Nikki Keddie

Nikki R. Keddie (born 1930) is an American author, orientalist, and Iranologist.

Nikki R. Keddie
Nationality	American
Occupation	author, orientalist, and Iranologist

Biography

Dr. Nikki Keddie has been teaching the history of Iran and the Middle East at the University of California for many years and has written numerous books and articles about Iran, especially after the Islamic Revolution.

Ta'ziya, Rawza-Khani and their functions in her works

In the book "Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution", Keddie makes a brief reference to Rawza-Khani and women's religious gatherings. She also emphasizes on the popular aspect of religious gatherings and ceremonies that have been significant in influencing the social life of Iranians. This book, which is one of the first analytical books about the Islamic Revolution of Iran, was published in 1981 and Abdul Rahman Gawahi translated it into Persian. In this book, with reference to the mourning ceremonies of Muharram and the Ta'ziya, Keddie presents an analysis of the place of the Ta'ziya in Iranian society. She has referred to the function of emotional healing of the Ta'ziya, especially for women, and has also spoke about the socio-political functions of this dramatic art in the sensitive sections:

"When it is politically calm, these plays are more of an outlet for expressing feelings against sexual, political and personal prohibitions, but when the situation in society becomes critical, people turn their attention to social corruption, injustice and the need to fight them and the plays and Rawza-Khani more often become a political tribune to express such things.

In her book "Qajar Iran and the Rise of Reza Khan 1796-1925" as well, she has mentioned the status and position of Ta'ziya as a form of public culture in Qajar period and has considered it to be more influential and important than the court culture among most people.

Works

• Women in the Middle East: Past and Present
• Iran: Religion, Politics and Society: Collected Essays
• Religion and Rebellion in Iran: The Iranian Tobacco Protest of 1891-1982
• Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution
• Iran and the Muslim World: Resistance and Revolution

Awards and Honors

• 1994 Membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 2001 Received a coaching degree from the Middle East Studies Association and joined that association in 2003.
• 2002 Receive an award from the American Historical Association
• 2002 Received the Persian History award from Encyclopedia Iranica Foundation
• 2004 Receive Balzan Award
• 2008 Received an award from the International Society for Iranian Studies

Source

Mohsen Hesam Mazaheri, The Tragedy of the Islamic World, The Mourning of the Shiites of Iran According to Travel Writers, Orientalists and Iranologists (from Safavid to the Islamic Republic), vol. 3, p 1507