the Iran–Iraq War 1980–88 is an in-depth account of the military forces involved in the Iran–Iraq War (1980–88). It details the structure, organisation, recruitment, training and equipment of the Iranian and Iraqi armies and their associated paramilitary forces. The text includes broad overviews of the armies and a more granular look at different military branches, including infantry, armoured, mechanized, special forces, and air forces. The text provides details of weaponry and equipment but also examines the political and ideological pressures that impacted the military effectiveness of both sides, ultimately contributing to a drawn-out and costly conflict.
