Discovery of Iran

Ali Mirsepassi is the Albert Gallatin Research Excellence Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University. His latest book, Iran's Quiet Revolution: The Downfall of the Pahlavi State, was published in 2019.

• Introduction: Iranian Nationalism, Past and Present1. Transnational Cosmopolitanism: Arani's Life and Times2. Among the Nationalists in Berlin, 1922–293. Arani's Early Writings: A Racialized National Narrative4. For a Radical Cosmopolitan Iran5. The Persian Language, Past and Present6. 'Erfan, Reason, and the NationConclusion: An Unfinished Iranian Enlightenment

"Ali Mirsepassi has produced a powerful and engaging intellectual biography which weaves Taghi Arani's life into the broader tapestry of modern Iranian nationalism and modernism. The Discovery of Iran is a major contribution to scholarly understanding of early Pahlavi Iran and shines a bright light on the ongoing relevance of its political and ideological controversies to more recent Iranian history."—Stephanie Cronin, Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Research Fellow, University of Oxford "With The Discovery of Iran, Ali Mirsepassi has succinctly analyzed Taghi Arani's innovative ideas. Although influenced by the Western Marxism of the 1930s, Arani is as relevant to the Iran of today as he was to his own time—maybe even more so."—Ervand Abrahamian, Professor Emeritus, City University of New York