Political, Social and Cultural History of Modern Iran
Essays in Honour of Ervand Abrahamian
Edited by Houchang E. Chehabi
Illuminates hitherto-understudied aspects of Iran’s socio-political and socio-cultural history
- Analyses the political, social, and cultural history of Iran
- Includes chapters by leading academics from three continents
- Covers neglected topics such as the activities of the communist party during the prime ministership of Mohammad Mosaddeq, the role of Armenians in Iran’s socio-cultural development, and urban history outside Tehran
This collection of original chapters in honour of the distinguished historian Ervand Abrahamian addresses hitherto understudied topics in Iranian political, social, and cultural history from the early twentieth century to the present.
The sixteen chapters fall into five categories – all areas of study to which Ervand Abrahamian made a significant contribution – which proceed from the global to the local: Part I looks at Iran’s place in international politics in the early twentieth century; Part II considers key transitional periods in Iranian history; Part III focuses on national politics; Part IV examines intellectual history embedded in political change; and Part V explores social history, with an emphasis on cities. The book also includes an original interview with Ervand Abrahamian and a complete bibliography of Ervand Abrahamian’s works.
List of Figures
Notes on Contributors
Preface
In Conversation with Ervand Abrahamian
Stephanie Cronin
A Bibliography of Ervand Abrahamian
H. E. Chehabi
Part I. Iran in the World
1. The 1907 Anglo-Russian Agreement: A Postscript
Mangol Bayat
2. Mohammad Mosaddeq and the 'Standard of Civilisation’
H. E. Chehabi
3. The Demise of the Anglo-Iranian Agreement of 1919
Nahid Mozaffari
Part II. Transitions
4. From Sardar Sepah to Reza Shah: The Illegality of Pahlavi Reign
Maziar Behrooz
5. 'Abadan in Fire and Blood': The Role of the Crowd in the History of the Nationalisation of the Iranian Oil Industry
Touraj Atabaki
6. Did Progressive Muslims Pave the Way for the Hegemony of "Khomeinism"? Public Religion and the 1979 Revolution
Mojtaba Mahdavi
7. Second Supreme Swapping: Prospects for Leadership Change in Iran
Mehrzad Boroujerdi
Part III. Politics
8. The Tudeh Party of Iran's Attitude towards Mohammad Mosaddeq
Siavush Ranjbar Daemi
9. The Shadow of Mosaddeq: History, Memory and the Construction of a Myth
Ali Ansari
10. Peykār Organization: History, Contexts, Transformations, Challenges
Peyman Vahabzadeh
Part IV: Culture and Society
11. Dialogue in Qānun: Theatrical Reporting as a Political Device
Sheida Dayani
12. 'We became plucked': Reza Shah’s Education Policy and the Armenian Community of Iran
Houri Berberian
13. Fātemeh Sayyāh: Forgotten Scholar, Public Intellectual and Women’s Rights Advocate
Afshin Matin-Asgari
Part V. Life in the City
14. The Poor as a Problem of Governance: Mashhad Poor House in 1939
Mohammad Maljoo
15. Leisure Architecture and the Aesthetics of the Pahlavi 'Modern Middle Class'
Talinn Grigor
16. The Reinvention of Mahallehs in Post-revolutionary Tehran: Spatial Reconfiguration and Political Control
Abbas Varij Kazemi and Arang Keshavarzian
Index
This is a splendid collection of rich and stimulating essays by some of the foremost scholars of modern Iran. A fitting tribute to Ervand Abrahamian, whose wide-ranging scholarship over the past six decades has profoundly enriched our understanding of twentieth century Iranian political, social and cultural history.
