HUMAN 1C Study Guide - Final Guide: Reza Shah, Iran Hostage Crisis, Pahlavi Dynasty
9 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Jessica Mangold
HumCore 2018
SPRING FINAL
Study Guide
Key Terms:
Vo Lectures
- collective amnesia
- many of 1st generation in US do not talk about their experiences
- do not want to relive trauma + share with family
- want to forget + move on so that can effectively move forward in lives
- PTSD, survivor’s guilt, + intergenerational trauma
- suppression of hard memories amongst those who came to US to escape
traumatic events + social chaos in Asia
- some even do not really know what happen
- Diaspora
- refers to different groups of people migrating + dispersing
- can be voluntary or involuntary
- can be used to describe virtually any mass migration
- often viewed as conveying sense of trauma but can also be more positive +
represent escaping some sort of oppression
- distanced from homeland + have to deal with detachment
- memorials/how to remember the past
- many prefer to move forward + not remember what happened
- some want to preserve history to remember it + learn from it
- conflict in that memorials have become tourist attractions
- being seen as more of a spectacle rather than somber learning experience
- creating tourist culture
- on-going debates of how remembering should be done
- ex. conflict over Maya Lin’s proposal for Vietnam war memorial
- people had problem with someone who did not experience the war
designing it
- thought that her design was trying to hide the memorial + or diminish its
importance
Rahimieh Lectures
- magical realism
- realistic depiction amidst something magical or unnatural
- for magical realism to work + not become fantasy -> magical + real need to be
equal
- narrator never alludes that anything odd is going on when fantastical
events happen
- oppositions sustained as if fantastic were also real in reality of novel
- chador as politically charged (not just religiously charged)
- chador became used as symbol for Iranians not wanting to modernize
- outlawed by the Shah in order to get Iran to embrace Western culture
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- women were uncomfortable with the sudden, forced change
- rules of chador became relaxed
- chador became compulsory again in the 1980s + women rebelled
- today chador often seen as a symbol of oppression
- modern feminism cite women of the Middle East as examples of
oppression through clothing + such
- seen as Iran resisting modernizing + moving forward
- becomes associated w/Islam as
- “Aryan” – identity of Iran: Cyrus cylinder
- Ernst Emil Herzfeld -> German Archeologist who excavated Persepolis (1930s)
- came across inscriptions + interpreted them to mean Iran was the Empire
of Aryans
- Iranian Foreign Ministry declared Iran as birthplace of Aryan race
- Germany then invested in Iran infrastructure
- Iranians exempted for Nuremberg racial laws in Germany
- Iranians viewed selves as part of superior “Aryan” race -> above others
- ancient past = huge source of pride
- seen as bridge to future in which Iran would once again dominate region
- The Cyrus Cylinder
- discovered in 1879 in Mesopotamia
- record of Cyrus’s victories + his legacy -> aligns with victories in Bible
- written in cuneiform (ancient Iranian language)
- clay missing in certain areas -> scholars had to make guesses
- boastful language + wanted to glorify accomplishments
- What it means to be Persian v. Iranian
- Persian Empire, 500 BCE
- expansive empire in Middle East
- ruins found in Persepolis
*many Iranians rooted their identity + self-perception in ancient history
- legacy of ancient Persian empire seeps into consciousness even after
diaspora
- Iran + Iranian
- carries negative connotation amongst Westerners
- associated with negative stereotypes of the East
- ties to Orientalism + facilitating “other” identity
- Iranians prefer to celebrate Persian past + distance itself from Islamic
legacy
- embrace of Islam in 7th century seen as reason for nation lagging
behind the West
- Iranian women + disconnect from bodies/sexuality
- purity valued very highly in Iranian culture
- stems from Islam
- women are made to feel that their bodies are simply sexual objects + forced to
wear chador so that men are not distracted by them
- chador becomes symbol of oppression
- women forced to push away their own sexuality
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- do not know anything about their bodies
- seen in Faiza + Munis arguing about virginity as a curtain or a hole
- Iran Hostage Crisis
- Iranians did not trust Americans ever since coup in 1953
- Hostage Crisis happened in November 1979
- 52 Americans held hostage in US embassy in Tehran
- demanded Shah comes back from US to face trial in Iran
- hostages are released in January of 1981 -> 444 days in captivity
- justification for hostage crisis stems from remaining issues with US after coup
- discussed in “Inside Iran’s Fury”
- Self-Orientalization
- construction of narrative about one’s culture influenced by stereotypes
- can mean molding a story based off of preconceived notions of others
- recognition of stereotypes is first step towards deconstructing them
- some attempt to break down stereotypes + in doing so construct new ones
- can create more positive stereotypes or play into positive ones more than
negative ones
- might see something as self-Orientalization because looking through Euro-
centric perspective
- Pahlavi Dynasty -> last dynasty of Iran
- Reza Shah Pahlavi (first king)
- rose through ranks of military + politics after coming from non-royalty
- voted to become ruler + deposed Qajar dynasty
- ordered compulsory de-veiling of women + banned the chador
- allowed for European clothing + hats
- deposed + replaced with his son upon Anglo-Soviet
invasion/intervention
- West (Allies) wanted to be able to control the ruler
- Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
- very passionate about Iran’s ancient history + saw self as descendent of
Cyrus the Great
- organized Celebration of 2500 Years of Persian Monarchy
- used Persepolis ruins as site of celebration
- used huge amounts of funds for events + destroyed wildlife
- tons of festivities that involved Iranians dressing in traditional
clothing to entertain foreign dignitaries
*Shah’s popularity with Iranians dipped after the event
- after power struggle w/Mossadeq -> flees the country
- back into power after CIA sponsored coup
- Shah turns to modernizing the country
- forced into exile after revolution + Islamic Republic of Iran comes to
power
- Modernization/Westernization
- Reza Shah Pahlavi banned the chador + ordered people to dress in European
clothing
- clothing of the West seen as the standard for modernity
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Many of 1st generation in us do not talk about their experiences. Do not want to relive trauma + share with family. Want to forget + move on so that can effectively move forward in lives. Suppression of hard memories amongst those who came to us to escape traumatic events + social chaos in asia. Some even do not really know what happen. Refers to different groups of people migrating + dispersing. Can be used to describe virtually any mass migration. Often viewed as conveying sense of trauma but can also be more positive + represent escaping some sort of oppression. Distanced from homeland + have to deal with detachment. Being seen as more of a spectacle rather than somber learning experience. Many prefer to move forward + not remember what happened. Some want to preserve history to remember it + learn from it. Conflict in that memorials have become tourist attractions. On-going debates of how remembering should be done.
