TY - CHAP
T1 - Iranian nationalism and the question of race
AU - Ansari, Ali M.
PY - 2017/4/24
Y1 - 2017/4/24
N2 - This chapter argues that the narrative of Aryanism, as a racial construct of superiority, while undoubtedly popular in sections of society, was neither widely supported by the leading ideologues of Iranian nationalism, nor left unchallenged. The critique of Enlightenment 'rationality' accompanied the emergence of Enlightenment ideas to dominance in European intellectual culture through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The fashion for the designation 'Aryan' reflected trends in linguistics that had emerged in Europe and that had subsequently shifted to denote a language group, peoples, common descent and ultimately race. The newspaper Iranshahr (1922-1927), the successor paper to the immensely influential Kaveh (1916-1922), has traditionally been viewed as among the most powerful advocates for a rigorous nationalism bordering on an assumption of racial superiority. Mahmoud Afshar, a leading intellectual and editor of the highly influential journal Ayandeh produced a particularly revealing essay in 1927, "The Problems of Nationhood and the National Unity of Iran".
AB - This chapter argues that the narrative of Aryanism, as a racial construct of superiority, while undoubtedly popular in sections of society, was neither widely supported by the leading ideologues of Iranian nationalism, nor left unchallenged. The critique of Enlightenment 'rationality' accompanied the emergence of Enlightenment ideas to dominance in European intellectual culture through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The fashion for the designation 'Aryan' reflected trends in linguistics that had emerged in Europe and that had subsequently shifted to denote a language group, peoples, common descent and ultimately race. The newspaper Iranshahr (1922-1927), the successor paper to the immensely influential Kaveh (1916-1922), has traditionally been viewed as among the most powerful advocates for a rigorous nationalism bordering on an assumption of racial superiority. Mahmoud Afshar, a leading intellectual and editor of the highly influential journal Ayandeh produced a particularly revealing essay in 1927, "The Problems of Nationhood and the National Unity of Iran".
UR - https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315448800
M3 - Chapter
SN - 9781138213227
T3 - Routledge studies in modern history
SP - 101
EP - 116
BT - Constructing nationalism in Iran
A2 - Litvak, Meir
PB - Routledge Taylor & Francis Group
CY - Abingdon, Oxon
ER -