“AT LEAST one thing hasn’t changed”, remarked a Tehran University professor who had recently returned to work after several years. “The faculty still gossips terribly.” But under President Hassan Rouhani bigger changes on Iran’s leading campus—and perhaps in universities elsewhere—may also be on the way.One sign of this was the recent sacking of Tehran University’s conservative chancellor. Appointed in 2008 by Mr Rouhani’s populist predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he had overseen the expulsion of independent-minded students and academics, promoting mediocre yes-men and stifling the intellectual atmosphere.Since his departure, things have loosened up. Last month over 1,000 students gathered to hear a lecture by Immanuel Wallerstein, an 83-year-old, left-wing American sociologist. Widely translated into Persian, he is respected across Iran’s intellectual spectrum, albeit under various interpretations. For some, he is a herald of America’s decline, affirming Iran’s official narrative. For others, he still represents America, even if he challenges the global status quo.In the early years of this century, under the presidency of Muhammad Khatami, Western intellectuals...
From The Economist: Middle East and Africa
No comments:
Post a Comment