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Iran and the Surrounding World: Interactions in Culture and Cultural Politics PDF Print E-mail

Nikki Keddie and Rudi Matthee, eds. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2002. 393 pages.

Ever since the publication of James Morier’s The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan (London: J. Murray, 1824) in the early nineteenth century, many authors have tried to make sense of the Iranians’ attitudes, views, and approaches to the outside world. One of the most recent works in this area is Iran and the Surrounding World: Interactions in Culture and Cultural Politics, edited by Nikki R. Keddie and Rudi Matthee. This volume contains interesting articles that will certainly contribute, in Keddie’s words, “to a better understanding of many aspects of Iran’s recent history” (p. 10). The editors also hope that, by way of this book’s “modest contribution” to the field of knowledge, “[w]estern leaders will gain a greater acquaintance with this culture, as well as with the reasons for Iran’s past reactions against the West, and especially the U.S.” (p. 10).

The book is roughly divided into five parts, starting from an overview of Iran’s cultural politics from the Safavid period (1501-1722) onward. This section briefly discusses Iran’s relationship with its South Asian neighbors and looks into the ever-changing ethnic and tribal relationships both within and outside Iran. The second part links some aspects of the Safavid period’s sociopolitical and cultural life to the Qajar (1796-1921) and Pahlavi (1925-79) periods. This section explores such interesting notions as the evolving nature of Iranian nationalism, Iranian views about outsiders, nineteenth century travel literature in Iran, and some impacts of earlier missionary girls’ schools in Iran. The third part discusses the new political culture in the Islamic Republic and its global dimensions, covering such areas as the Iranian women’s movement and its international character, the image of “self” and “other” in school textbooks, and the international successes “of Iranian films under a clerical regime” (p. 254).