Azar Nafisi Stresses the Importance of Imagination

Winter Park Institute visiting scholar Azar Nafisi answers audience members' questions during her presentation on Wednesday, February 27. (Photo by Scott Cook)

On Wednesday, February 27, celebrated author and democratic activist Azar Nafisi shared insight from her life and career on how a crisis of vision is inhibiting cultural progress. Presented by the Winter Park Institute, Nafisi discussed the relationship between politics, culture, and human rights in her home country of Iran and how they are not so different than what is taking place in America. Learn more about upcoming Winter Park Institute presentations and speakers.

(Photo by Scott Cook)

“This crisis we are facing is more than an economic crisis. It goes to the heart of our view of life itself – the way we view this country and how we want to move forward – the main crisis here is a crisis of vision. Unless we address that, we can’t move forward or have any fundamental change.”

Nafisi poses for pictures during the book signing following her presentation. (Photo by Scott Cook)

“We are told that which goes by the name imagination is not really relevant to our lives today and that we should be pragmatic. The question is: is imagination relevant to this reality? Does it help us get more jobs? Does it help us have a more decent life? Does it help us to preserve and defend our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?”

“Imaginative knowledge is our way of connecting to the world, perceiving the world, and changing the world. The heart of poetry and science is that it has the third eye of imagination—the want to discover and to go where it has not been.”

Nafisi meets with members of the Rollins community during a private lunch on Thursday, February 28. (Photo by Scott Cook)

“In so many of our elite schools, you’re given an ideology and theory to impose on the world. So, the question you ask yourselves nowadays is not whether you will go into this unknown place and discover what you don’t know. The question you’re asking now is “does it agree with me?” That is one of the worst things happening to our society. We want to find information that will confirm our prepackaged prejudices.”

“Arrogance based on ignorance is the danger that is threatening everything. We do not take curiosity seriously. We are told it is elitist to be curious.”

(Photo by Scott Cook)

“It has become a world of entertainment where substance doesn’t matter. We’re so politically correct that we really have lost the meaning of everything. That is why stories have become so important to us. Stories make us put on someone else’s shoes and walk around in them. We have to be able to connect and understand the common humanity we share. The most important thing in literature and arts is that they show us how alike we truly are.”

By Justin Braun

Office of Marketing & Communications
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