The political and cultural clashes between secularism and religious fundamentalism can be traced to the late Shah and his father Reza Khan who established the Pahlavi Regime. We will discuss the conflicts between the Shah and Prime Minister Mossadeq, later Ayatollah Khomeini, and the overthrow of the Shah in 1979. After the stolen 2007 Iranian Presidential elections and economic sanctions by the West, the present clerical regime faces great challenges to its survival. Abbas Milani’s “The Shah” and “The Myth of the Great Satan” will be discussed. It would be helpful to read them in advance, but not required. Handouts of principal information will be mailed to participants. Al Gourdji lived in Iran for the first 19 years of his life.

No class 11/26.