Vorwort
Explores national identity formation and popular culture in post-revolutionary Iran to enable a better understanding of contemporary Iran.

Autorentext
Assal Rad received her PhD in Middle Eastern history from the University of California, Irvine, and currently works on USIran policy. She has written for Newsweek, the Independent, Foreign Policy, and more, and appeared on BBC World, BBC Persian, Al Jazeera, and NPR.

Klappentext

While the Iranian nation-state has long captivated the attention of our media and politics, this book examines a country that is often misunderstood and explores forgotten aspects of the debate. Using innovative multi-disciplinary methods, it investigates the formation of an Iranian national identity over the last century and, significantly, the role of Iranian people in defining the contours of that identity. By employing popular culture as an archive of study, Assal Rad aims to rediscover the ordinary Iranian in studies of contemporary Iran, demonstrating how identity was shaped by music, literature, and film. Both accessible in style and meticulously researched, Rad's work cultivates a more holistic picture of Iranian politics, policy, and society, showing how the Iran of the past is intimately connected to that of the present.

Zusammenfassung
Exploring popular culture and national identity in post-revolutionary Iran, this accessible and innovative book based on multi-disciplinary research methods offers further insights into Iranian identity, politics, and US-Iran relations in contemporary Iran.

Inhalt
List of Figures; Acknowledgments; Note on Transliteration; 1. Introduction; 2. The Foreign Shah and the Failure of Pahlavi Nationalism; 3. The Islamic Republic and Its Culture of Resistance; 4. Iranian Identity and Popular Music; 5. Media and the Struggle Over Representation; 6. Conclusion; Epilogue; Bibliography; Index.