Spatiotemporal Politics in Contemporary Iran: Dynamics of Memory, Agency, and Ritual among the Graduates of Islamic Schools

In contemporary Iran, commemorative rituals serve as spatio-temporal tools for fostering social bonds, yet they also represent contested spaces where the state and society negotiate power. The portrayal of the past by state institutions often clashes with how individuals remember, creating a conflictual dynamic. This dissertation investigates these dynamics, focusing on the interplay of competing worldviews.

It examines how the Shi’i Weltanschauung of the Iranian state resonates with the y...