Iran and the Surrounding World Interactions in Culture and Cultural Politics by Nikki Keddie and Rudi Matthee, eds. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2002. 393 pages.)

Abstract

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, nineteenthcentury
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) ...