Foucault in Iran

Foucault in Iran: Islamic Revolution After the Enlightenment is a book by Iranian-born American historian, sociologist, and professor Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi as a groundbreaking reassessment of Michel Foucault's writings specially on the Iranian revolution.^[2][3]

Foucault in Iran: Islamic Revolution After the Enlightenment

Author	Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi
Translator	Sara Zamani (into Persian)
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Muslim International^[1]
Subject	Michel Foucault's opinions on the Iranian revolution
Genre	Political science, History
Publisher	University of Minnesota Press
Pages	272
ISBN	978-0-8166-9949-0
Website	upress.umn.edu

Content

Michel Foucault, on the eve of the victory of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, traveled to Iran twice and in the eight reports he wrote for the Corriere della Sera newspaper, he showed deep sympathy with the revolutionary people of Iran and praised their Islamic revolution. Later, many French intellectuals reprimanded him for being deceived by the Iranian revolution. Foucault did not give an explicit answer to these criticisms, and it was even thought that he implicitly reversed his position in his previous writings about Iran. Little by little, these arguments were forgotten until after September 11 attacks, the previous disputes erupted again and new attacks began against Foucault and his association with the Iranian revolution. Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi rereads these debates in his acclaimed book Foucault in Iran and shows that not only Foucault did not give up his position,^[4] but the experience of the Iranian revolution played an important role in his intellectual evolution.^[5]

In the preface of the work, the author wrote about the reason for compiling the book: "While writing the book, many of my colleagues and critics asked: Why should what Foucault said about the Iranian revolution be important to us? Isn't he another one of those French la-di-da speaking intellectuals who have this colonial habit of prying into other nation's issues? I think these are valid questions. I have not considered this book as a commentary on Foucault's works, rather I found his articles on the Islamic revolution of Iranian to be a wonderful window through which one can look at the revolutionary events of Iran, outside of the discourse frameworks that explain the revolutions."^[6][7]

Reception

The book Foucault in Iran has been the subject of several reviews,^[8][9][10] including review meeting on October 12, 2020, at the National Library of Iran.^[11] Introductions have also been written on this work and the author has been interviewed.^[12][13] Ebrahim Towfigh (Iranian author and sociologist)^[14] said at the review meeting of the book Foucault in Iran: "The book shows that Foucault studied Islam after being involved in the Iranian revolution, and he got an image of Islam influenced by reading the works of Massignon and Corbin, and in a sense especially the works of Shariati, it means a mystical reading of Islam."^[15] So far, many reviews have been written by the Iranian media on the book Foucault in Iran.^{[16][17][18][19][20]}

See also

• Michel Foucault bibliography
• Iran Between Two Revolutions
• History of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution
• The Comprehensive History of Iran
• The Cambridge History of Iran
• Encyclopædia Iranica
• Encyclopaedia Islamica
• Not for the Faint of Heart: Lessons in Courage, Power and Persistence
• The Pragmatic Entente: Israeli-Iranian Relations, 1948-1988

References

1. "Muslim International — University of Minnesota Press". Retrieved August 4, 2022.
2. "ویدئو نشست نقد و بررسی کتاب «فوکو در ایران»" [Video of the review meeting of the book "Foucault in Iran"]. YouTube (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
3. "گزارش نشست نقد فوکو و ایران – مجله عصر فرهنگ" [Report of the Foucault and Iran criticism meeting – Asr Farhang magazine] (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
4. "مروری بر کتاب فوکو در ایران؛ آیا فوکو از موضع خود در قبال انقلاب اسلامی ایران دست کشید؟ – دین آنلاین" [A review of the book "Foucault in Iran"; Did Foucault give up his stance on Iran's Islamic Revolution? – Din online] (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
5. "کتاب فوکو در ایران اثر بهروز قمری تبریزی – ایران کتاب" [The book Foucault in Iran by Behrouz Qamari Tabrizi – Iran Ketab] (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
6. "فوکو تا آخر عمرش مدافع انقلاب اسلامی ماند – خبرگزاری مهر" [Foucault remained a defender of the Islamic Revolution until the end of his life – Mehr News Agency] (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
7. "فوکو تا آخر عمر مدافع انقلاب اسلامی باقی ماند؟ – خبرآنلاین" [Did Foucault remain a defender of the Islamic Revolution until the end of his life? – Khabar Online] (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
8. "Review: Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi, Foucault in Iran: Islamic Revolution after the Enlightenment – Elaheh Mohammadi, 2018". doi:10.1177/0268580918757117a. S2CID 149349266. Retrieved August 4, 2022. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
9. "Jadaliyya – Revisiting 'Foucault in Iran': A Response". Retrieved August 4, 2022.
10. "Foucault in Iran: Against History, Writing a History of the Present" (PDF). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
11. "«فوکو در ایران» با حضور افشین جهاندیده نقد می‌شود – خبرگزاری مهر" ["Foucault in Iran" is criticized with the presence of Afshin Jahandideh – Mehr news agency] (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
12. "روزنامه اعتماد: فوكو از موضع خود برنگشت" [Etamed newspaper: Foucault did not back down from his position] (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
13. "فوكو و انقلاب اسلامی در گفتگو با بهروز قمری تبریزی – مرکز دائرةالمعارف بزرگ اسلامی" [Foucault and the Islamic Revolution in a conversation with Behrouz Qamari Tabrizi – Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia] (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
14. "ابراهیم توفیق نویسنده – ایران کتاب" [Ebrahim Towfigh, the author – Iran Ketab] (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
15. "ملغا کردن تاریخ – روزنامه اعتماد" [Abolition of history – Etemad newspaper] (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
16. "فیلسوفی که سر موضع ماند – وینش" [The philosopher who stayed on the position – Vinesh] (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
17. "ملغا كردن تاريخ – میدان" [Abolition of history – Meidaan] (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
18. "کتاب «فوکو در ایران» نقد می‌شود – پژوهشگاه فرهنگ هنر و ارتباطات" [The book "Foucault in Iran" is criticized – Research Center for Culture, Art and Communication] (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
19. "ایران انقلابی عصیان لحظه‌ها: اجمالی در معرفی کتاب «فوکو در ایران» – مجله کتاب فردا" [Revolutionary Iran, the rebellion of moments: Glimpses in the introduction of the book "Foucault in Iran" – Ketab Farda magazine] (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.
20. "کتاب «فوکو در ایران» نقد شد – مرکز دائرةالمعارف بزرگ اسلامی" [The book "Foucault in Iran" was criticized – The Centre for the Great Islamic Encyclopaedia] (in Persian). Retrieved August 4, 2022.

External links

• Foucault in Iran: Islamic Revolution after the Enlightenment on Google Books
• Foucault in Iran — University of Minnesota Press
• Foucault in Iran: Islamic Revolution after the Enlightenment – Princeton University
• Video: Foucault in Iran: Islamic Revolution after the Enlightenment
• Foucault in Iran: Islamic Revolution after the Enlightenment on JSTOR