In the book Iranian Intellectuals and the Language Issue: Approaches of Iranian Intellectuals from the Qajar Period to the Present, the author explores the issue of the Persian language from the time of the Constitutional Revolution, and slightly earlier, in five sections, including an introduction and an afterword (or, in the author’s words, a preface and an epilogue). The author examines the perspectives of intellectuals over this broad period, collecting and classifying the diverse and sometimes contradictory views and opinions, primarily of the enlighteners rather than the intellectuals themselves. The author does this in a highly intelligent and critical manner, introducing and explaining the different approaches of intellectuals in dealing with the category of language, particularly the Persian language, over a period of more than two hundred years. The analysis observes historical periods, paying special attention to the dominant discourse, episteme, and the formation of knowledge and the epistemic space of each era. While the author follows a chronological order, this approach has led to the inclusion of individuals in certain groups who might have been more appropriately placed in another.
Literary Criticism