According to the news agency Online news According to Ibna – Tahereh Mehri: The 34th Book Week of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be held across the country from the 22nd to the 30th of Aban (1405) with the slogan “Let’s talk with the book”. On the occasion of Book Week, we had a conversation with Reza Mokhtari Esfahani, a history scholar and researcher, which you can read below:
How do you evaluate the status of the book in the field of history in the last year?
The state of the book is a function of the state of economy and culture in the society. Consequently, the book as a cultural product that is dependent on these two characteristics, is not in a good situation. The book in any field, except for these two indicators, depends on the state of education in that field. Teaching any field and knowledge in the university can lead to the promotion or degradation of the books of that knowledge. What important part of the books of any discipline are written in the course of teaching that knowledge, especially in master’s degree and doctorate theses? A subject that can be said to have the lowest share in the market of historical books. However, in a suitable situation, reputable publishers can get their scientific books from the university. But such a connection is at a low level, which is a rare example.
Another point is the weakness of literature and writing in the eyes of many history students. Once upon a time, professors of history and writers of historical books, such as Dr. Abdul Hossein Navaei and Dr. Abdul Hossein Zarinkoub, came from the field of literature and were among the leaders of their time in writing historical and literary works, and even in our time, they have not found a worthy replacement. Or some professors whose academic background was history or political science, not only outstanding researchers but also capable writers. In this regard, we can mention people such as Abbas Iqbal Ashtiani, Dr. Mohammad Ibrahim Bastani Parisi, Dr. Fereydoun Adamit and Dr. Javad Sheikh Al-Islami. This point is important because the book is a link between culture and economy, and in this regard, historical books have a general audience, except for professors, researchers, and students of history; The attractiveness of the writing of historical books, along with the fact that their contents are documented, can encourage the general audience to read them. The importance of this feature is felt more than before when historical materials are presented in the form of podcasts and short but non-scientific and non-documentary texts.
Of course, this does not mean that historical books with such characteristics have not been published. In this regard, Dr. Sohrab Yazdani’s works are important examples of documentary and scientific and attractive writing. Another issue is the predominance of translation over authored works, one of the reasons for which is due to our spirit of xenophobia. Acknowledging the existence of important works among the translations, but we cannot close our eyes to some weak works or weak translations of some works. Also, book making is one of the pests that has existed since the past and still an important part is dedicated to such works among historical books. Ideological and non-scientific books published by some governing institutions are an example of the chaotic situation of historical books in our time. Books related to a specific policy or project.
What important books have been published during this year in the field of history and politics that caught your attention?
The books “Emergence of Qajar” by Dr. Gholam Hossein Zargrinejad, “Rozngar Mir Mamtaz” by Ali Akbar Ranjbar Kermani, “Kashf Iran” written by Ali Mirspasi and translated by Ramin Karimian, “Islambul Mission Newspaper” written by Mirzamhab Ali Khan Nazim-ul-Molk Marandi Yakanlu edited by Nasrallah Salehi and “Ghoghai Tabriz” by an unknown author by Gholam Ali Pashazadeh from my perspective There are important and significant books that have recently come to the book market.
What books have you read the most in the past year, and what books do you recommend for those interested in history and politics, and why?
I mostly read related books according to the research I am doing. Therefore, I mostly refer to the main sources of document books and diaries. Apart from this, important researches in the field of contemporary history are among the books I read.
One of the issues that history enthusiasts should pay attention to when reading historical research books is the scientific and documented nature of such works. Such a feature can be obtained from the documentation of the book. To what extent a historical research has used first-hand sources such as documents, press and memoirs. Such books have something new to say instead of repeating other books. Apart from new researches, they should study memoirs. Of course, they should keep in mind that memories have disadvantages such as exaggeration and self-centeredness of the owner of memories and incomplete expression of events. Important books have been published in the field of contemporary history, which includes a long list. I believe that in order to know and understand the issues of our day, one should study contemporary history books, especially from the constitution onwards.
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