Janet Afary » Books

Sexual Politics in Modern Iran

olibroman — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Sexual Politics in Modern Iran 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 These observations, and a wealth of historical documents, form the kernel of this book, which charts the history of the nation’s sexual revolution from the nineteenth century to today.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.

Part I. Premodern Practices

Chapter 1. Formal Marriage
Chapter 2. Slave Concubinage, Temporary Marriage, and Harem Wives
Chapter 3. Class, Status-Defined Homosexuality, and Rituals of Courtship

Part II. Toward a Westernized Modernity

Chapter 4. On the Road to an Ethos of Monogamous, Heterosexual Marriage
Chapter 5. Redefining Purity, Unveiling Bodies, and Shifting Desires
Chapter 6. Imperialist Politics, Romantic Love, and the Impasse over Women’s Suffrage
Chapter 7. Suffrage, Marriage Reforms, and the Threat of Female Sexuality
Chapter 8. The Rise of Leftist Guerrilla Organizations and Islamist Movements

Part III. Forging an Islamist Modernity and Beyond

Chapter 9. The Islamic Revolution, Its Sexual Economy, and the Left
Chapter 10. Islamist Women and the Emergence of Islamic Feminism
Chapter 11. Birth Control, Female Sexual Awakening, and the Gay Lifestyle
Conclusion: Toward a New Muslim-Iranian Sexuality for the Twenty-First Century

Foucault and the Iranian Revolution: Gender and the Seductions of Islamism

olibroman — Sat, 25 Jun 2005 07:00:49 +0000

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 Nouvel Observateur. 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.

The Iranian Constitutional Revolution, 1906-1911

olibroman — Mon, 15 Apr 1996 07:00:37 +0000

A thoroughly researched and highly detailed account of the formation of Iran’s first constitution, ratified on December 30, 1906, just a week before the death of Muzffar al-Din Shah. — Choice

“The Iranian Constitutional Revolution, 1906-1911″ Adds significantly to the recent body of excellent work on the important and exciting story of Iran’s first twentieth-century revolution. Particularly in her discussion of neglected groups and classes, including women, peasants, and workers, Afary sheds major new light on their role in this epochal event, an event which is key to the understanding of twentieth-century Iranian and world history. — Nikki Keddie, University of California, Los Angeles

The Iranian Constitutional Revolution, 1906-1911 (Persian)

olibroman — Mon, 01 Jan 1990 19:00:58 +0000

In Iran: Qoqnoos Press
Tel: 66408640
Email: qoqnoosp@yahoo.com