大学在伊朗
Breathing again
重新苏醒
The new president is giving students a longer leash
新总统将为学生提供更大的自由发展空间
“AT LEAST one thing hasn't changed”, remarked a Tehran University professor who had recently returned to work after several years. “The faculty still gossips terribly.” But under President Hassan Rouhani bigger changes onIran's leading campus—and perhaps in universities elsewhere—may also be on the way.
“至少有一点没有改变”,德黑兰大学一位重返工作岗位不久的教授对此评论道,“学院里依旧流言四起。”但是在总统哈桑鲁哈尼的带领下,伊朗的主要院校或者各个地方的大学将会发生更大的变化。
One sign of this was the recent sacking ofTehranUniversity's conservative chancellor. Appointed in 2008 by Mr Rouhani's populist predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he had overseen the expulsion of independent-minded students and academics, promoting mediocre yes-men and stifling the intellectual atmosphere.
最近德黑兰大学保守派校长的解雇是其迹象之一。在2008年被鲁哈尼总统的前任—拥趸民粹主义的马哈茂德艾哈迈迪内贾德所任命,他曾监督驱逐具有个人主义思想的学生和学者,支持具有中庸思想的服从主义者从而形成了令人窒息的文化氛围。
Since his departure, things have loosened up. Last month over 1,000 students gathered to hear a lecture by Immanuel Wallerstein, an 83-year-old, left-wing American sociologist. Widely translated into Persian, he is respected acrossIran's intellectual spectrum, albeit under various interpretations. For some, he is a herald ofAmerica's decline, affirmingIran's official narrative. For others, he still represents America, even if he challenges the global status quo.
自从鲁哈尼的上任以来,这一方面有所放松。上个月有1000多名学生聚集在一起参加了美国83岁的左翼社会学家伊曼纽尔沃勒斯坦的讲座。他的观点被广泛的翻译成波斯语,尽管有着不同的诠释方式,伊曼纽尔沃勒斯坦在伊朗的学术界备受尊重。在一些人看来,他预示着美国的衰落,肯定了伊朗官方的叙述,然而另外一些人认为他依旧代表着美国,尽管他向全球的现状发起了挑战。
In the early years of this century, under the presidency of Muhammad Khatami, Western intellectuals visited quite often. Under Mr Ahmadinejad, they virtually stopped coming. But since Mr Rouhani was elected last summer, intellectual waters are being tested again. Hosted by the Iranian Sociological Association, Mr Wallerstein's lecture tour included two other notable universities, atShirazandIsfahan.
在本世纪早期,在穆罕默德哈塔米总统的领导下,西方的知识分子经常访问伊朗。在艾哈迈迪内贾德当政时,他们几乎停止了往来。但是自从鲁哈尼去年夏天当选总统,学术界再次活跃起来。在伊朗社会学会的主持下,沃勒斯坦的巡回演讲在另外两所著名的大学设拉子和伊斯法罕举办。
Many of the students did not know who he was, but wanted to see an American scholar anyway. When he observed that third-world regimes born out of revolution tended to create the same social and economic problems their founders had promised to solve, a frisson rippled through the ssembly. At the back of the hall, where students craned to see him, whistles and applause erupted.
许多学生并不知道沃勒斯坦是谁,但是不管怎么说他们期待着见到这位来自美国的学者。他觉察到诞生于革命的第三世界政权存在着社会经济问题死灰复燃的迹象,而这些问题也正是政权建立者们曾经承诺解决的,这一现象在议会中引起了强烈的反响。在大厅的后面学生们伸长着脖子去看沃勒斯坦,爆发出热烈的掌声和间或的口哨声。译者:费娇娇