The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran

by Assal H Rad

While the Iranian nation-state has long captivated the attention of our media and politics, this book examines a country that is often misunderstood and explores forgotten aspects of the debate. Using innovative multi-disciplinary methods, it investigates the formation of an Iranian national identity over the last century and, significantly, the role of Iranian people in defining the contours of that identity. By employing popular culture as an archive of study, Assal Rad aims to rediscover the ordinary Iranian in studies of contemporary Iran, demonstrating how identity was shaped by music, literature, and film. Both accessible in style and meticulously researched, Rad's work cultivates a more holistic picture of Iranian politics, policy, and society, showing how the Iran of the past is intimately connected to that of the present.

Genres: Iran, Nonfiction, History, Middle East

ebook

Published August 18, 2022

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. I loved the Trouillot, public history, and Farhadi in particular. The work’s organization to the argument and multi-faceted approach made it strong, nuanced, and accessible even for folks not steeped in the historiography. Well done!

[R]

does a good job on iran which is maybe top 5 most interesting countries in the world.
hist 307 to die for