Event

This symposium brings together scholars whose work investigates Iran’s experiences with colonialism and decolonization from a multiplicity of perspectives – including, but not confined to, race and ethnicity; foreign relations; intellectual history; social and economic networks; as well as cultural studies. In the decades after the Second World War, dozens of countries around the world achieved independence from colonial rule. This period of rapid decolonization after WWII fundamentally changed the dynamics of global politics. Between 1946 and 1970, membership of the United Nations increased from 35 to 127 nations, and the organization became a forum in which newly independent states could argue for the continuation of decolonization and the recognition of national rights.  

In the same period, anti-colonialist and anti-imperialist movements around the world had a profound impact on intellectual thought inside Iran. The rising influence of the United States in the Middle East gave voice to new anti-imperialist currents in Iran that prompted intellectuals simultaneously to call for civil liberties, social justice and democracy. We hope this symposium will show the necessity of studying Iran’s experiences with colonialism and decolonization in a global framework in an effort to broaden conversations around these subjects and to expose the complex networks that Iran created and shared with (de)colonized communities. 

For information, please contact: iranglobaldecolonization@gmail.com

Convened by:  
Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet (University of Pennsylvania) & Robert Steele (University of California, Los Angeles)