Foucault and the Iranian Revolution: Gender and the Seductions of Islamism [Hardcover]

Janet Afary (Author), Kevin B. Anderson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226007855 | ISBN-13: 978-0226007854 | Publication Date: June 20, 2005 | Edition: annotated edition

In 1978, as the protests against the Shah of Iran reached their zenith, philosopher Michel Foucault was working as a special correspondent for Corriere della Sera and le Nouvel Observateur. During his little-known stint as a journalist, Foucault traveled to Iran, met with leaders like Ayatollah Khomeini, and wrote a series of articles on the revolution. Foucault and the Iranian Revolution is the first book-length analysis of these essays on Iran, the majority of which have never before appeared in English. Accompanying the analysis are annotated translations of the Iran writings in their entirety and the at times blistering responses from such contemporaneous critics as Middle East scholar Maxime Rodinson as well as comments on the revolution by feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir.

In this important and controversial account, Janet Afary and Kevin B. Anderson illuminate Foucault's support of the Islamist movement. They also show how Foucault's experiences in Iran contributed to a turning point in his thought, influencing his ideas on the Enlightenment, homosexuality, and his search for political spirituality. Foucault and the Iranian Revolution informs current discussion on the divisions that have reemerged among Western intellectuals over the response to radical Islamism after September 11. Foucault's provocative writings are thus essential for understanding the history and the future of the West's relationship with Iran and, more generally, to political Islam. In their examination of these journalistic pieces, Afary and Anderson offer a surprising glimpse into the mind of a celebrated thinker.

(20050401)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I am very impressed by the authors'' clarity of thought, meticulousness of research, and important insights. Their book''s originality lies in the way it links Foucault''s main ideas to the Iranian revolution, thereby illuminating one through the other. The authors remind us of Foucault''s immense influence in the current debates on Islamism and Iran."--Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran

(Azar Nafisi 20050612)

"Foucault and the Iranian Revolution provides an original and groundbreaking examination of Foucault''s writing on Iran in the context of his intense interrogation of the differences between modern and traditional social orders. Providing a rich dossier containing translations of Foucault''s relatively unknown writings on the Iranian revolution and his critics'' responses, Afary and Anderson provide new insights into Foucault''s work and the ongoing confrontation between the Muslim world and the West."--Douglas Kellner, author of From 9/11 to Terror War: The Dangers of the Bush Legacy

(Douglas Kellner, author of From 9/11 to Terror War 20050815)

"This is an important and extremely timely book. For decades there has been debate, sometimes hushed, sometimes bitter, about Michel Foucault''s celebration of the Iranian revolution. What we have lacked is documentary evidence of what was said, and by whom. Afary and Anderson have provided an immense service by translating the relevant writings by Foucault and, more significantly, his critics. The story that emerges from the translations and the thoughtful, measured analysis of them is gripping."--Mark Lilla, author of The Reckless Mind: Intellectuals in Politics

(Mark Lilla, author of The Reckless Mind: Intellectuals in Politics )

"This book, which contains the first full translation of Foucault''s articles on the Iranian revolution, is essential reading for his political positions in general and his conception of power, as well as for his sexual politics."--Fredric Jameson, author of Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism

(Fredric Jameson )

"Laser-like . . . in their brilliant unraveling of Foucault''s Iranian moment, Afary and Anderson seek to guard us more generally from accepting what we do not know simply out of repugnance for what we do."—Bookforum

(BOOKFORUM )

"The authors'' analysis of Foucault''s journalistic impressions sheds light on a presumed resistance to the material body of the West. . . . insightful . . ."--Library Journal

(Library Journal )

"[Foucault''s] dispatches--now fully available in translation--shed some light on the illusions of intellectuals in our own time. . . .at a time when religion is resurgent in politics and Western liberals are divided between interventionists and anti-imperialists, Foucault''s particular blend of blindness and insight about the Islamists remains instructive. The authors dissect the shortcuts and evasions that led Foucault into his distinctive stance."--Boston Globe

(Wesley Yang Boston Globe )

"The whole of Foucault''s Iranian journalism--a total of fifteen articles and interviews--was republished in France in 1994 as part of a four-volume anthology of his occasional writings. Ever since then, French critics have made the most of his ''error'' over Islamism, and some of them sought to implicate him in the attacks on Washington and New York in 2001. In the English-speaking world, however, the Iranian writings have hitherto been ignored; but the anomaly is now being put right with some authority by Janet Afary and Kevin B. Anderson. In Foucault and the Iranian Revolution, they tell the full story of Foucault''s sudden induction into the journalist''s trade and his contacts with exiles in Paris and rebels in Iran, concluding with an appendix of 100 pages comprising translations of Foucault''s articles, together with some of the reactions they provoked, copiously annotated and explained. One could hardly have asked for more."--Nation

(Jonathan Ree The Nation )

"The publication of this book is a major event in the world of Foucault scholarship, and it can be expected to generate a torrent of discussion, debate, reconsideration, and intellectual fireworks. Foucault''s adventure in geopolitical journalism provoked considerable controversy at the time. In unearthing that controversy and forcing us to revisit it, Afary and Anderson''s book is certain to evoke the same passions and push the same buttons that surfaced during the original dust-up, because the issues at the heart of the debate are still very much with us."

(The Common Review )

"Those interested in contemporary social theory in general and Foucault in particular will be well-served by Afary''s and Anderson''s critical treatment. But in the end, the book''s wider relevance lies in the way that they are able to problematise the political elements of postmodern thought. . . . Today when rational left politics has been on the defensive in the midst of rising conservatism in the developed west and the emergence of fundamentalisms of different stripes in the developing world, Afary''s and Anderson''s analysis takes on a special, indeed urgent relevance for our times."

(Democratiya )

"Foucault and the Iranian Revolution presents a concise and accurate account of Foucault''s philosophy in clear and translucent language. The book also provides many helpful and meticulous oberservations about the Iranian Revolution and its historical antecedents. Readers with little or no background will learn about important subjects in Foucault''s philosophy, Christian theology, Shi''i theology, and Iranian history. This book is one of the most important recent contributions to Foucauldian studies and will also contribute to a better understanding of the Iranian Revolution."--BBC Persian.com

(BBCPersian.com )

"An insightful look at how Foucault''s experiences in Iran influenced his ideas on the Enlightenment, homosexuality, and his search for political spirituality."

(Middle East Journal )

"Afary and Andeson''s book will certainly reopem debate on a very interesting moment in Foucault''s life and work, and should lead to reconsiderations of some of the most difficult, yet most important, political and social questions of this time."

(Eric A. Wolfe Magill's Literary Annual )

"[Foucault''s] insights into the role of Islam in modernizing societies remain relevant today."

(Pankaj Mishra New York Review of Books )

"This work offers an important contribution to the Foucault and religion debate, because it opens up the central issues of pre-modern and modern critical consciousness and the place of religion in our modern political worlds."

(Jeremy Carrette Journal of Religion )

"Afary and Anderson have done an important sevice to the scholarly community by publishing this book. Foucault''s essays on the Iranian Revolution are critical reading for anyone interested in Foucault''s politics, the general question of revolution, or the specific subject of Iran."

(Norma Claire Moruzzi International Journal of Middle East Studies )

"Afary and Anderson assign a deeper cause to Foucault''s persistent misreading of the Khomeini revolution: His deep disdain for women. . . . Till now, most students of Foucault have treated the Maitre''s yearnings as an odd, embarrassing, but ultimately trivial derogation from his great contributions to modern thought. Afary and Anderson have restored them to the place that Foucault himself believed they occupied: the very center."

(David Frum National Review Online )

"Foucault''s essays on the Iranian Revolution are critical reading for anyone interested in Foucault''s politics, the general question of revolution, or the specific subject of Iran. Despite our differences of interpretation, I welcome Afary and Aderson''s important contribution to the debates on these subjects."

(Norma Claire Maruzzi International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies )

From the Inside Flap

Philosopher Michel Foucault was working as a special correspondent for Corriere della Sera and Le Nouvel Observateur in 1978 when the protests against the shah of Iran reached their zenith. During this little-known stint as a journalist, Foucault traveled to Iran, met with leaders like Ayatollah Khomeini, and wrote a series of articles on the revolution. Foucault and the Iranian Revolution is the first book-length analysis of these essays on Iran, the majority of which have never before appeared in English. These provocative writings, included here in their entirety as annotated translations, are essential for understanding the history and the future of the West's relationship with Iran and, more generally, to political Islam.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; annotated edition edition (June 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226007855
• ISBN-13: 978-0226007854
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,297,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A deeply mistaken account of Foucault's interpretation of Iran, June 22, 2005

By 

Todd May - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Foucault and the Iranian Revolution: Gender and the Seductions of Islamism (Paperback)

This book has three elements. A full third is a compilation of Foucault's writings and interviews on Iran. It is a valuable addition to the Foucault literature. Second, there is a historical recounting of Islamism as it pertains to the Iranian revolution. I do not have the expertise to comment on this. The third element, which frames the book, is an extended argument that in Foucault's reading of the Iranian revolution his own larger philosophical perspective is revealed. This element, which I do have expertise in, is comically bad.

The authors claim that Foucault values traditional forms of life over modern ones, and thus embraces (like the radical Islamists) a return to the past. In order to make their case, the authors resort to three strategies. First, they neglect Foucault's own statements about his writings. For instance, the authors insist that he saw ancient Greek sexual life as superior to ours, which Foucault explicitly denies. Second, they engage in egregious misinterpretation. For example, they read Foucault's book on the prisons as a plea for earlier forms of punishment. The first few pages of the prison book, detailing the excruciating torture of an attempted regicide, should be enough to convince anyone of the paucity of that interpretation. Finally, they misread Foucault's own sentences, in one case (p. 16) citing a long quote and then interpreting it as meaning something opposed to what it actually says.

Foucault insisted throughout his life that his work sought to deny the view that history naturally progresses from the worse to the better. The authors seem to think that this means that his view of history was that it moved from the better to the worse. It is harder to imagine a more fundamental mistake in the interpretation of Foucault's work.

All of this is unfortunate, particularly since Foucault, normally an astute observer of events, sorely misread the Iranian revolution. This requires explanation. The authors have provided the resources on which to base such an explanation. However, given their inability to understand even the basics of Foucault's work, the explanation itself will have to await another book.

31 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Contribution to Critical Theory, June 30, 2005

By 

John Sanbonmatsu (Somerville, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Foucault and the Iranian Revolution: Gender and the Seductions of Islamism (Paperback)

"Foucault and the Iranian Revolution" is by far the most important contribution to critical theory, and to Foucault studies, in years. Coming at a time of a deepening crisis in world politics as well as political philosophy, when the secular liberal ideal is dying and religious fundamentalisms of various stripes--Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Hindu--feed like bacteria on its still moving, breathing corpse, Afary and Anderson's book offers a refreshingly sober and expansive view of the contradictions and aporias of contemporary critical theory. Concentrating on a neglected moment in Foucault's career as a journalist and political commentator, the authors amass a wealth of fascinating details, old and new, to show how Foucault's credulity toward (and even sympathies with) the most reactionary and illiberal elements of the Iranian Revolution, far from being an anomaly or sudden lapse of judgment, was instead the logical outgrowth of his own idiosyncratic theories about modernity, social movements, history, and knowledge. As the authors write: "Foucault's Orientalist impressions of the Muslim world, his selective reading and representation of Greco-Roman texts, and his hostility to modernity and its technologies of the body, led him to prefer the more traditional Islamic/Mediterranean culture to the modern culture of the West."

In short, Foucault was drawn to the radical Islamism of the Ayatollah Khomeini--rather than to the feminist and socialist forces who had helped overthrow the despised Shah--precisely because of his aversion to all modern political institutions and norms, whether liberal or radical. Islamism, which had the appearance of pure, romantic fusion or unity in the will of the people (in essence, an Iranian version of Rousseau's general will), seemed to link the Shi'ite past with a present revolutionary Now. Ironically, just as an unreflexive, orthodox Marxism had blinded an earlier generation of "fellow travelers" to Stalinism, Foucault's own anti-Marxism and anti-feminism--his refusal to identify either with the socialist tradition or with women's liberation--made him blind to the authoritarian strain within Islamism. Although Foucault's defenders, and there are many today, will deny that the great French theorist had any flaws as a social critic, what comes through in Afary and Anderson's narrative is the portrait of an intellectual whose own political isolation and personal arrogance made him susceptible to the worst kind of idealism.

The poststructuralist revolution in theoretical thought, which Foucault more than any other thinker helped lead, has done serious damage to our ability both to comprehend the meaning of historical events and to render sound moral and political judgments concerning their meaning. This, to me, is the implicit lesson of Afary and Anderson's important and indispensable book. This, and the authors' own exemplary conduct as theorists and historians: by scrupulously avoiding polemic, complicating our view of Islam, and maintaining a moral center in their narrative, the authors remind us that, by reaffirming its socialist feminist roots, critical or radical theory can yet serve as an antidote both to Western imperialism on one side and Islamism (or apologia for Islamism) on the other. "Foucault and the Iranian Revolution" is therefore must reading for anyone interested in the state of theory, or the state of the world.

4 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great at pointing out Foucault's porblematic political turn, January 9, 2007

By 

Laurie Louise Rojas (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Foucault and the Iranian Revolution: Gender and the Seductions of Islamism (Paperback)

It is an absolute introduction to understanding the events that shaped the Iranian Revolution (as a revolution from the Right) and the relationship that Foucault's arguments have to international political sphere.