A Contrapuntal Reading of American Studies in the ‘Axis of Evil’
A Contrapuntal Reading of American Studies in the ‘Axis of Evil’

Summary/Abstract: Although interaction as well as conflict with the United States is definitely not new to Iranian politics and society, the idea of American Studies as a university degree program is surprisingly rather new in the country. The idea is only six years old and the North American Studies department itself was established at the University of Tehran in 2005.For those closely involved with the program, the last few years have been eventful to say the least. Many American and European colleagues are often surprised that there actually is an American Studies program in the country and they often assume that our main problem with the program would be with Iranian government officials or, alternatively, that the students in the program are fed with anti-American rhetoric, perhaps in accordance with the constructions of Iran predominant in the Western media. It should be noted that despite its financial restrictions, the University of Tehran has been particularly supportive towards the Institute for North American and European Studies and its North American studies program in particular. In reality the easiest part of our journey was the establishment of the department within the Institute.

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