This Flame Within

“Manijeh Moradian’s groundbreaking analysis of revolutionary affect among Iranian diasporas will transform the study of Third World internationalism in the United States and in fields such as ethnic studies, feminist studies, diaspora studies, and Middle East studies. This Flame Within’s transnational feminist reframing of revolutionary pasts and futures makes it a must-read for anyone interested in politics and social movements.” - Nadine Naber, Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies and Global Asian Studies, University of Illinois Chicago

“Manijeh Moradian’s This Flame Within is an example of how we should reconsider histories of immigration, transnationalism, and global history. Shedding new light on a generation of Iranian students in the United States who were motivated to pursue a vision that was deeply influenced by anti-imperialism, social justice, and revolution, she beautifully tells the story of Iranians who wanted to change the world and were changed by the struggle to do so. It is exciting to read Moradian’s scholarship and see the essential and grounding arguments for a praxis of solidarity as well as her sharp insights about how events of the past are indeed part of the complexities of the Iranian diaspora today.” - Persis Karim, Neda Nobari Chair and Director, Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies, San Francisco State University

"This wonderful book examines the history of the left wing of the Iranian diaspora in the U.S., developing a theory of revolutionary affect in the process. Moradian is a wonderful writer and interviewer who combines analytic sophistication with an unusual kind of political and intellectual generosity." - Lisa Duggan, Commie Pinko Queer newsletter

"This Flame Within provides an excellent summary of the relationship between the Khomeini factions in the revolutionary movement and the Left.  It also discusses the post-revolutionary diaspora and its role in reshaping the US understanding of the Iranian revolution." - Ron Jacobs, CounterPunch

"This Flame Within takes seriously the power, pleasure, and melancholy of social movements. It would work especially well in upper-level undergraduate and graduate seminars. Moradian’s MFA in creative nonfiction and many years of organizing work in progressive feminist of color and anti-war social movements help her construct a beautifully written academic book that is also a generous and tender recording of social history." - Neda Maghbouleh, Gender and Society

"A useful contribution to the many legacies of the Iranian revolution, and not just of the secular masculine left. Examining This Flame Within allows one to ask how revolutionary knowledge is transmitted across generations, how new generational understandings draw on lessons from historical legacies on which they claim to build, and how so-called defeats and victories in the past actually have complicated and multiple legacies for future action." - Michael M. J. Fischer, Public Books

"An important and timely history of the Iranian Students Association (ISA) during the Cold War era. . . . Moradian’s meticulous close readings of her interlocutors—their words, emotions, and bodily comportments—give readers a sense of the weight that this history holds for her subjects. Her ability to access these communities and forms of knowledge is particularly critical to her arguments on affect." - Ida Yalzadeh, Mashriq & Mahjar

“Manijeh Moradian’s This Flame Within is a path breaking contribution to ethnic and transnational feminist studies that helps expand the field of Asian American studies and rewrite its genealogy from a new perspective—a new movement, region, and archive.” - Sunaina Maira, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East

"This book provides a compelling look at the political activity of Iranian students studying at American universities in the years between the 1953 coup against Mohammad Mossadeq and the 1979 revolution. . . . I recommend this innovative and interdisciplinary book to students and scholars working in a number of areas, including history, gender studies, sociology, and political science." - Max Bledstein, Abstracta Iranica