Iranian Identity and Cosmopolitanism: Spheres of Belonging

Description

Since cosmopolitanism has often been conceived as a tenet of 'Western civilization' that emanates from its Enlightenment-based origins in a humanist age of modernity, Iranian Identity and Cosmopolitanism: Spheres of Belonging advances a highly innovative gesture by contemplating the implications and relevance of the idea in a so-called non-Western cultural territory. The particularities of the Iranian and Islamic context shed new light on advancements and obstacles to cosmopolitan praxis. The volume provides four principle disciplinary assessments of cosmopolitanism: philosophy, political science, sociology, and cultural studies,including literary criticism. The authors in this collection critically examine topics including the historical encounter between Iranian and Western thinkers and its impact on Iranian political ideals; the tension between maintaining apolitical-theology rooted in metaphysical assumptions and the prerequisite of secularism in cosmopolitan and democratic philosophies. This highly innovative volume will be of interest to scholars and students of Middle Eastern and Iranian Studies, Islamic Studies, Globalization, Political Science and Philosophy. Cover HalfTitle Series page Title Copyright Contents Series Foreword Notes on Contributors Introduction: Farsi Shekar Ast—Heterogeneity, Disorientation, Cosmopolitanism Once upon a time . . . Placing the accent Home and beyond 1 Iranian Intellectuals and Cosmopolitan Citizenship Introduction: What is cosmopolitan citizenship? Iranian encounters with cosmopolitan citizenship Foroughi as a cosmopolitan intellectual Nativism versus cosmopolitanism New intellectual approaches to cosmopolitan citizenship Conclusion 2 Metaphysics, Secularism, and Cosmopolitan Democracy A critique of the new-Mu’tazilites Nondestructive secularization Postmetaphysical secularism Cosmopolitanism and postnational democracy 3 On the Assumed Dichotomy in the Structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Unbearable Burden of Being an Intellectual The pragmatically secular cosmopolitanism of the “other” Iran The assumed dichotomy: Republicanism and Islamism The unbearable burden of being an intellectual in Iran Conclusion 4 Cosmopolitan Resistance and Territorial Suppression: A Story of Dissidence and the Islamic Republic of Iran Iran or Nariman Fluid power: Resilient conceptual frames Bordered nation-states and borderless capitalism From the “modern-yet-modest” to the “Islamic-thus-modest” Cosmopolitanism or contamination Nation-states and feminine cosmopolitanism “Get them pregnant” 5 Cosmopolitan Violence as Cosmological Reckoning: The Poetics of the Night-raid, the Martyred Body, and the Execution-specta Akhavan-Sales’ lament: The radical outcry of urban fratricide Baraheni’s reversal: The chronicle of the urban prison Shamlu’s dead end: The apocalyptic upheaval of the city The unparalleled subject: When the poet leaves the city glowing 6 Armenians in Iran, or the Limits of Cosmopolitanism 7 Cosmopolitanism: Neither For, Nor Against, to the Contrary Why I write such a bad introduction Better never than late: Philosophy and other fallacies Between a hard rock and mixed metaphors: The logic of transclusion Three options: Shooting arrows or telling the truth Appendix: On Cosmopolitanisms Notes Bibliography Index