INTRODUCING FREEDOM OF THOUGHT JOURNAL (FTJ)

Introducing Freedom of Thought Journal: a bilingual publication, in Persian and English, published by Iran Academia University Press in The Netherlands.

We are pleased to introduce the Freedom of Thought Journal, an open-access journal distributed and facilitated by Iran Academia Publications. The journal is a biennial, bilingual (Persian and English) publication sponsored by the Association for Freedom of Thought. It has a wide readership in Iran, since it can be accessed freely in digital format. The Journal is a unique medium for critical discussions and analyses of current political, economic, and cultural issues in Iran. The forthcoming issue will be devoted entirely to the ongoing protests in Iran. The journal’s Executive Editor is Professor Ali Banuazizi, the founder of the Iranian Studies journal and its editor for 14 years.

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ARTICLES PUBLISHED

Opinion:
Filmmakers, musicians, visual artists and writers have found new ways to protest in Iran

Author: Bahman Baktiari
The Iranian protests continue into 2023, and the protesters are growing.

Opinion:
A game changer in Iran — how soccer stars are driving Iran’s protest movement

Author: Bahman Baktiari
The FIFA World Cup in Qatar has soccer enthusiasts scrutinizing every game…

Woman, Life, Freedom:
The Origins of the Uprising in Iran

Author: Janet Afary and Kevin B. Anderson
The massive protests in Iran, fueled by the audacity of young women and children, are rooted in over a century of struggle.

Iran’s clerics have declared war on their own people

Author: John Limbert
A tight, privileged fraternity of religious leaders has monopolized power in Tehran since 1979. It’s now backed itself into a corner.e

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BASKERVILLE INSTITUTE WEBINAR

Lady of the Land of Horses:

The Story of Louise Firouz, the American who

Discovered the Caspian Horse in Iran

Ateshé Larsson-Firouz

January 27th, 2023
5 PM (EST)

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WEBINARS ON IRAN

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MAHA SAIDAHMED

Maha Saidahmed is currently a senior at Emory & Henry College, double majoring in Political Science and Civic Innovation with a minor in History. In her free time she loves spending time with her family, friends and traveling to new cities and countries. As a Sudanese-American, she also enjoys strengthening her Arabic. Maha joined the Baskerville Institute in January 2023. Maha is our Spring intern working with Professor Matt Shannon on his Community School project.

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well as – educationally speaking – a benefit for the Iranian students. The true significance of this project is that it will help compensate for the dearth of positive programs the US currently manages for influencing the most important people in Iran, its youth.

Forty-plus years of political disputes have severely limited cultural interaction between the two countries and has restricted young Iranians’ access to the academic and social values of American education. This project will provide young Iranians something that has been available to very few: an exposure to the United States untainted by the extreme, toxic rhetoric of their government.

These young people will shape their country’s future, and this program will allow them to do so without the intellectual separation that the Islamic Republic has attempted to impose. This is a very worthwhile program for both Americans and Iranians. Among these Iranian students there is a great hunger to know the realities of the outside world. They should not be kept in isolation.

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NEW INITIATIVE
CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE & ACHIEVEMENT (CEA)

Celebrating Excellence & Achievement (CEA), an initiative of the Baskerville Institute, is aimed at honoring Iranians in the United States who have achieved excellence in their field, and strive to be role models for future generations. By becoming a role model, these Iranians become a window into Iran and Iranian society for their American colleagues and friends. Each month we will introduce and honor exemplary Iranian Americans who have achieved success and recognition in their field, made significant contributions to American society, and helped shape a positive image of Iran and Iranians in the United States and abroad.

WATCH OUR VIDEO:

HONORING NAHAL’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS

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ANNOUNCEMENT

The Baskerville Institute is pleased to announce the translation of the novel entitled Believers: Love and Death in Tehran, by Marc Grossman and John Limbert. Now readers can read a Farsi translation of the novel. The central character is a Foreign Service Officer named “Nilufar Hartman” who, pregnant and betrayed, fled Iran. She barely escaped alive, carrying her most profound secrets of love and tragedy. Nilufar had arrived in Tehran in November 1979 to take a job as a junior American diplomat at the U.S. Embassy. She had instead spent nine years as an American spy, reporting from deep inside the new Islamic Republic as it descended into extremism, civil strife, and war.

All names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the authors’ imagination or are used fictionally and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to past or current events or locales, or to persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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RECOMMENDED READINGS

Postrevolutionary Iran: The Leader, The People, and the Three Powers

by R.R. Asaadi

Education and the Cultural Cold War in the Middle East: The Franklin Book Programs in Iran Hardcover

by Mahdi Ganjavi

This Flame Within:
Iranian Revolutionaries in the United States
by Manijeh Moradian

The Struggle for Iran: Oil, Autocracy,
and the Cold War, 1951–1954
by David S. Painter and Gregory Brew

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DONATE

Your tax-deductible contribution to the Baskerville Institute can make a huge difference to our mission of informing the public about the deep bond between Americans and Iranians and the essential role it plays in the future of their relationship.

Your generosity enables us to continue our programs, internships, and publications and every contribution, no matter its size, is valued and plays an important role in amplifying and strengthening our efforts.