Description
A social history of modern Iran 'from below' focused on subaltern groups and contextualised by developments within Middle Eastern and global history.
About the Author
Stephanie Cronin is Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali Research Fellow at St Antony's College and is a member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. She is the author and editor of multiple books and journal articles on Middle Eastern and Iranian history including Crime, Poverty and Survival in the Middle East and North Africa: The 'Dangerous Classes' Since 1800 (2019), Armies and State-building in the Modern Middle East: Politics, Nationalism and Military Reform (2013), Soldiers, Shahs and Subalterns in Iran: Opposition, Protest and Revolt, 1921-1941 (2010) and Reformers and Revolutionaries in Modern Iran: New Perspectives on the Iranian Left (2004).
Reviews
'Cronin combines her detailed knowledge of social history of Iran and the Middle East with new readings of E. P. Thompson, Eric Hobsbawm, and Michel Foucault. The result is a remarkably fresh look at the history of the Middle east and diaspora, where events that happened in the region, whether bread riots or campaigns for unveiling, cease to be explicable only by the history of that nation, and become instead one example of a much bigger global story.' Janet Afary, University of California, Santa Barbara
'In this most exciting study of social history of Iran, Cronin provides a masterful comparative contextual framework for understanding how social change, and exchange, takes place and exposes the international pressure points impacting the complex processes of change in social relations. Packed with historical insights and deep theoretical reflections, in this book Cronin displays her profound knowledge of the processes of social change as experienced by vulnerable communities.' Anoush Ehteshami, Durham University
'Scholarship on the history of the Middle East tends to be state centered, urban concentrated and elite driven. Cronin breaks with that habit. Using an array of sources, Cronin opens a panoramic window into the lives of those who were both (neglected) victims and agents of change in Iran and the wider Middle East. A model for future research on Middle Eastern societies beyond high nationalism, this is an innovative and theoretically sophisticated book.' Rudolph Matthee, University of Delaware
'Cronin de-centers elites and national borders to write layered, interconnected, and expansive social histories on topics ranging from abolitionism in the Middle East to the 1979 Iranian revolution. This book exemplifies the power of a global framework of analysis when applied thoughtfully and with erudition.' Naghmeh Sohrabi, Brandeis University
'Every chapter is rich in detail, supplemented by footnotes that serve as a wonderful guide to the social history literature in Persian and English, and a 28-page bibliography. The introductory chapter is an excellent, detailed summary of the book's theses. Recommended.' P. Clawson, Choice
Book Information
ISBN 9781316641255
Author Stephanie Cronin
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 480g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 151mm * 19mm