On February 11th, 1979, a revolution was declared in Iran to the surprise of both many observers and participants. But what does a revolution feel like to those in its midst before the term is even used to define this great upheaval? Through a combination of archival documents and ethnographic interviews with a variety of people (including ordinary citizens who demonstrated or who stayed at home), Professor Naghmeh Sohrabi will present her preliminary findings on the theoretical and empirical issues that arise in bridging the gap between historians’ understanding of the revolution (by nature a cohesive narrative) and the ways in which it was experienced (often fractured, and muddled). The talk will conclude by laying out some of the new insights that this methodology provides for understanding the Iranian revolution and revolutions in general.
Event Details
Speaker: Dr Naghmeh Sohrabi, Brandeis University
Chair: Dr Roham Alvandi, LSE
Date: Wednesday 19 February 2014
Time: 18.30-20.00
Location: Room 1.04, New Academic Building, LSE
Attendance: This event is free and open to all on a first come first served basis. Our events are very well attended, please make sure to arrive early. We cannot guarantee entry
Speaker
Naghmeh Sohrabi is the Charles (Corky) Goodman Professor of Middle East History and the Associate Director for Research at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. She is the author of Taken for Wonder: Nineteenth Century Travel Accounts from Iran to Europe (Oxford University Press, 2012). Currently she is working on a book on the experience of the 1979 revolution in Iran.