Mira Xenia Schwerda: “Is a Mujahid Allowed to Be a Dandy? The Photographing of Revolutionary Heroes in Early Twentieth-Century Iran”

Iran in the early 20th century suffered from a weak central government, with constitutionalist revolutionaries and bandits at times indistinguishable. Brigands merged in and out of the establishment and many were photographed in flamboyant poses.

Dr Mira Schwerda studies the art and visual culture of the modern Islamic world, especially the history of photography and the relationships between politics and art. Her monograph in-progress focuses on the imagery of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution at the beginning of the twentieth century and presents a new history of the visual narratives of political violence brought about by the triad of the telegraph, printing press, and photography. After pursuing a PhD at Harvard, she now teaches courses on the history of Middle Eastern and South Asian art and visual culture in the Department of Art History at the University of Edinburgh.

The lecture will be held at the Army & Navy Club, in the Drawing Room, preceded by the Annual General Meeting.

Those wishing to attend will be required to register beforehand.