The Revolution may not be televized but it is a hot topic of discussion in “The Past and Future(s) of Revolutions: A Global Exploration,” which is a series of conferences focused on the debates about the ideas of revolutions and revolutionary events abroad, current, and past. NEIU Academic Development, with key members such as Hamid Ackbari and Yasmin Ranny involved, hosted the event from March 9 – 12.
Many variations of the subject matter of the revolution were discussed. Tuesday 10, one of the lecturers discussed about the Marxist aspects of revolution in the keynote panel “The Marxian and Anti-Colonial Legacies: What Have We Learned from the Revolutions of the 20th Century?” Ronald Aronson, who is a professor from Wayne State University, discussed the importance of engaging socialism in American society.
“Americans don’t see themselves as ‘socialists’,” Aronson said, “We are part of a meaningful social society.” He explained that Americans must add the social experience to their life and look for “social solutions” to “social problems”. The privatization of social process hampers the socialist reformations and capitalism itself destroys humanity.
Another lecturer was James Le Sueur, an Associate Professor of History from the University of Nebraska, discussed the political changes in Algeria in his presentation “The Death of the Revolutionary Mystique: What Happened to Revolutionary Nationalism during the Carnage of the 1990s in Algeria?” Le Sueur said the political revolution in Algeria during 1990’s is “a revolution that didn’t happen.” He explained the violent civil conflicts led to a military dictatorship. It took a period of time until elected Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika introduced reforms to limit the power of the military in government and granted amnesty to terrorist groups to encourage them to lay down arms.
Another important conference included in the event was the keynote panel “The End of Revolution? Iran, Nicaragua, and Beyond.” Karen Kampwirth, Professor of Political Science and Chair of Latin American Studies at Knox College, talked about experiences in a Sandinista Nicaragua, with a focus on women who were involved in the revolution.
“Social revolutions are rare,” she said, “People put their differences aside and come together when a crisis is so bad.” Kampwirth also said that none of the female guerillas joined the joined the revolution for gender equality; it is only after the revolution the feminist movement started.
Val Moghadam, Professor of Sociology and Director of Studies at Purdue University, discussed the feminist movement in Iran, describing the similarity of the Islamic revolutionists’ actions of suppression against voices of dissent; pre-2009 the Islamic revolutionists arrested communists, and now currently they arrest feminists. She notes the growing female education in Iran which is aiding the feminist movement and culture, which may lead to further secularization of Iran.
Misagh Parsa, Professor of Sociology at Dartmouth dedicated his presentation to the refutation of Islamic Revolution in Iran as a religious revolution. He said that liberals in Iran were much involved in the revolution as the Nationalist Front. “The mosque was the safest place to criticize the Shah,” Parsa said, “Once Khomeini took control of the mosque, no place was safe.”
There is many a discussion and argument regarding the matter. However, it is clear that there is no right way to best define the revolution.