Revolution in imagery : visual representation of hegemony in Iranian illustrated books before and after the 1979 revolution
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
department or school: Information, School of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Mohammadkhani, Maryam
issued: 2025-04-28T14:44:02Z
issued: 2025
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: This thesis investigates the visual representation of ideological transformation in Iranian children’s picturebooks published by Kānoon-e Parvaresh-e Fekri-e Koodakān va Nojavānān, a state-funded cultural institution that operated under the authority of the ruling regime both before and after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Focusing on a pivotal twenty-year period (1969–1989), the study explores how illustrations in these books reflect and construct cultural hegemony across two contrasting political systems: the secular nationalism of the Pahlavi monarchy and the religious ideology of the Islamic Republic. Guided by Antonio Gramsci’s theory of cultural hegemony and employing Kathy Short’s model of critical content analysis, the research conducts a close visual and ideological reading of four focal Persian texts supplemented by the analysis of 36 additional illustrations drawn from Kānoon’s archive. The study is structured around three interrelated thematic inquiries: (1) how visual narratives articulate ideological and political messages, (2) how representations of cultural identity and heritage shift across regimes, and (3) how gender roles and social dynamics are visually constructed and communicated to young readers. Findings reveal that illustrations in Kānoon books function as ideological artifacts, closely aligned with the dominant political discourses of their respective periods. During the Pahlavi era, visual narratives foregrounded Persian myth, pre-Islamic heritage, and national unity, often through grand historical or heroic imagery. In contrast, post-revolutionary publications exhibit a marked shift toward Islamic symbolism, revolutionary iconography, and visual codes reinforcing modesty, piety, and domesticity—particularly in the portrayal of female characters, who transition from unveiled and public to veiled and domestic figures. By situating Iranian picturebooks within a broader framework of cultural production and state ideology, this study illuminates…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/90836
note: Revolution in Imagery: Visual Representation of Hegemony in Iranian Illustrated Books Before and After the 1979 Revolution by Maryam Mohammadkhani B.A., University of Tehran, 2010 M.A., University of Tehran, 2013 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Children’s Literature) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2025 © Maryam Mohammadkhani, 2025 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the thesis entitled: Revolution in Imagery: Visual Representation of Hegemony in Iranian Illustrated Books Before and After the 1979 Revolution submitted by Maryam Mohammadkhani in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Children’s Literature Examining Committee: Dr. Theresa Rogers, Professor, Department of Language and Literacy Education, UBC Supervisor Dr. Kathryn Shoemaker, Adjunct Professor, School of Information, UBC UBC Co-supervisor iii Abstract This thesis investigates the visual representation of ideological transformation in Iranian children’s picturebooks published by Kānoon-e Parvaresh-e Fekri-e Koodakān va Nojavānān (The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults), a state-funded cultural institution that operated under the authority of the ruling regime both before and after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Focusing on a pivotal twenty-year period (1969–1989), the study explores how illustrations in these books reflect and construct cultural hegemony across two contrasting political systems: the secular nationalism of the Pahlavi monarchy and the religious ideology of the Islamic Republic. Guided by Antonio Gramsci’s theory of cultural hegemony and employing Kathy Short’s model of critical content analysis, the research conducts a close visual and ideological reading of four focal Persian texts—B…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2025-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0448636
language: eng
degree discipline: Children's Literature
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Rogers, Theresa
contributor: Shoemaker, Kathryn E.
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/90836