to
Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Room 10
About
In this presentation, looking back to the build-up to Iran’s 1979 revolution, I will read the political thought of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), Frantz Fanon (1925-1961) and Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) through the eyes of the Iranian revolutionary thinker Jalal Al-e Ahmad (1923-1969). In so doing, I will explore the connections that link these diverse thinkers to Al-e Ahmad, as well as to each other. Focussing on Al-e Ahmad’s engagement with (1) Gandhi’s critique of colonial modernity, (2) Fanon’s critique of colonial violence, and (3) Gramsci’s views on the role of the intellectual, I show how the revolutionary political thought of Al-e Ahmad was inherently cosmopolitan despite its apparent preoccupation with more localised concerns. Reading Gandhi, Fanon and Gramsci through the lens of Al-e Ahmad in this way allows us to uncover the transnational connections that interlink diverse thinkers, underlining their shared world-making project. Bearing in mind these global connections, it is also interesting to reflect on the legacies of Iranian revolutionary ideals in the post-revolutionary period, and their potential relevance to current protests.
Bio
Dr Evaleila Pesaran is a Fellow and Senior College Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge. Her research explores the politics of domination and resistance in modern Iran, with a particular focus on ideas of economic independence, the theory and practice of anti-imperialism, and relations between state and society. She is the author of Iran’s Struggle for Economic Independence: Reform and Counter-Reform in the Post-Revolutionary Era (London, 2011) as well as publications in Iranian Studies and the Review of International Studies.