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The Great Satan vs. the Mad Mullahs How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other
William O. Beeman
ISBN: 0-275-98214-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-98214-0
316 pages
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 9/30/2005
List Price: $51.95 (UK Sterling Price: £35.95)
Discount Price: $25.98 Sale Price for U.S. Customers Only. Save 50%. Ends 12/31/2009.
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • Regardless of the reader's viewpoint, this book is a challenging analysis by an anthropologist of an international conflict that threatens to get out of control. For that reason alone, this is a timely book.
    —MultiCultural Review
    Fall 2006
  • [B]eeman is a good writer, who eschews the scholarly jargon that frequently makes academic books and articles unintelligble to all but specialists in a specific field. He is writing for the non-specialist, and he is more interested in informing the reader than in impressing his peers. The other strength of the book lies in the author's knowledge of Iranian history and culture. Beeman's discussion of economic development under the Pahlavi monarchy and how Americans in the country lived at the time is imformative, and his observation that Iranians hate being told what to do by people with whom they have no relationship should be taken under advisement by everybody....The Great Satan vs. the Mad Mullahs raises many questions and is problematic, those are additional reasons for reading it. It challenges the reader and forces him to question stereotypes about Iran and Washington's perspective on the country. It also encourages the reader to consider Tehran's perceptions.
    —Middle East Journal
    Spring 2006
Description: The United States and Iran have been estranged for 25 years. They have carried out a mutual process of demonization that is unprecedented in modern history, based on cultural hot buttons that have the power to galvanize the populations of both countries. Iranian leaders have characterized the United States as the Great Satan—an evil corruptor that pollutes society and destroys personal morality. American leaders characterize the members of the current government of the Islamic Republic of Iran as Mad Mullahs, wild-eyed and irrational. Giving a thorough account of the background of U.S.-Iranian relations, Beeman claims that the current accusations of both Iran and the United States are baseless, consisting largely of public invective and symbolic rhetoric according to their own mythologies of evil.

American leaders characterize the members of the current government of the Islamic Republic of Iran as Mad Mullahs, wild-eyed and irrational. They accuse them of fomenting the hostage crisis, in which American embassy personnel were held for 444 days at the end of the Carter administration, dealing a severe blow to U.S. national honor. The Bush administration has further accused the Iranians of being part of an Axis of Evil on the basis of their alleged support of terrorists, oppression of women and minorities, and development of nuclear weapons. Giving a thorough account of the background of U.S.-Iranian relations, Beeman claims that the current accusations of both Iran and the United States are baseless, consisting largely of public invective and symbolic rhetoric according to their own mythologies of evil.
Table of Contents:
  • Introduction: Discourse and Demonization
    American Myths
    Middle Eastern Myths
    Discourse and Rhetoric
    Images of the Great Satan
    Images of the Mad Mullah
    The Framework of U.S. Iranian Relations
    The Sins of the United States
    The Sins of Iran
    The Birth of Post-modern Conflict: How Iranian Media Came of Age
    Living with Iran: Resistance as Post-modern Discourse
About the Author: William O. Beeman is Professor of Anthropology and Director of Middle East Studies at Brown University. He has lived and conducted research for over 30 years in all areas of the Middle East. He has served as a consultant to the U.S. State Department and the Department of Defense, and has testified before Congress on Middle Eastern affairs. He is the President-Elect of the Middle East Section of the American Anthropological Association (2005-2006) and will serve as President from autumn 2006 until 2008, then as Outgoing President from 2008 to 2009.
LCC Class: 327
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