Iran’s June Surprise: Facebook, Decline of Public Intellectuals, and the Surge of New Intellectual Community

• In Event: 378 - Open Refereed Roundtable Session II
  In Refereed Roundtable: B. Table 09. Social Movements

Abstract

Iran’s presidential election of June 14, 2013, contrary to the previous ones, not only disturbed the political atmosphere of the country, but the intellectual climate as well. Public intellectuals who have been involved in the previous presidential elections, failed to engage in June 2013, whereas the new generation of Iranian activists, journalists, and intellectuals were intensely involved in the process of the election and changed the scene dramatically. Although sociology of intellectuals argues about the rise and fall of public intellectuals in the West, comparative studies on developing societies deserve sociological attention. This study focuses on a qualitative analysis of the June 2013 presidential election. I will concentrate on twenty four days from disqualification of Mr. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the prominent reformist candidate to the election day. I will explain the decline of public intellectuals, surge of a new intellectual community, and the effect of digital activism, e. g., Facebook on this surge as well as the results of the election.

Author

• Amirhossein Teimouri, Texas Woman's University