GlobIS Review, Volume 1, Issue 2

Editorial Note: Why Academic Freedom?

This issue of the Global Iranian Studies Review examines recent scholarship on Iranian universities through the lens of academic freedom. Under President Ebrahim Raisi (2021-2024), universities faced intensified political and ideological attacks…

Organizing at Universities and Unfolding Revolution in Iran

Azam Khatam

This article provides an overview of the available materials on the Iran’s National Organization of University Professors (NOUP) and a summary of my interviews with three founders and members of the organization…

“What to do with universities?”: A Defence through a Positivist Lens

University and Revolution in Iran by Sadeq Zibakalam

Behrang Sadighi

University and Revolution is a compilation of Sadegh Zibakalam’s works from 1993 to 2000 that examine the state of humanities and social sciences in Iran. Beyond newspaper articles, speeches, and interviews…

The Iranian Sociological Association: First Steps in Defence of Academic Freedom

Iranian Sociological Association Website

Leila Araghi

On fall 2023, the Iranian Sociological Association (ISA) website published a collection of 13 interviews and short essays about the independence of university and academic freedom in Iran…

A Glimpse into the 1980 Cultural Revolution Dairy

Loh Monthly

Science, Politics, and Gender in the Cultural Revolution

Islamic Technoscience by Ata Heshmati

Habib Moghimi

Ata Heshmati’s master’s dissertation (2021, University of British Columbia) explores the aftermath of the 1980 Cultural Revolution in Iranian universities. Heshmati explains that the closure of all universities in Iran for three years led to the formation of two important administrative bodies…

Cultural Revolution from China to Iran

“Education in revolution: Is Iran duplicating the Chinese cultural revolution?” by Khosrow Sobhe

Behrang Sadighi

Cultural Revolution in Iran and Targeting the Political Rivals

Mehrak Kamali

Mehrak Kamali, who has firsthand experience of the Cultural Revolution in Iran and, about two decades after its onset, contributed to the first independent report on this event in the Lowh Monthly, shared his experiences and perspectives on this matter in an interview with GlobIS Review.

Why We did not Claim the Academic Freedom?

Homa Hoodfar

In her interview with the GlobIS Review, Homa Hoodfar discussed her forthcoming book on academic freedom in the Middle East and Iran. While highlighting efforts to develop related international conventions, she delved into the varying historical conceptions and functions of universities in the region in this context.

Cultural Revolution: It is Time to Balance the Books

Saeid Paivandi

Saeid Paivandi, who has published several articles on Iran’s educational system, shared his personal experiences and insights on the Cultural Revolution and the Islamization of social sciences and humanities in Iran during an interview with GlobIS Review.

Reflections on Exile and Academic Precarity

At the Margins of Academia: Exile, Precariousness, and Subjectivity by Asli Vatansever

Aslı Vatansever & Aysuda Kölemen

Forbidden Knowledge

Academic Freedom and Political Repression in the University Sector Can Be Measured

Felix Hoffmann & Katrin Kinzelbach

Why Students Must Shout to Be Heard?

Gabriel Winant

New Threats to Academic Freedom in Asia

New Threats to Academic Freedom in Asia by Dimitar D. Gueorguiev

Shaun O’Dwyer