Museums and the Politics of Memory in Late Pahlavi

Document Type : ..

Authors

1 Iran University of Science and Technology

2 School of Architecture and Environmental Design, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran

10.30465/hcs.2024.46817.2861

Abstract

Constructing and founding museums was considered as a pricnipal part of the government cultural policy during the Pahlavi period. In this regard, a museum was inaugurated in 1977 within the Shahyad complex (now Azadi) align with the other efforts to disseminate the White Revolution such as publications, celebrations, and commemorations. This research explores how this museum was founded and what were the purposes behind its foundation. It also analyzes the design of the museum and the objects on display, in order to study its relationship with the Pahlavi memory policies.

The method in this research is descriptive-analytical. The data is also collected from documents including official letters, contracts, and images as well as library resources. The research findings indicates that by founding museums, such as the Sixth Bahman Museum, the Pahlavi government sought to make an official history to promote the government, legitimize it and shape the collective memory. By using the most advanced audio-visual methods and displaying selected objects, the atmosphere of the museum served the government's propaganda in establishing a relation between the glorious past of Iran and the Pahlavi "great civilization" and disseminating their intended narratives.

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