Intellectual discourse and the politics of modernization : negotiating modernity in Iran /
Mirsepassi, Ali,
Intellectual discourse and the politics of modernization : negotiating modernity in Iran / Intellectual discourse and the politics of modernisation Intellectual discourse and the politics of modernisation : Negotiating modernity in Iran Ali Mirsepassi. - xiv, 227 pages ; 24 cm. - Cambridge cultural social studies . - Cambridge cultural social studies. .
Includes bibliographical references (pages 216-223) and index.
Acknowledgments -- Introduction: modernity and "culture" -- Western narratives of modernity -- Orientalism and the Occidentalist discontent -- Montesquieu's Persian Letters -- Hegel: the colonization of world history -- Karl Marx: the materialist narrative of modernity -- The "popularization" of the Islamic Other -- Reconciling with the West's Other -- The Mashruteh movement: reconciliation through capitulation -- The crisis of secularism and the rise of political Islam -- The decline of democratic secularism (1941-53) -- Modernization and its discontent -- The politicization of Shi'ism -- Reform in Shi'i institutions -- Islam as a modernizing ideology: Al-e Ahmad and Shari'ati -- Al-e Ahmad: "return" to the "roots" -- Ali Shari'ati: Islamic ideology as an authentic discourse -- German intellectuals and the culture of modernity -- The German context -- The "discourse of authenticity" in Friedrich Nietzsche and Ernst Junger -- Martin Heidegger -- The tragedy of the Iranian Left -- A brief history of socialist movements -- The Revolution and the Left -- The social bases and composition of the Left -- Critiques of the Left -- A response to the critiques -- Modernities of our time -- The "Islamic mind" -- Modernization and the survival of cultures -- Predicament of secularism -- Theoretical and political implications -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
"In this thought-provoking study, Ali Mirsepassi explores the concept of modernity, exposing the Eurocentric prejudices and hostility to non-Western culture that have characterized its development. Focusing on the Iranian experience of modernity, he charts its political and intellectual history and develops a new interpretation of Islamic Fundamentalism through the detailed analysis of the ideas of key Islamic intellectuals. The author argues that the Iranian Revolution was not a simple clash between modernity and tradition but an attempt to accommodate modernity within a sense of authentic Islamic identity, culture and historical experience. He concludes by assessing the future of secularism and democracy in the Middle East in general, and in Iran in particular. A significant contribution to the literature on modernity, social change and Islamic Studies, this book will be essential reading for scholars and students of social theory and change, Middle Eastern Studies, Cultural Studies and many related areas."--Publisher description.
0521650003 9780521650007
99049057
Politics and culture--Iran
Islam and politics--Iran
Islam and secularism--Iran
Iran--Politics and government--20th century
DS316.6 / .M57 2000
955.05
Intellectual discourse and the politics of modernization : negotiating modernity in Iran / Intellectual discourse and the politics of modernisation Intellectual discourse and the politics of modernisation : Negotiating modernity in Iran Ali Mirsepassi. - xiv, 227 pages ; 24 cm. - Cambridge cultural social studies . - Cambridge cultural social studies. .
Includes bibliographical references (pages 216-223) and index.
Acknowledgments -- Introduction: modernity and "culture" -- Western narratives of modernity -- Orientalism and the Occidentalist discontent -- Montesquieu's Persian Letters -- Hegel: the colonization of world history -- Karl Marx: the materialist narrative of modernity -- The "popularization" of the Islamic Other -- Reconciling with the West's Other -- The Mashruteh movement: reconciliation through capitulation -- The crisis of secularism and the rise of political Islam -- The decline of democratic secularism (1941-53) -- Modernization and its discontent -- The politicization of Shi'ism -- Reform in Shi'i institutions -- Islam as a modernizing ideology: Al-e Ahmad and Shari'ati -- Al-e Ahmad: "return" to the "roots" -- Ali Shari'ati: Islamic ideology as an authentic discourse -- German intellectuals and the culture of modernity -- The German context -- The "discourse of authenticity" in Friedrich Nietzsche and Ernst Junger -- Martin Heidegger -- The tragedy of the Iranian Left -- A brief history of socialist movements -- The Revolution and the Left -- The social bases and composition of the Left -- Critiques of the Left -- A response to the critiques -- Modernities of our time -- The "Islamic mind" -- Modernization and the survival of cultures -- Predicament of secularism -- Theoretical and political implications -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
"In this thought-provoking study, Ali Mirsepassi explores the concept of modernity, exposing the Eurocentric prejudices and hostility to non-Western culture that have characterized its development. Focusing on the Iranian experience of modernity, he charts its political and intellectual history and develops a new interpretation of Islamic Fundamentalism through the detailed analysis of the ideas of key Islamic intellectuals. The author argues that the Iranian Revolution was not a simple clash between modernity and tradition but an attempt to accommodate modernity within a sense of authentic Islamic identity, culture and historical experience. He concludes by assessing the future of secularism and democracy in the Middle East in general, and in Iran in particular. A significant contribution to the literature on modernity, social change and Islamic Studies, this book will be essential reading for scholars and students of social theory and change, Middle Eastern Studies, Cultural Studies and many related areas."--Publisher description.
0521650003 9780521650007
99049057
Politics and culture--Iran
Islam and politics--Iran
Islam and secularism--Iran
Iran--Politics and government--20th century
DS316.6 / .M57 2000
955.05