Changing Western Perceptions

To know a culture is to respect it. To respect a culture is to know it. Or so says teacher, scholar, poet, and inspiration Fatemah Keshavarz, Ph.D.

Born in the Iranian city of Shiraz – the birthplace of Persian poets Hafez and Saadi - Keshavarz, professor of Persian language and literature and chair of the department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages & Literatures in Arts & Sciences, devotes her time both in the classroom and the community to challenging Western stereotypes and working to improve understanding of Iranian culture.

Her most recent accomplishments include the release of a new book and a speaking engagement at the United Nations General Assembly.

Keshavarz’s students describe her as “devoted to ideals.” She was among a small group of scholars, cultural ministers and high-ranking religious leaders invited to discuss the academic community’s role in breaking down stereotypes at a U.N. General Assembly in 2007. The purpose: to help diplomats switch their focus from purely political issues to the cultural matters at the roots of political conflict.

For many, Keshavarz’s rich description of the Iranian culture and growing up in Shiraz does not match the image Westerners today have of Iran. In her U.N. speech, she pointed out that we are often exposed to popular books and news accounts that try to tell us about other cultures without bothering to let the people of these cultures speak for themselves. In her reading, she has often searched for “the Iran that I know, for my friends, for myself. But we wouldn't be there.”

This gap between perception and reality, in part, led to the writing of her most recent book, Jasmine and Stars: Reading More Than Lolita in Tehran. Based on her own experiences, the book challenges the popular notion that Iran is an oppressive, joyless, intellectually stagnant place, especially for women. The inside cover sums it up: “Her fresh perspective on present day Iran provides a rare insight into this rich culture alive with artistic expression but virtually unknown to most Americans.”

“You cannot know another culture or know about another culture without respecting it enough to see how that culture knows itself and speaks about itself," she said at the U.N. "And you cannot respect a culture without coming close to it to know it."

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