After isolation: Mirrors between parallel worlds and new conceptual spaces of activism in post-revolutionary Iran

Abstract

In this article, we theoretically conceptualise the renegotiation of participatory action and activism through the formation of intellectual space that is self-reflective and upheld by what we metaphorically describe as mirrors between parallel worlds. Rethinking what activism is and how an individual relates to their social group is dependent on different levels of self-reflection, self-criticism and competing scales of insertion of other people’s struggles into one’s own political vision in an effort to intellectually rectify the local tensions that emerge in a post-revolutionary context where people are disconnected from global-level activism. A significant aspect of this analysis is our interlocutors’ imaginative capacity to draw from other people’s experiences through cultural and visual artefacts and integrate them into their own life history with the intention to address national or group-specific dilemmas. While some have drawn attention to the importance of noting how spaces for activism are remade in the post-revolutionary context due to such sentiments as disappointment, we instead examine the formation of conceptual spaces of activism within the context of isolation in contemporary Iran. Empirically, we bring together a political analysis of the novel Bevatan by Reza AmirKhani, and interviews conducted with English literature students in Shiraz.