HUMAN 1C Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Reza Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Nuremberg Laws
Lecture #13: Excavating the Past
What is comparative literature?
“Comparative literature promotes the study of intercultural relations that cross national
boundaries, multicultural relations within a particular society, and the interactions
between literature and other forms of human activity, including the arts, the sciences,
philosophy, and cultural artifacts of all kind”
Relations between Iran and the US
● The US unilaterally pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, which was reached in 2015. This
deal had been a remarkable coming together between the two countries.
Stephen Kinzer’s “Inside Iran’s Fury”
● Image: Portrays Iranians as being furious all the time against the US
● Why does Kinzer emphasize perception? “This chasm of perception reflects the
enormous gap in the way Americans and Iranians viewed and continue to view one
another. It will be hard for them to reconcile their differences unless they begin seeing
the world through each other’s eyes.”
Iran’s Self-Perception is rooted in history, both modern and ancient.
● The discovery of the ruins (the ruins of Persepolis) of an ancient Persian Empire was
crucial in the formation of Iran’s self-image. The way these ruins were talked about
became a basis for self-construction.
● Persian empire 500 BCE stretched from the Indus River to Egypt.
● Why is it called the Persian Empire? Where is Persia?
○ Some identify as Iranian, some identify as Persian.
○ The word Persia dates back the the Fifth Century BC and entered European
languages via ancient Greece. But today we refer to it as Iran.
Ernst Emil Herzfeld, German Archeologist in Persepolis 1930s
● Herzfeld came across ancient inscriptions with the terms Aryanam Khshathram which he
interpreted to mean the Empire of Aryans. This was during the rise of the Nazis, which
was based on the idea of Germans being a superior, Aryan race. The term in ancient
Iran did not have the racial connotations as it did in Germany at the time. This term was
conflated with the concept of race.
● Germany invested money in Iranian infrastructure, libraries, and roads, believing they
had a great common history. These investments has a nefarious effect, making the
Iranian government and Iranians believe they were part of the Aryan race and that they
could identify as being the superior identity in the region.
● Iranian Foreign Ministry declared that Iran was the birthplace of Aryans which was
believed to confirm the “greatness of the race and civilization of Iranians”. Therefore they
were excerpted from the Nuremberg racial laws, but they are also home to the oldest
Jewish population in the world. So if Iranians were the birthplace of the Aryans...what
were Iranian Jews? Therefore the Iranian Jews were not exempted.
● Reza Shah Pahlavi and his son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last two kinds of
Iran visiting Persepolis. Shah means king. Pahlavi is a surname he chose for himself
and came from ancient language, because he wanted to identify with that ancient past.
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
The us unilaterally pulled out of the iran nuclear deal, which was reached in 2015. This deal had been a remarkable coming together between the two countries. Image: portrays iranians as being furious all the time against the us. This chasm of perception reflects the enormous gap in the way americans and iranians viewed and continue to view one another. It will be hard for them to reconcile their differences unless they begin seeing the world through each other"s eyes. Iran"s self-perception is rooted in history, both modern and ancient. The discovery of the ruins (the ruins of persepolis) of an ancient persian empire was crucial in the formation of iran"s self-image. The way these ruins were talked about became a basis for self-construction. Persian empire 500 bce stretched from the indus river to egypt. Some identify as iranian, some identify as persian.
