* Kaveh Bassiri *
There are two main models of extending love beyond the narrow confines of marriage and family. One is the mystical and the other communal. And the movie Her touches on both of these options.
Going Beyond the Bourgeois Love Read More »
* Kaveh Bassiri *
There are two main models of extending love beyond the narrow confines of marriage and family. One is the mystical and the other communal. And the movie Her touches on both of these options.
* Kaveh Bassiri *
Do parents choose names in search of their children? My father wasn’t a poet, but he chose sound over meaning. He named his second son Kavoos, an unjust king in Shahnameh, and ended up naming his other sons with Persian words beginning with “ka.”
* Kaveh Bassiri *
Do parents choose names in search of their children? My father wasn’t a poet, but he chose sound over meaning. He named his second son Kavoos, an unjust king in Shahnameh, and ended up naming his other sons with Persian words beginning with “ka.”
“Many of us feel that our experience of being bicultural, tricultural, or simply growing up between continents and cultures has given us a kind of double-vision. I think of this as being a kind of third eye in which to see others, and in particular to see ‘otherness.'”
Tremors of Iranian American Writing Read More »
“Many of us feel that our experience of being bicultural, tricultural, or simply growing up between continents and cultures has given us a kind of double-vision. I think of this as being a kind of third eye in which to see others, and in particular to see ‘otherness.'”
* Kaveh Bassiri *
Over the last few weeks, I have been following the social media posts of Iran’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Javad Zarif. Much has been written on the vital role of social networking during the Iranian Green Movement — how it helped to organize people and disseminate information. The Green Movement was even called the first Twitter or Facebook revolution. In the aftermath, Iran banned these sites, which probably reinforced their importance. I don’t want to rehash what others have already said — the role of social media in Iranian politics has been exaggerated — but I am interested in the innovative and progressive ways Zarif has been able to turn these banned tools into a resource for the government. What seemed to be a revolutionary venue outside of the regime may be re-purposed into a pathway for reform from the inside. Reading Zarif’s Facebook page lets you know more about the Iranian people than any article in an American or Iranian newspaper. It is like eavesdropping on conversations in cafes and streets. As this conversation unfolds in Persian, allow me to translate it for you.
Facebook’s Most Popular Iranian Friend Read More »
* Kaveh Bassiri *
Over the last few weeks, I have been following the social media posts of Iran’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Javad Zarif. Much has been written on the vital role of social networking during the Iranian Green Movement — how it helped to organize people and disseminate information. The Green Movement was even called the first Twitter or Facebook revolution. In the aftermath, Iran banned these sites, which probably reinforced their importance. I don’t want to rehash what others have already said — the role of social media in Iranian politics has been exaggerated — but I am interested in the innovative and progressive ways Zarif has been able to turn these banned tools into a resource for the government. What seemed to be a revolutionary venue outside of the regime may be re-purposed into a pathway for reform from the inside. Reading Zarif’s Facebook page lets you know more about the Iranian people than any article in an American or Iranian newspaper. It is like eavesdropping on conversations in cafes and streets. As this conversation unfolds in Persian, allow me to translate it for you.
