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During recent years, attempts have been made to move beyond the Eurocentric perspective that characterized the social sciences, especially anthropology, for over 150 years. A debate on the “anthropology of anthropology” was needed, one that would consider other forms of knowledge, modalities of writing, and political and intellectual practices. This volume undertakes that challenge: it is the result of discussions held at the first organized encounter between Iranian, American, and European anthropologists since the Iranian Revolution of 1979. It is considered an important first step in overcoming the dichotomy between “peripheral anthropologies” versus “central anthropologies.” The contributors examine, from a critical perspective, the historical, cultural, and political field in which anthropological research emerged in Iran at the beginning of the twentieth century and in which it continues to develop today.
“…the authors have put forward an urgent case for making Iranian anthropology a credible contributor to the production of disciplinary knowledge…this volume highly informative. It provides an impetus for the collectivity of Iranian anthropologists to start reflecting within multiple spaces and in broader frames on the history and the present-day development of the discipline in Iran.” · Anthropology of the Middle East
“The revolution provided a cusp that allowed “the anthropology in and of Iran” to accentuate the transition from the age of postcolonialism to the age of globalization and anthropology’s accommodation of that transition. This book is also important for the number of references it provides to postrevolutionary publications that have escaped other bibliographies.” · International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
“In all, these useful and informative articles assess the status of anthropology of/in Iran realistically, even candidly… [They] reflect the cautiously optimistic attitude at the time of the conference, a hopefulness that meanwhile has withered…[and] illustrate the difficulties of transplanting a young social science based on humanism and curiosity (rather than pragmatism) to a society that is distrustful of intellectual pursuits deemed as potentially dangerous to an authoritarian state.” · Anthropos
“The authors present an incisive and illuminating overview of Iranian anthropology…Despite [considerable] difficulties, the authors uniformly demonstrate a reflexive, ethically responsible, and politically aware anthropology and offer valuable insights about the greater emphasis on problem-focused research by Iranian anthropologists and the potential for a valuable future role for applied anthropology in Iran.” · Choice
“This book… is certainly an indispensable tool for anyone interested in anthropological research on the country. Essays are accompanied by bibliographies that often contain hidden or forgotten treasures. A comprehensive bibliography of anthropological studies of Iran in English collated by Hegland completes the book.” · JRAI
Introduction
Shahnaz R. Nadjmabadi
PART I: FROM FOLKLORE TO ANTHROPOLOGY: THE PASSAGE
Chapter 1. The Contribution of Foreign Anthropologists to Iranology
Ali A. Bulookbashi
Chapter 2. Storytelling as a Constituent of Popular Culture: Folk Narrative Research in Contemporary Iran
Ulrich Marzolph
Chapter 3. Iranian Anthropology – Crossing Boundaries: Influences of Modernization, Social Transformation and Globalization
Mary Elaine Hegland
PART II: VOICES FROM WITHIN: INSTITUTIONS AND PROFESSIONS
Chapter 4. Anthropology in Post-revolutionary Iran
Nematollah Fazeli
Chapter 5. Making and Remaking an Academic Tradition: Towards an Indigenous Anthropology in Iran
Nasser Fakouhi
Chapter 6. Iranian Anthropologists Are Women
Soheila Shahshahani
PART III: ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE: CONSTRAINTS AND POSSIBILITIES
Chapter 7. Applied Anthropology in Iran?
Jean-Pierre Digard
Chapter 8. Past Experiences and Future Perspectives of an Indigenous Anthropologist on Anthropological Work in Iran
Mohammad Shahbazi
Chapter 9. Anthropological Research in Iran
Lois Beck
Chapter 10. Being from There: Dilemmas of a ‘Native Anthropologist’
Ziba Mir-Hosseini
PART IV: PAST AND PRESENT PERSPECTIVES: CHALLENGING THE FUTURE
Chapter 11. Usual Topics: Taboo Themes and New Objects in Iranian Anthropology
Christian Bromberger
Chapter 12. Islamophobia and Malaise in Anthropology
Fariba Adelkhah
Chapter 13. Personal Reflections on Anthropology of and in Iran
Richard Tapper
Select Bibliography
Notes on Contributors
Index