A Study of Iranology in Iran

The present paper is a concise but precise review of the field of Iranology in Iran and in other countries. Despite the several-decade background of studies on Iranology, there is still a greater need for paying more scientific and systematic attention to this field of knowledge as there are still numerous topics which have not been tackled previously. There are also some severe ambiguities regarding the definitions of Iranology-related terms. There are also some unsolved problems regarding, for example, the unity or separation of Orientalism and Iranology, the earlier and present purposes of Iranology out of Iran, the quality of exploiting the findings and achievement of Iranologists, the necessity of separating the study of Iranian studies in Iran from that in the West, etc. Here, the writer suggests the use of a critical approach in this regard and, at the same time, believes that we cannot blindly ignore all the studies conducted by European Iranologists. Rather, in the rewriting of the history of Iranology, one must consider different factors. She also emphasizes the necessity of Iranological studies in order to consolidate the foundations of the Iranian national and cultural identity.