Also available in paperback as "Modernist and Fundamentalist Debates in Islam"During the second half of the nineteenth century, a group of prominent Muslim theologians began to critically examine classical conceptions and methods of jurisprudence and devised a new approach to Islamic theology. This new approach was nothing short of an outright rebellion against Islamic orthodoxy, displaying an astonishing compatibility with nineteenth century Enlightenment-era thought. In the 20th century this modernist movement declined, to be replaced by another cultural episode, characterized by the...

The work of Nizami Ganjavi, a classical poet of the twelfth century, is fueling new cultural debate in Iran in recent years. The dominant discourse encourages the reading of the texts in light of biographical or theological conventions and religious motives. These essays explore Nizami s influential role and his portrayal of issues related to love, women, and science, stressing his preoccupation with the art of speech as a major impetus behind his literary activity.

Through several groundbreaking critical articles on the question of poetic modernity in Persian new verse, this book focuses on the life and works of Nima Yushij (1887-1960), a major modernist Iranian poet. The articles situate Nima's life firmly within the context of early 20th century Iranian history. They are framed by a brief introduction in which the various contributions are related to each other and to various trends in poetic modernism in the Persian language, and a bibliography that lists all of Nima's works and the major studies of his life and work, both in Persian and in various...

For more than a century Iran s social, political, and cultural history has been defined by a struggle toward or away from modernity. In this book Talatoff makes a compelling argument that, despite revolutionary upheaval, the ideals of modernity remain remote due to the absence of a modern notion of sexuality. He illustrates his assertion through the life of Shahrzad, a celebrated stage and screen actress, dancer, journalist, and published poet who eventually became imprisoned and later homeless in the streets of Tehran. Tracing her career along with other pre-revolutionary women artists,...

Critical approaches to the study of topics related to Persian literature and Iranian culture have evolved in recent decades. The essays included in this volume collectively demonstrate the most recent creative approaches to the study of the Persian language, literature, and culture, and the way these methodologies have progressed academic debate.

Topics covered include; culture, cognition, history, the social context of literary criticism, the problematics of literary modernity, and the issues of writing literary history. More specifically, authors explore the nuances of...

This book illustrates that if Nizami's works are not considered merely theological manifestoes, it will not only be possible to explore his influential role and his portrayal of issues related to love, women, and science, but also to prove his preoccupation with the art of speech as a major impetus behind his literary activity.