Representing post-revolutionary Iran : captivity, neo-orientalism, and resistance in Iranian-American life writing

thirdparty websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes. ## Acknowledgement This book would not have been possible without the encouragement and contribution of those whose support kept me going during the process. I am most grateful to my wife, Sara, for her unwavering support. Had it not been for her love and understanding, this book might have never come to conclusion. In writing this book, I have benefited from the scholarly contribution of my colleagues at the University of Canterbury. I am forever indebted to Professor Paul Millar, whose friendship has been nothing short of a privilege for me. Drs. Nicholas Wright and Daniel Bedggood provided prompt and insightful feedback on the manuscript; for this, and for all their succor and support, I cannot thank them enough. I am grateful to Dr. Maureen Montgomery for her constructive comments on the second chapter of this book and for all her other contributions. ## The late Professor Howard McNaughton also offered valuable feedback on the second chapter. Requiescat in pace! Professor Hossein Pirnajmuddin remained as true a friend and mentor during the process of writing this book as he has always been, and Amir Khadem was always there, his encouragement and support as nourishing as ever. I am also genuinely grateful to Rory Gormley and Yasmin Garcha at Bloomsbury for all their help, feedback, and patience from the very first contact through to the publication of the book. Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all family members, friends, and colleagues who, in one way or another, have either contributed to this project or made life a bit easier in hectic times. God bless them all. Memoirs of diasporic Iranian-American authors are a unique and culturally powerful way in which Iran, its politics, and people are understood in the USA and the rest of the world. This book offers an analysis of the processes of production, promotion, and reception of the representations of post-revolutionary Iran. The book provides new perspectives on some of the most famous examples of the genre such as Betty Mahmoody's Not Without My Daughter, Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books, and Fatemeh Keshavarz's Jasmine and Stars: Reading More Than Lolita in Tehran. Hossein Nazari places these texts in their social, historical, and political contexts, tracing their origins within the trope of the American captivity narrative, teasing out and critiquing neo-Orientalist tendencies within, and finally focusing on modes of discursive resistance to neo-Orientalist narratives. The book analyzes the structural means by which stereotypes about Islam and women in the Islamic Republic in these narratives are privileged by news media and the creative industries, while also charting a growing number of 'counterhegemonic' memoirs which challenge these narratives by representing more nuanced accounts of life in Iran after 1979. Memoirs of diasporic Iranian-American authors are a unique and culturally powerful way in which Iran, its politics and people are understood in the USA and the rest of the world. This book offers an analysis of the processes of production, promotion, and reception of these representations of post-revolutionary Iran. The book provides new perspectives on famous examples of the genre such as Betty Mahmoody's "Not Without My Daughter", Azar Nafisi's "Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books", and Fatemeh Keshavarz's "Jasmine and Stars: Reading More than Lolita in Tehran". Hossein Nazari places these texts in their social and political contexts, tracing their origins within the trope of the American captivity narrative as well as teasing out and critiquing neo-Orientalist tendencies within. The book analyzes the structural means by which stereotypes about Islam and women in the Islamic Republic in these narratives are privileged by news media and the creative industries, while also charting a growing number of 'counterhegemonic' memoirs which challenge these narratives by representing more nuanced accounts of life in Iran after 1979. "Memoirs of diasporic Iranian-American authors are a unique and culturally powerful way in which Iran, its politics and people are understood in the USA and the rest of the world. This book offers an analysis of the processes of production, promotion, and reception of these representations of post-revolutionary Iran. The book provides new perspectives on famous examples of the genre such as Betty Mahmoody's Not Without My Daughter , Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Hossein Nazari places these texts in their social and political contexts, tracing their origins within the trope of the America captivity narrative as well as teasing out and critiquing neo-Orientalist tendencies within. The book analyzes the structural means by which stereotypes about Islam and women in the Islamic Republic in these narratives are privileged by news media and the creative industries, while also charting a growing number of 'counterhegemonic' memoirs which challenge these narratives by representing more nuanced accounts of life in Iran after 1979"-- Provided by publisher Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Chapter 1: Introduction: Iran in Western Imaginary Chapter 2: Not without My Daughter: The Mother of Neo-Orientalist Bestsellers Chapter 3: Reading Lolita in Tehran: Manufacturing Muslim Lolitas for the West Chapter 4: Sighting Persian Stars in the Western Sky: The Dawn of a Discourse of Resistance in Jasmine and Stars Chapter 5: Toward an Ambivalent Future Notes Bibliography Index