INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 200 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor Ml 48106-1346 USA 313-761-4700 800 521-0600 Order Number 9210922 The state and university: The "Islamic Cultural Revolution" in the institutions of higher education of Iran, 1980-87 Mojab, Shahrzad, Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1991 Copyright ©1991 by Mojab, Shahrzad. All rights reserved. UMI 300N.ZeebRA Ann Aibor. MI 48106 THE STATE AND UNIVERSITY: THE "ISLAMIC CULTURAL REVOLUTION" IN THE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION OF IRAN, 1980-87 BY SHAHRZAD MOJAB B.A., College of Translation, Tehran, 1977 Ed.M, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1979 THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1991 Urbana, Illinois UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN THE GRADUATE COLLEGE AUGUST 30 ,_J.991 WE HEREBY RECOMMEND THAT THE THESIS BY SHAHRZAD MOJAB THE STATE AND UNIVERSITY: "THE ISLAMIC CULTURAL REVOLUTION" IN THE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION OF IRAN, 1980-87 BE U'CKITKD IM PARTIAL Fl'EFII.KMKXT OF THE RKOLIRKMKX'l S FOR I DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THE DEGREE OF. M—-Z •-/• Director of 1 hesis Research J Head o f Department Committee on Final Examination^ t Required for doctor's degree but not for master's. Q Copyright by Shahrzad Mojab, 1991 ABSTRACT THE STATE AND UNIVERSITY: THE "ISLAMIC CULTURAL REVOLUTION" IN THE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION OF IRAN, 1980-87 Shahrzad Mojab, Ph. D. College of Education University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1991 Advisor, Dr. Steve Tozer The thesis is a study of the Islamic Cultural Revolution initiated by the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1981 in order to Islamize the institutions of higher education. Data are based on official documents, participant observation, interviews and press reports. The universities played a vital and vanguard role in the anti-Monarchy revolution of 1978-79. Led by leftist and nationalist students and faculty, the institutions advocated university autonomy and the establishment of a secular, democratic and independent state system. Politically, the ICR was the Islamic state's attempt to remove the opposition from the universities and to integrate the institutions into the Islamic state. Ideologically, it aimed at desecularizing the institutions and turning them into ideologically loyal institutions. The leftist students/faculty/staff were purged, strict political and ideological screening was placed on admissions and employment and student/faculty behaviour was closely monitored. Clergymen were appointed to administrative/teaching positions, males and females were segregated and Islamic ideology courses were introduced in all fields of study. The most ambitious plan was to restructure the universities along the tradition of Shi'ite Islamic schools known as Howze and to combine expertise with commitment to Islam. Hi The main finding of this study is that the Islamic Cultural Revolution has failed. In spite of superficial reforms, the universities have not changed in terms of function (training highly skilled labor for a diversifying capitalist economy and an expanding state bureaucracy), teaching/learning methods (experimentation and observation), curriculum (predominantly secular content aimed at training professionals), and the absence of academic and political freedom. The ICR was conducted by a state that had monopoly over education, was in control of the country's industry and economy, had silenced the opposition forces and the media, and was headed by a still popular figure, Khomeini. Moreover, Islam boasts a long tradition of higher learning. The failure of Islamization in an Islamic society having gone through an "Islamic revolution" is explained in terms of fundamental constraints on the state: economic ties between education, economy and the state, opposition to state policy, and factional conflict within the state. The theoretical implications of the Iranian case for the study of state-university relations are discussed. iv DEDICATION To the students, faculty and staff of Iranian universities who fought for freedom and independence v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Like other dissertations, this study was made possible by the intellectual, moral and material support of many people. Members of my dissertation committee were instrumental in shaping the research proposal and the writing and finalizing of the study. My thanks are especially due to Dr. Steve Tozer who, as a scholar and friend, extended my knowledge of education and encouraged my delving into critical approaches to the study of education. Other members of the committee, Dr. Belden Fields, Dr. Ralph Page and Dr. William Trent, also guided me and made valuable contributions to the research and the polishing of the final version. Writing about a controversial topic and highly controversial theoretical issues, I must make two relevant points. First, my committee members allowed me to enjoy unrestricted academic freedom throughout my research. Second, I am alone responsible for errors in data and analysis. My thanks are also due to my friend Hersch Young who edited the first rough draft and made very intelligent contributions to the study. I am also indebted to Janice Small who smoothed over many administrative difficulties arising from distance and my off-campus life when the research was finalized. Moral, intellectual and material support came from many friends whose contribution cannot be fully acknowledged here. I must mention especially Janice and Thomas Ricks and Dr. Allan Peshkin. Numerous Iranians, (former) students and faculty members of Iranian universities, contributed to this study by sharing with me their knowledge and experience in interviews and less formal conversations. Special thanks are due to Dr. Naser Pakdaman who is a major figure vi in the struggle for the democratization of higher education in Iran. I would like to thank all the interviewers whose real names cannot be revealed in this study. The excellent library system of the University of Illinois was indispensable to the success of this research. I would like to thank the staff of Interlibrary Loan, Asian Studies and Newspaper Libraries who made the acquisition of many Persian language periodicals possible. I should apologize to my son Salah for all the hardship he encountered and thank him for his constant tolerance and compassion. Finally, Amir knows that this study would not have been completed without his love and encouragement. vu PREFACE The modern state, in both developed Western capitalist societies and the Third World, plays an increasingly important role in shaping the destinies of the citizens. The dominant position of the state is readily visible in many Third World countries where the public sector owns and runs the entire educational system, major economic enterprises and the mass media while the government openly denies or suppresses political freedoms. A much less visible appearance disguises the equally omnipotent state in advanced capitalist societies where the private sector dominates the economy, the educational system and the media. Quite often, the "private sector", "free enterprise" or "free market" are used synonymously with "democracy" which is, itself, defined as the absence of government interference in the life of the individual or, rather, business community. Theorizing about the nature of the state is a serious challenge. Much of the traditional, liberal-pluralist, scholarship is characterized by a simplistic approach to the nature of the state. In advanced capitalist societies, focus on the state has been lacking in part because the absence of formal or legal ties between, for example, the universities (or the economy) and the state have rendered the examination of such relationships irrelevant. Likewise, in Third World countries, the presence of an omnipotent state is taken for granted. However, the main problem in studies of state and education is not an inadequate focus on the relationship itself. The liberal-pluralist scholarship on the topic is, rather, plagued by a view of the state