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Open letter to the president elect: an example of heritage activism through the media in Iran
This chapter examines Iranian heritage activism, focussing on an example
of activists’ use of mass media to bring public focus to heritage as a
contested field and persuade authorities to take action. Studies of growing
and increasingly vocal heritage activism in Iran are scarce, although
occasionally the implications of their ideas are discussed in passing in
fields such as politics and international relations.2 This paper reinforces
and elaborates on some of the findings of a previous study on the terrain of
heritage activism in Iran,3 providing an example of activism’s
manifestation in mass media. It focuses on the analysis of an open letter to
President-elect Seyyed Hassan Rouhani, which was drafted in 2013 by
heritage activists and signed by more than 60 heritage NGOs. To
complement this examination, I also draw on field interviews (see below)
and other contextual information. Considered in its social context and
history, I argue that heritage activism is a specific instance of social
movements in which the cultural framing of activism and the changing
structure of political opportunities largely provided by the state play a
decisive part. This is particularly apparent in relation to reframing the
perceptions of collective identity and homeland of both the state and the
activists.
of activists’ use of mass media to bring public focus to heritage as a
contested field and persuade authorities to take action. Studies of growing
and increasingly vocal heritage activism in Iran are scarce, although
occasionally the implications of their ideas are discussed in passing in
fields such as politics and international relations.2 This paper reinforces
and elaborates on some of the findings of a previous study on the terrain of
heritage activism in Iran,3 providing an example of activism’s
manifestation in mass media. It focuses on the analysis of an open letter to
President-elect Seyyed Hassan Rouhani, which was drafted in 2013 by
heritage activists and signed by more than 60 heritage NGOs. To
complement this examination, I also draw on field interviews (see below)
and other contextual information. Considered in its social context and
history, I argue that heritage activism is a specific instance of social
movements in which the cultural framing of activism and the changing
structure of political opportunities largely provided by the state play a
decisive part. This is particularly apparent in relation to reframing the
perceptions of collective identity and homeland of both the state and the
activists.
History
Title of book
Indian Ocean futures: communities, sustainability and securityChapter number
2Pagination
15 - 33Publisher
Cambridge Scholars PublishingPlace of publication
Newcastle upon Tyne, Eng.ISBN-13
978-1-4438-9492-0ISBN-10
1-4438-9492-3Language
engPublication classification
B Book chapter; B1.1 Book chapterCopyright notice
2016, Thor Kerr, John Stephens and contributorsExtent
13Editor/Contributor(s)
T Kerr, J StephensUsage metrics
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