Janet Afary - Böcker

In 1978, as the protests against the Shah of Iran reached their zenith, philosopher Michel Foucault was working as a special correspondent for Corriere della Sera and Le Monde. During his little-known stint as a journalist, Foucault traveled to Iran, met with leaders like Ayatollah Khomeini, and wrote a series of articles on the revolution. Foucault and the Iranian Revolution is the first book-length analysis of these essays on Iran, the majority of which have never before appeared in English. Accompanying the analysis are annotated translations of the Iran writings in their entirety and the at times blistering responses from such contemporaneous critics as Middle East scholar Maxime Rodinson as well as comments on the revolution by feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. In this important and controversial account, Janet Afary and Kevin B. Anderson illuminate Foucault's support of the Islamist movement. They also show how Foucault's experiences in Iran contributed to a turning point in his thought, influencing his ideas on the Enlightenment, homosexuality, and his search for political spirituality.Foucault and the Iranian Revolution informs current discussion on the divisions that have reemerged among Western intellectuals over the response to radical Islamism after September 11. Foucault's provocative writings are thus essential for understanding the history and the future of the West's relationship with Iran and, more generally, to political Islam. In their examination of these journalistic pieces, Afary and Anderson offer a surprising glimpse into the mind of a celebrated thinker.

In 1978, as the protests against the Shah of Iran reached their zenith, philosopher Michel Foucault was working as a special correspondent for Corriere della Sera and Le Monde. During his little-known stint as a journalist, Foucault traveled to Iran, met with leaders like Ayatollah Khomeini, and wrote a series of articles on the revolution. Foucault and the Iranian Revolution is the first book-length analysis of these essays on Iran, the majority of which have never before appeared in English. Accompanying the analysis are annotated translations of the Iran writings in their entirety and the at times blistering responses from such contemporaneous critics as Middle East scholar Maxime Rodinson as well as comments on the revolution by feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. In this important and controversial account, Janet Afary and Kevin B. Anderson illuminate Foucault's support of the Islamist movement. They also show how Foucault's experiences in Iran contributed to a turning point in his thought, influencing his ideas on the Enlightenment, homosexuality, and his search for political spirituality.Foucault and the Iranian Revolution informs current discussion on the divisions that have reemerged among Western intellectuals over the response to radical Islamism after September 11. Foucault's provocative writings are thus essential for understanding the history and the future of the West's relationship with Iran and, more generally, to political Islam. In their examination of these journalistic pieces, Afary and Anderson offer a surprising glimpse into the mind of a celebrated thinker.

During the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906 to 1911 a variety of forces played key roles in overthrowing a repressive regime. Afary sheds new light on the role of ordinary citizens and peasantry, the status of Iranian women, and the multifaceted structure of Iranian society.

During the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906 to 1911 a variety of forces played key roles in overthrowing a repressive regime. Afary sheds new light on the role of ordinary citizens and peasantry, the status of Iranian women, and the multifaceted structure of Iranian society.

Janet Afary is a native of Iran and a leading historian. Her work focuses on gender and sexuality and draws on her experience of growing up in Iran and her involvement with Iranian women of different ages and social strata. These observations, and a wealth of historical documents, form the kernel of this book, which charts the history of the nation's sexual revolution from the nineteenth century to today. What comes across is the extraordinary resilience of the Iranian people, who have drawn on a rich social and cultural heritage to defy the repression and hardship of the Islamist state and its predecessors. It is this resilience, the author concludes, which forms the basis of a sexual revolution taking place in Iran today, one that is promoting reforms in marriage and family laws, and demanding more egalitarian gender and sexual relations.

Janet Afary is a native of Iran and a leading historian. Her work focuses on gender and sexuality and draws on her experience of growing up in Iran and her involvement with Iranian women of different ages and social strata. These observations, and a wealth of historical documents, form the kernel of this book, which charts the history of the nation's sexual revolution from the nineteenth century to today. What comes across is the extraordinary resilience of the Iranian people, who have drawn on a rich social and cultural heritage to defy the repression and hardship of the Islamist state and its predecessors. It is this resilience, the author concludes, which forms the basis of a sexual revolution taking place in Iran today, one that is promoting reforms in marriage and family laws, and demanding more egalitarian gender and sexual relations.

Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, there was a dramatic reversal of women’srights, and the state revived many premodern social conventions throughmodern means and institutions. Customs such as the enforced veiling of women,easy divorce for men, child marriage, and polygamy were robustly reintroducedand those who did not conform to societal strictures were severely punished. Atthe same time, new social and economic programs benefited the urban and ruralpoor, especially women, which had a direct impact on gender relations and theinstitution of marriage. Edited by Janet Afary and Jesilyn Faust, this interdisciplinaryvolume responds to the growing interest and need for literature on gender, marriageand family relations in the Islamic context. The book examines how the institutionof marriage transformed in Iran, paying close attention to the country’s cultureand politics. Part One examines changes in urban marriages to new forms ofcohabitation. In Part Two contributors, such as Soraya Tremayne, explore the waytechnology and social media has impacted and altered the institution of family.Part Three turns its eye to look at marital changes in the rural and tribal sectorsof society through the works of anthropologists including Erika Friedl and MaryHegland. Based on the work of both new and established scholars, the bookprovides an up-to-date study of an important and intensely politicized subject.

Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, there was a dramatic reversal of women’srights, and the state revived many premodern social conventions throughmodern means and institutions. Customs such as the enforced veiling of women,easy divorce for men, child marriage, and polygamy were robustly reintroducedand those who did not conform to societal strictures were severely punished. Atthe same time, new social and economic programs benefited the urban and ruralpoor, especially women, which had a direct impact on gender relations and theinstitution of marriage. Edited by Janet Afary and Jesilyn Faust, this interdisciplinaryvolume responds to the growing interest and need for literature on gender, marriageand family relations in the Islamic context. The book examines how the institutionof marriage transformed in Iran, paying close attention to the country’s cultureand politics. Part One examines changes in urban marriages to new forms ofcohabitation. In Part Two contributors, such as Soraya Tremayne, explore the waytechnology and social media has impacted and altered the institution of family.Part Three turns its eye to look at marital changes in the rural and tribal sectorsof society through the works of anthropologists including Erika Friedl and MaryHegland. Based on the work of both new and established scholars, the bookprovides an up-to-date study of an important and intensely politicized subject.

Winner of the Latifeh Yarshater book prize 2024Covering the Pahlavi modern nation-state as well as the Islamic regime, this book examines the crucial shifts that affected Sunnite and subaltern women once Shi’ism became the state religion after the Iranian Revolution. Focusing on women in the Baluchistan and Golestan provinces of Iran, Azadeh Kian analyses and explores issues of cultural racialization, ethno-centrism, Shi’a centrism, and patriarchal and chauvinistic ideologies in Iranian society propagated by the state and sustained by its policies. Based on quantitative and qualitative surveys taken throughout Iran, comprised of over 7,000 married women and 100 interviews with a sample of Sunnite and subaltern Persian women, Kian reveals how social hierarchy and power relations based on gender, class, ethnicity and religion operate. She argues that women have been at the heart of the process of national and ethnic re-construction as women, as potential mothers, are expected to reproduce national and ethnic boundaries. Kian argues that by examining the family institution as a site of power, analysing family dynamics as well as women’s everyday lives, the politics of ordinary Iranians and the relationship between state and society can be better understood. Kian argues that the time is ripe to achieve a non-hegemonic definition of Iranian national identity, through acknowledgement of gender, class, ethnic, and religious diversity and plurality of experiences of oppression and injustice.

Winner of the Latifeh Yarshater book prize 2024Covering the Pahlavi modern nation-state as well as the Islamic regime, this book examines the crucial shifts that affected Sunnite and subaltern women once Shi’ism became the state religion after the Iranian Revolution. Focusing on women in the Baluchistan and Golestan provinces of Iran, Azadeh Kian analyses and explores issues of cultural racialization, ethno-centrism, Shi’a centrism, and patriarchal and chauvinistic ideologies in Iranian society propagated by the state and sustained by its policies. Based on quantitative and qualitative surveys taken throughout Iran, comprised of over 7,000 married women and 100 interviews with a sample of Sunnite and subaltern Persian women, Kian reveals how social hierarchy and power relations based on gender, class, ethnicity and religion operate. She argues that women have been at the heart of the process of national and ethnic re-construction as women, as potential mothers, are expected to reproduce national and ethnic boundaries. Kian argues that by examining the family institution as a site of power, analysing family dynamics as well as women’s everyday lives, the politics of ordinary Iranians and the relationship between state and society can be better understood. Kian argues that the time is ripe to achieve a non-hegemonic definition of Iranian national identity, through acknowledgement of gender, class, ethnic, and religious diversity and plurality of experiences of oppression and injustice.

In 1906, a group of artists and intellectuals reinterpreted the tales of the Middle Eastern trickster Nasreddin to construct a progressive anti-colonial discourse with a strong emphasis on social, political and religious reform. Using folklore, visual art and satire, their periodical Moll? Nasreddin which had full-page lithographic cartoons in colour, reached tens of thousands of people across the Muslim world, from Iran and Turkey, to India and Egypt, impacting the thinking of a generation. The founder of the periodical was Jalil Mamedqolizadeh, an Azerbaijani educator and playwright. As a transnational and social democratic publication, Moll? Nasreddin saw itself as a mouthpiece for other persecuted Muslim populations and colonised peoples around the globe. This book looks at the milieu in which the periodical was born, the manner through which the journal recast the trickster trope for its audience, and the influence of European graphic artists on its cartoons and illustrations.