Architecture in Iran's Literature

This course traces the representation and description of architecture across Iranian literary history, from its earliest sources, including the Avesta and ancient rock inscriptions, to contemporary works. We approach architecture in its broadest sense, encompassing cities, gardens, and other constructed spaces. Through close readings of these texts, we will explore how literature imagines and articulates ideal spaces and paradises, gendered spaces, spaces of equality, and modern spaces. We will trace the continuities and transformations in these architectural concepts over time to uncover the broader shifts in the Iranian worldview that they reflect.