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Description
This collection is comprised of newsletters, newspapers, journals, pamphlets, booklets, reports, and other writings issued
by the Confederation of Iranian Students National Union (CISNU) and other Iranian student groups in Europe and abroad. These
materials relate to political conditions and civil liberties in Iran, focusing primarily on the campaign for the rights of
political prisoners; political opposition to the Pahlavi monarchy; the spread of Marxist-Leninist thought in Iran and among
Iranian students abroad; the aftermath of the coup d'état against Mohammed Mosaddeq.
Background
Hamid Shawkat was born in Tehran, Iran in 1949. At the age of 20, Shawkat moved to the United States and became involved in
the student activist movement, which was united in opposition to the Pahlavi monarchy and the actions of its secret police,
the SAVAK. He returned to Iran in 1978, amidst the turbulence of the Iranian Revolution. Soon after his return, Shawkat helped
create the National Democratic Front of Iran and worked as an editor for the group?s central publication, Azadi. In addition
to the National Democratic Front, several other groups, including the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, National Republicans
of Iran, and the Left United Council for Democracy and Independence, joined the struggle for democracy in Iran. Since his
time as a student activist, Shawkat has written heavily on the topic of Marxist theory and the rise and fall of the Iranian
student movement, as embodied by the Confederation of Iranian Students, National Union.
Extent
38 manuscript boxes
(15.2 Linear Feet)
Restrictions
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Availability
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.