Curriculum Vitae
Abbas M. Milani
Director, Iranian Studies Program, Stanford University
Co-Director, Iran Democracy Project, Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6010
650-725-0330 (phone)
650-725-8278 (fax)
Professional Experience
2005-present Director, Iranian Studies, Stanford University
2003-present Co-Director, Iran Democracy Project, Hoover Institution
Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
2003-present Visiting Professor of Political Science, Stanford University
1993-2003 Professor of History and Political Science
Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, California
1987-2003 Chair, Department of History and Political Science
Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, California
1988-2003 Research Fellow, Institute of International Studies
Center of Middle Eastern Studies
University of California, Berkeley
1979-1987 Member, Board of Directors, Center for International Studies
Tehran University
1977-1987 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Tehran University
1977-1978 Research Fellow, Iranian Center for Social Research, Tehran
1975-1977 Assistant Professor, National University of Iran, Tehran
Publications (selected)
Books (Original Works)
King of Shadows: Essays on Iran’s Encounter with Modernity, Ketab Corp., Los Angeles, CA., May 2005. Persian text published in the U.S.; second print 2006.
Lost Wisdom: Rethinking Persian Modernity, Mage Publishers, Washington, D.C. 2004; second print, 2005.
The Persian Sphinx: Amir Abbas Hoveyda and the Riddle of the Iranian Revolution, Mage Publishers, 2000, 2002; in Britain, IB Tauris, 2000. Translated by the author into Persian as Moamay-e Hoveyda, published in Iran, Atiy-e Press, and in Washington, D.C. by Mage Publishers; (also translated by Houshang Mahdavi, Abolhol-e Irani, Tehran, 2001;) author's translation: Book of the Year, 2002, Deutsch Radio; now in fifteenth print in Tehran, third in Washington; English paperback, Mage Publishers, 2004.
Modernity and its Foes in Iran, Gardoon Press, Germany, 1998; Atiyeh Press, Tehran, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2004.
Tales of Two Cities: A Persian Memoir. Mag Publishers, 1996. Paperback, Kodansha, Jan. 1997 (best-seller, San Francisco Chronicle list).
On Democracy and Socialism. (A collection of articles, written with Faramarz Tabrizi), Berkeley, CA: Pars Press, 1987.
Malraux and the Tragic Vision, Tehran: Agah Press, 1982.
Books (Translations-into Persian unless otherwise specified)
Kolakowski, L., Main Currents of Marxism, 3 volumes, Agah Publishers, vol. 1 and 2, 2006; vol. 3 forthcoming
Bulgakov, Mikail, Master and Margarita, Tehran: Nashre-no, 1983, 1990, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006
On Totalitarianism, (an edited, translated and annotated selection composed of Nechaev's Catechism of a Revolutionary, Dostoyevsky's Grand Inquisitor, selections from Miloz's Captive Mind, Kolakowsky's Totalitarianism and the Lie, Kundera's Future of the Novel, Nisbet's 1984 Revisited),Tehran, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
Gramsci, Antonio, State and Civil Society, Tehran: Sahar, 1980. Reprinted: Stockholm: Ketab Pishro, 1986; third print: Koln, Germany, 1998; fifth print, Tehran, 1998; sixth print 2004, 2005
Golshiri, H., King of the Benighted (into English). Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishing, January, 1990; paperback edition, 1995; German translation, Surkamp Verlag, 1998
Mao-tse dung, Critique of the Soviet Economy, Tehran: Pejvak, 1986
Marx, Karl, Critique of the Gotha Program, Tehran: Pejvak, 1979. Reprinted 1980, 1982
Bettelheim, Charles, China Since MaD, Tehran: Ruzbehan Publisher, 1979. Reprinted Paris, 1980
Kautsky, Charles, Foundations of Christianity, Tehran: Arnir Kabir, 1978. Reprinted in 1980
Robison, Joan, Economic Management in China, Tehran: Javidan, 1977
Benjamin, Walter, Understanding Brecht, Tehran: Roudaki Publishers, 1976
Monographs
Beyond Incrementalism: A New Strategy for Dealing with Iran, coauthored with Larry Diamond, Mike McFaul, Hoover Institution, May 2005
A catalogue for Creatingan Islamic Republic: Iranian Collections from the Hoover Institution Library and Archives, with Cissy Hill, Hoover Institution, May 2004
Reagan and the Social Bases of His Power, Tehran: Katibeh Publishers, 1982
When Revisionists Write History, (an extended critique of Soviet historiography on the history and politics of modern Iran), Tehran: Roozbehan Press, 1979
Articles
“Iran’s New President,” Hoover Digest, No. 4, 2005
“The Passive Revolution,” Hoover Digest, No.3, 2005
“King of the Shadows: Golestan and the Question of Modernity,” Sharg, (Tehran)
“Character as Destiny,” paper presented at Oxford University conference titled, “Public Spaces, Private Lives.” Persian version, Sharg, October 2005, special issue on modernity and the state in Iran.
“Daneshkadeh and the question of Modernity in Iran,” Iranshenasi, Summer 2005
“Give Diplomacy a Chance,” Hoover Digest, No.1, 2005
“Bahar and the Question of Modernity,” Montreal Lectures on Iranian Literature and Culture (Montreal 2005) pages 244-263
“Solidarity with Iran,” Hoover Digest, No. 2, 2004
"Hoveyda, Amir Abbas," Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XII, Fascicle 5
"Hekmat, Sardar Fakher," Encyclopedia Iranica, Vol, XII, Faschile 2, 150-152
"Hekmat, Ali Asghar," Encyclopedia Iranica, (with editors of EIR), Vol. XII, Fascicle 2, 145-150
"Alam and the Origins of the Revolution in Iran," Iranshenasi, Spring, 2004
“U.S. Elections: A Survey,” Sharg, November 3, 2004
Review of a new novel by Z. Hashemi, Keyhan (London), April 2004
“Iran: A Revolution Betrayed," Hoover Digest, No. 4, 2003
"History and Culture: Hurley's Dream, How FDR almost brought democracy to Iran," Hoover Digest, No. 3, 2003
"Can Iran Become a Democracy," Hoover Digest, No. 2, 2003
"Shadman and the Question of Modernity." Introduction to the new edition of Taskhir Tamadane Gharb, Tehran, Gameno, 2003, 1-26
“Hakimi, Ebrahim,” Encyclopedia Iranica.
"Golestan and the Question of Modernity," Iranshenasi, Fall 2002; republished in Iran in Mardomsalar, 2003
"Modernity and the Postmodern in Iran," Mardomsalar, 13 Ordibehesht 1381 republished in Keyhan of London, 2003
"Qasem Qani," Encyclopedia Iranica, Vol. X, Fascicle 3
“The Grey of History: Answer to Critics,” Iraneemrooz (Internet magazine), Nov. 2002
"Abbas-Goli Golshaiyan," Encyclopedia Iranica, Vol. X
“Letter to a Friend,” Jahane Ketab, March 2002; reprinted, Mehregan, Fall 2002
"On Houshang Golshiri," Iranshenasi, Summer 2000
"Remembering Goishiri," Azadi, Summer 2000.
"Iranian Studies," Times Literary Supplement, Nov. 14, 1997
"Modernity and Political Thought in Nezami's Chahar Magalef (The Four Discourses)," Iranshenasi, Fall 1998
"Rereading Sadigi's Introduction to Aristotle's Politics,”Irannameh, Fall 1998
"Rostam ol Tavarikh and the Question of Modernity," Iranshenasi, Fall, 1996
"Narratives of Modernity: Perspectives of an Oriental Despot," in Moving Boundaries, Ed. Michael Shapiro. University of Minnesota Press, 1995
"Shadman and the Question of Modernity," Iranshenasi, Spring 1995
"Political Ideas and Theories in the Writings of Sa'di-Sirjani," Iranshenasi, Winter, 1995. Reprinted in an anthology of essays on Sa'di-Sirjani, Washington, D.C. 1996
"Introduction” to Shahrnoush Parsipur's Blue Logos. San Jose, 1994
"History in Tarikh-e Beyhagi," Iranshenasi, Spring 1994
"The Politics of Islamic Fundamentalism," San Francisco Review of Books, April 1994
"Nasir AI-Din Shah in Europe," Iranshenasi. Summer 1993
"Tazkeratol Oliya and Modernity," Iranshenasi, Spring 1992
"Art as Redemption: Mohasses and the Closed Circuit of History," Iranshenasi, Winter 1992
"Hedayat and the Tragic Vision," Iranshenasi, Fall 1992
"Tehran and Modernity," Irannameh, Summer 1991. Reprinted in Katabe, Tehran, ed. Sima Kuban, Tehran, 1992
"Kundera and Modernity," Kelk, July 1991
"The Wasteland: Millenarian Thought in Contemporary Iranian Novels," Irannameh, Fall 1989. Reprinted in Selections on Iranian Studies, Ed. Changis Pahlavan, Tehran, 1992
"Kaveh and Modernity," Iranshenasi, Spring 1990
"On the Islamic Revolution: An Exchange with Bernard Lewis," New York Review of Books, April 1988
"Chamedan: Tale of Estrangement," Ketabe Djomeha, January 1988
"Truth, Totalitarianism and the Novel: Kundera's Perspective," Ketabe Djomeha, August, 1988
"Two Perspectives: Further Discussions on Koestler," Naghde Aghah, Fall 1985
"Koestler Revisited," Naghdeh Aghah, Spring 1985
"Sylone: Return to Fontamara," Cheraq, Summer 1983
"Historical Notes on Malraux's 'La Condition Humaine,'" Naghdeh Agha, Fall,1983
"Psychoanalysis and History," Neguine, March 1980
"Iran: Developments during the Last Fifty Years in Iran: Past, Present and Future,”
Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, 1975
Editorials, Newspaper Articles and Op-ed Pieces
“A Checking Account for Democracy”, coauthored with Michael McFaul, Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2006
“Revealing Errors: Iran, Jews and the Holocaust: An answer to Mr. Black”, Iranian.com, February 23, 2006
“Iran, Jews and the Holocaust: The beneficent legacy of Persia remembered, San Francisco Chronicle, February 19, 2006
“To Tame Tehran”, coauthored with Michael McFaul, The Washington Post, January 28, 2006
“For Jews, there have always been two Irans”, International Herald Tribune, November 10, 2005
“Regime Change”, The Wall Street Journal, October 31, 2005. An Italian translation published in Corriere della Ser
“Silver Lining,” New York Times, June 30, 2005; reprinted in International Herald Tribune, Friday July 2005
“Cracks in the Land of the Ayatollahs”, coauthored with Michael McFaul, International Herald Tribune, June 17, 2005
“U.S. Foreign Policy and the Future of Democracy in Iran”, The Washington Quarterly, Summer 2005
“Iranshenasi”, Encyclopedia Iranica, Spring 2005, (article on the history of the Iranshenasi journal)
“Irannameh”, Encyclopedia Iranica, Spring 2005, (article on the history of the Irannameh journal)
"Solidarity with Iran," with Mike McFaul, Wall Street Journal, Monday, Feb. 23, 2004
"US-Iranian Relations at a Crossroad," San Francisco Chronicle, Tuesday, Jan. 27,
2004
"A Revolution Betrayed," San Jose Mercury, August 3, 2003
"Blurred Vision," coauthored with Larry Diamond and Mike McFaul, LA Times, July 20, 2003
Articles and Short-stories (Translations from Persian into English)
"The Executions," (a selection from Shahrnoush Parsipur's A Prison Memoir, in The Prison where I Live: The Pen Anthology of Imprisoned Writers, Ed. Siobahn Dowd, New York, Cassell, 1996, pp. 138-142. The article has since been reprinted in several other anthologies)
"Sketching," a short story by Houshang Golshiri, Literary Review, Vol. 40, No.1, Fall 1996
Short Pieces (For Broadcast on BBC Persian Program, 1995-2004)
"Brief History of the Iranian Revolution"
"Iranian Artists and the Revolution"
"Khatami and his Place in History"
"On the Perils of Biography: A Discussion of The Persian Sphinx”
"Golshiri, An Appraisal"
"US-Iranian Relations: Some Historical Remarks."
"Karl Popper: a Eulogy"
"Saidi-Sirjani: a Profile"
Book Reviews
(1995-2000)
Ohram Pamuk, The Black Book (1995)
Reza Daneshvar, Khosro Khouban (1995)
Dr. Li Zhisui, The Private Life of Chairman Mao (1996)
Isaiah Berlin, The Magus of the North (1996)
San Francisco Chronicle
The following are a selection from approximately 150 book reviews published in the San Francisco Chronicle from 1991 to the 1998:
Huntington, Samuel, Clash of Civilizations
Lewis, Bernar, Islam and the West
Lewis, Bernard, The History of the Middle East
Fukuyama, F., The End of History and the Last Man
Said, Edward, Culture and Imperialism
Said, Edward, Peace and Its Discontents
Eco, Umberto, Misreadings
Eco, Umberto, Six Walks in the Fictional Wood
Eco, Umberto, How to Travel with Salmom
Perez, Shimon, The Future of the Middle East
Glenny, Misha, The Fall of Yugoslavia
Mernissi, Fatima, The Veil and the Male Elite
Zonis, Marvin, Majestic Failure
Armstrong, Karen, A History of God
Mahfouz, Naguib, Arabian Nights and Days
Mahfouz, Naguib. Children of the Alley
Pamuk, Ohran, The Black Book
Akbar, Allah O, A Journey through Militant Islam
Viorst, Milton, The Arabs in Search of the Modern World
Alam, Asadollah, The Shah and I
Ahmed, Leila, Women and Gender in Islam
Makiya, Kanan, Cruelty and Silence
Kadare, Ismail, The Pyramid
Kadare, Ismail, The Three-arched Bridge
Bloom, Harold, Omens of Millenium
Netanyahu, Benjamin, A Place among the Nations
Breytenbach, Breyten, The Memory of Birds in Times of Revolution
Miller, Judith, God Has Ninety-Nine Names
Journals
"An Islamic Utopian: Ali Shariati, A Political Biography," Ali Rahnema, lranshenasi, Autumn, 2000
"Iranian Intellectuals and the West," Boroujerd, The Journal of the Middle East, Spring 1998
"Pivot of the Universe," Abbas Amanat, Iranshenasi, Summer 1997
"The Safavid Roundtable," (A discussion of aspects of the Safavid era in light of Calmar's Etudes Safavides and Melville's Safavid Persia), Iranshenasi, Summer 1997
“Omens of Millenium”, Harold Bloom, Iranshenasi, Autumn, 1996
"Under the Cloak of Hypocrisy," by Sa'di-Sirjani, Middle East Journal, Winter 1996
"Amin Malout's Samarkand," Irannameh, Fall, 1996
"Edward Said and the Peace Process," Mehregan, Fall 1996
"On Encyclopedia Iranica," Keyvan, Thurs. Feb. 15, 1996
"A Critique of Modernity," Babak Ahmadi, Iranshenasi, Fall 1994. Reprinted in Kelk, Tehran, Spring 1996
“Fragile Resistance," John Foran, Iranshenasi, Summer 1995
"Hedayat's Blind Owl as a Western Novel," Michael Beard, Iran Narneh, Summer 1992
"Iranian Culture: A Persianist View," Michael Hillman, lranshenasi, Summer 1992
"Revising Revisionism," Anvar Khamenei, Neguine, 1979
"History and Science," Journal of the Iranian Association of Librarians, Summer 1978
Invited Lectures (selected)
March 2006 Stabilizing Iraq: Regional Perspectives, Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, Stanford University, Stanford, California
March 2006 Prospects for Democracy in Iran, Shiraz University School of Medical Sciences, Mahwah, New Jersey
March 2006 Iran and Modernity, Commonwealth Club, San Francisco, California
Feb 2006 The U.S. and Iran, World Affairs Council, San Francisco, California
Nov 2005 Iran & the Engima of Modernity, Canadian Iranian Foundation, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Nov 2005 Lost Wisdom, Persian Poetry & Literature Club, Calgary, Canada
Oct 2005 Iran’s Presidential Election: Implications for Reform and International Security, International Security Forum, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Oct 2005 U.S. Foreign Policy and It’s Choices in Iran, World Trade Club, San Francisco, CA
Oct 2005 Iran’s Nuclear Program: Past and Present, Hoover Institution Retreat, Stanford, CA
Sept 2005 Iran Democracy: Problems & Prospects, Hoover Institution Breakfast Briefing, Los Angeles, CA
Sept 2005 Iranian Identity, Mehregan Foundation, San Diego, CA
July 2005 Tradition and Modernity in Iran: A Historical Perspective, The Society of Iranian Professionals, Sunnyvale, CA
July 2005 St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, Private Lives and Public Spaces in Modern Iran, Oxford, England
March 2005 Iran’s Future Path, The Ditchley Foundation, Oxfordshire, England
April2004 The History of the Iranian Revolution, Pluralism Fund, Palo Alto
April 2004 Democracy in Middle East, Woodrow Wilson/Hoover conference, Hoover Institution, Stanford, CA
March 2004 Future of Democracy in Iran, World Affairs Council, Peninsula chapter
July 2003 Iran and the Crisis in Central Asia, World Affairs Council workshop, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
July 2003 Prospects for Democracy in Iran, CISAC, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
July 2003 Democracy and Rule of Law in Iran, Center for Democracy and the Rule of Law, Stanford University
June 2003 Rethinking Persian Modernity, in panel discussion on "Unraveling Iran," Stanford University
June 2003 The Current Situation in Iran, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Nov 2002 Rethinking Persian Modernity, Massachusetts Instituteof Technology
Nov 2002 Hoveyda and the Question of Modernity, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
April 2002 Democracy in Iran and the Role of U.S. Foreign Policy in its Evolution, World Affairs Council, Marin County Chapter
Feb 2002 Hoveyda and the Question of Modernity in Iran, Yale University
June 2001 The King of the Benighted, and the Poetics of Persian Culture, Princeton University
May 2001 The Genesis of The King of the Benighted, School of Asian and Oriental Studies, University of London
March 2001 Taming the Shrew, Unveiling the Prince: Women in Golshiri’s Prince Ehtejab, Conference on Iranian Women in Cinema, University of Virginia
Oct 27, 2000 Hoveyda and Modern Iranian Politics, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Nov 3, 2000 Rethinking Iranian Modernity, Stockholm International Center for Cultural Exchange
Jun 15, 2000 Purgatory of Exile: Persian Writers in America, Meinz International Conference on the Experience of Exile, Germany
May 25, 2000 Tehran and Modernity: Shahri's Personal Journey, Conference of Iranian Studies Association, Washington, D.C.
April 27, 2000 US-Iranian Relations and the Question of Democracy, University of Southern Florida
April 22, 1999 Perils of Persian Biography, Center for South East Asia Studies, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
May 28, 1999 Bahar and the Question of Modernity, Iranian Cultural Center, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Nov 18, 1999 Iran and the Prospects of Democracy, World Affairs Council of San Francisco
Nov. 24, 1999Iran and the Question of Modernity: New Perspectives,
Department of Asian and African Affairs, University of Uppsala,
Sweden
June 2, 1998 New Historicism and the Persian Context, Dehkhoda Foundation, Berlin, Germany
April 2, 1998 Iran and the West, Symposium on Iran, World Affairs Council of Orange County
Mar 28, 1998 Khatami and the Future of Iran-American Relations, World Affairs Council of Northern California.
Jun 21, 1997 Sarkuhi, A symposium, with Robert Hass et al in support of Sarkulli, University of California, Berkeley
Apr 14, 1996 Tales of Two Cities: a Persian Memoir, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Virginia
May 11, 1996 Jafar Shahri and the Question of Modernity, Iranian Professional Society of Portland, Oregon
July 10, 1996 Tehran and Modernity, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
Mar 18, 1996 Rustamol- Tavarikh and the Question of Modernity, University of California, Davis
Oct 14, 1994 Islam: A Historical Perspective, World Affairs Council of San
Francisco, CA
Nov 1994 Modernity and the Politics of Identity, MESA Convention, Phoenix, AZ
Mar 23, 1993 Narratives of Modernity: Perspectives of an Oriental Despot, International Studies Association Conference, Acapulco, Mexico
Oct 2, 1992 Borders within Borders, World Affairs Council, San Francisco, CA
Jan 21, 1992 Sufism: A Textual Genealogy, Society of Iranian Professionals, Berkeley,
CA
Jan 17, 1991 Hedayat and the Problem of Modernity, Conference on Hedayat, University of Texas, Austin
Aug 30, 1989 Shii Fundamentalism: A Historical Perspective, Society of Iranian Professionals, Berkeley, CA
Aug 15, 1988 Iranian Intellectuals, UCLA Conference on Iranian Intellectuals: 1910-1925
Jun 3, 1988 Hedayat: A Post-Modernist?, Berkeley Society for Iranian Art and
Culture
Mar 1988 Shii Fundamentalism: A Textual Genealogy, Society for Iranian Cultural Studies, Washington D.C.
Nov 1987 A Portrait of Contemporary Iranian Intellectuals, Center for Middle East Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Conferences Organized:
Mar 2005 Hoover Institution one-day conference in Washington D.C. with Larry Diamond and Mike McFaul, Will Iran Be the Next Iraq?
Nov 2004 Hoover Institution one-day conference in Washington D.C. with Larry Diamond, Mike McFaul and Woodrow Wilson Center, Workshop on Iran’s Nuclear Program
Nov 2004 Hoover Institution one-day conference at Stanford University with Larry Diamond, and Mike McFaul, Workshop on Iran’s Nuclear Program
May 2004 Hoover/Stanford University; two day conference on Iran with Larry Diamond; papers will be published in books in English and Persian, edited by Larry Diamond and Abbas Milani.
May 2004 Moderator and organizer, with PSA and Stanford's Speaker's Bureau land lIS, Shirin Ebadi's talk at Stanford University's Memorial Auditorium
May 2004 Hoover/Woodrow Wilson conference in Washington, with Haleh Esfandiari, director of Middle East Section, Woodrow Wilson
Feb 2004 Woodrow Wilson/Hoover conference at Stanford, with Haleh Esfandiyari
Oct 2003 Hoover Institution conference with Larry Diamond on Iran.
Awards, Honors and Scholarships
2005 BBC profile on life of Abbas Milani as one of Iran’s leading culture makers
2002 Tuin-Winmat Research Travel Fellowship. FDR Library
2002 Eisenhower Library Research Grant
2001 John Kennedy Library Research Grant
2000 Catherine Julie Cunningham Teaching Project Award, Notre Dame de Namur University
1998 George Keller Teaching Excellence Award (first recipient), NDNU
1988--Numerous Faculty Development Research Grants, NDNU
Interviews
Numerous interviews on BBC, CNN, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Associated Press, Fox News: The John Gibson Show, Voice of America, Radio France, Radio Free Europe, KGO, KBOO, KCSM, KUPS, KURV, Radio and Television of Iran (International Cable), Radio Farda, KQED, KCBS Channel 5, and the Stanford radio station.
Work in Progress
Peacock Prince. A political biography of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran.
Eminent Persians. A volume of biographical sketches of 150 prominent Iranian men and women of letters, politics, arts, commerce, and religion, from the period 1941-1979.
Articles on Hossein Ala', General Pakravan and Shapour Bakhtiar, for Encyclopedia Iranica.
Professional Societies
American Association of Political Science
American Academy of Political and Social Science
Association of Iranian Studies
Educational Background
Ph.D., Political Science (1974), University of Hawaii
Dissertation title: Ideology and the Iranian Constitutional Revolution
B.A., Political Science and Economics (1970) University of California, Berkeley