Ajam Media Collective
Rustin Zarkar
The Poster Arts of May Day: International Worker’s Day in Revolutionary Iran
During the Iranian Revolution, International Worker’s Day became an ideological battleground as competing political organizations— secular and religious— organized their constituents and articulated their interpretation of worker’s solidarity. Visual ephemera related to May Day, such as posters, are testaments to the pluralistic nature of the early years of the Revolution. By looking at various posters disseminated by organizations of the time, one can see how various political factions used similar visual motifs and iconography. Continue reading
Ferdowsi’s Legacy: Examining Persian Nationalist Myths of the Shahnameh
A tribute to Ajam Media Collective’s name and inspiration, this post was written by Ajam’s editors, Alex Shams, Rustin Zarkar, and Beeta Baghoolizadeh. Photographs by Preethi Nallu originally published in Al Akhbar English, republished with author permission. Epic literature occupies a key role in formulating and maintaining cohesive national and cultural identities– elucidating the spirit … Continue reading
Taking Back the Streets: Iranian Graffiti Artists Negotiating Public Space
Co-written by Los Angeles-based filmmaker Shahrzad Ghadjar and Ajam Co-Editor Rustin Zarkar. Follow Shahrzad on Twitter @spooksvilla. On the eve of Iran’s 1979 Revolution, the Iranian public sphere was transformed into places where information could be exchanged verbally, textually, and visually. The walls came alive with opinions and the chants of the masses. After revolutionary … Continue reading
Afghans in Iran: Contradictory State Policies and a Grassroots Anti-Racist Movement
Part III of a series on Afghan refugees in Iran. Earlier this year, I begun a series highlighting the experiences of Afghan refugees in Iran. By focusing on cultural production, particularly film and literature, I wished to elucidate the conditions of 2-3 million individuals making a living away from their war-torn homeland as well as … Continue reading
Persian Gulf Cosmopolitans & Emirati Fences: The Life and Times of the Iranian Souk
As the standoff between Iran and the United States enters into a new, more aggressive phase of crippling sanctions punctuated by threats of war, the Arab oil sheikhdoms to Iran’s south have increasingly collaborated with US efforts to isolate Tehran. Increasingly, the Persian Gulf has been represented as a geopolitical powder keg with distinct cultural … Continue reading
Far From Home: Portrayals of the Afghan Refugee in Iranian Cinema
Part II of a series on Afghan Refugees in Iran. Earlier this month, I completed a post discussing how works of literature from prominent Afghan writers voiced the conditions of millions of undocumented Afghan refugees residing in Iran. These members of the Afghan diaspora have been able to draw upon their own personal accounts as … Continue reading
Afghan Diasporic Literature: A Refugee Narrative from the Heart of Urban Tehran
Part I of a series on Afghan refugees in Iran. Iran is a culturally heterogeneous society that has been shaped by waves of migration over many centuries. While much of the domestic political and academic rhetoric chooses to highlight Iran’s resistance to foreign influence, the invaluable contributions of migrant communities have often been ignored or … Continue reading
Post-Revolutionary Persian Fiction: Counter Discourses and Individualized Perspectives
Growing up in the diaspora, I have often attended obligatory dinner parties where family friends prove their “Iranianness” through poetry recitation, outdated political debate, and recollections of the good old days — as if to prove that three decades of life abroad has not damaged their natural Iranian sensibilities. Several of these self-declared savants often … Continue reading
The Little Black Fish – Realism, Oppression, Revolution in Children's Literature
What is the purpose of children’s literature? Looking back to my childhood, I often think of what was read to me before dozing off in bed. Some stories integrated morality and ethics: be kind and generous to others, respect your parents, etc; some were fanciful and fantastic; while others existed solely for the purpose of … Continue reading
Lifting the Pardeh on Revolutionary Poster Art
Indiana University will be showcasing “Graphics of the Revolution and War: Iranian Poster Arts” until December 18. On loan from the University of Chicago Library, the exhibit features dozens of political posters disseminated during the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). We are all familiar with political art, whether it be war-time state-sponsored … Continue reading
