A ceremony was held in Tehran to present the first collection of university textbooks dedicated to resistance literature. These educational materials provide academic resources for a field that has been studied in Iranian universities for nearly two decades.
The event was attended by authors and researchers of the books, as well as university professors and experienced figures in the field of resistance literature.
Mohammadreza Sangari, head of the Analytical Center for Resistance Literature at the Bureau of Arts, stated that this center was established in 2019 by the directive of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. The main goal of creating the center was to meet the scientific and academic needs in the field of resistance literature.
Sangari noted that initially, 35 topics were defined for scholarly work, and the plan involved the participation and expertise of professors and universities across the country. Currently, work is underway on 16 of these topics, some of which are featured in the collection presented at the ceremony on Saturday.
He emphasized that although resistance literature has been taught as a university subject for about 18 years, comprehensive textbooks specifically designed for many of its courses did not exist. Furthermore, certain aspects of this field remained insufficiently covered in university curricula, making the development of academic resources an important need for both students and teachers.
The books presented at the ceremony cover various aspects of resistance literature and its methods of study. Among them are Hossein-Ali Kobadi's 'Horizons of Resistance Literature,' Mohammad-Hassan Shahangi's 'Analysis and Interpretation of Biographical Works of the Islamic Revolution and Sacred Defense,' Gholamareza Kafi's 'Dar Baru-ye Bavar,' and Hamed Safi's 'Research Methods and Reference Studies in Resistance Literature.'
Resistance literature is a field of literary studies that deals with works reflecting the experience of struggle, resistance, war, oppression, and social problems. It includes genres such as poetry, fiction, memoirs, drama, and literary criticism, exploring themes of self-sacrifice, perseverance, freedom, justice, collective memory, and resistance.
In Iran, this field has developed particularly through literary works documenting the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War. Memoirs, autobiographical writings, poetry, and prose have provided literary evidence of individual and collective experiences during these periods. The field has also expanded to include broader discussions on resistance and ways of representing historical and social experiences in literature.
Thus, the academic study of resistance literature involves not only the analysis of literary texts but also the study of the relationship between literature, historical memory, biography, oral history, and methods of documenting personal experience.
The initiative to prepare university textbooks aims to create a more systematized academic foundation for a field that has significantly developed in modern Iranian literature. By combining the expertise of university professors and researchers, the Analytical Center for Resistance Literature seeks to fill gaps in existing academic resources and provide specialized materials for students and educators. The presentation ceremony marked the release of the first group of such university works, while research and preparation of materials on other specified topics continue.