Teleconference Calling Iran
Nov 6th, 2008 by noidion
Participating in the teleconference with the University of Tehran was an interesting experience. First off, I have never been in a teleconference; so technologically speaking I found this to be quite different and interesting. I found myself wondering how a single wire or satellite transmission can transfer a feed across thousands of miles and the Atlantic Ocean for a live feed that allows us to share our thoughts with each other. This has to be one of the newest and most exciting ways to communicate with others across the world. I know the Internet connects the world, but experiencing live video in fairly high quality was intriguing.
Secondly, the actual conversation with the Tehran students was informative and interesting as well. I was left wondering how much they can actually criticize their government and their political leaders. While doing interviews for our project, it seemed as if there is a little hesitance on some to openly critique Iran’s political system. Although during the teleconference we did hear how some of the students believe that Ahmadinejad wasn’t necessarily the best president, it seemed that they didn’t totally state why. Also, it was interesting to hear how the newspapers were the only ones that were either supporting or criticizing politicians and the government because radio and television is run by the government. This is in contrast to the United States where newspapers seem to be a place to gain more strict news and the television and Internet are where we almost expect to see others’ opinions. Although they claim that every candidate in the race for president of Iran has equal time unlike the television stations in the United States, this brings to light some questions on how it is entirely equal and fair when the government might not like some of the politicians or think it is fine remaining with the incumbent candidate.
I thought the students were very well educated and found them to be engaged with trying to learn as much about the U.S. and its politics. I found it intriguing how the students watch shows like the Daily Show and 24 when it seems that a show especially like 24 might be a little risqué for a nation that seems somewhat conservative in their public lives and don’t seem to necessarily be very outspoken. I wonder how seriously Iranians believe we take shows like 24.
Although it may seem that the professor is taking a cultural anthropological approach to his statement of studying culture in its own context, I have to disagree on the point that there is really no benefit in comparing and contrasting parts of a culture. It seems unless there is more in-depth research into a country and its culture, a quick and informative way would be to learn through contrasting and comparing what we know as a reference point to help ground what other countries are doing. It was a good experience and I thank the University of Tehran students for joining us.