Revolution of Things: The Islamism and Post-Islamism of Objects in Tehran

In Revolution of Things, Kusha Sefat reconstructs the political history of postrevolutionary Iran at the intersection of everyday objects and words, exploring how the merger of materiality and language permeates the country’s politics and Islamist discourses. Just as Islamism fashioned its own objects in Tehran during the 1980s, he argues, tyrannical objects generated a distinct form of Islamism by means of their material properties; everyday things from walls to shoes to foods were active political players that helped consolidate the Islamic Republic.

The author and social anthropologist, Kusha Sefat, joins the Takhayyul Project to discuss his new book, and the way in which materiality and language have transformed Islamic politics during Iran’s revolution and its aftermath. All members of the public are cordially invited. Event supported by the UCL Middle East Research Centre.

About the speakers
Kusha Sefat is an Assistant Professor in Sociology at the University of Tehran. He received his PhD as a Queens' College Walker Scholar in Sociology at the University of Cambridge in 2017 and was the recipient of the Best Dissertation Prize, awarded by the Foundation for Iranian Studies (U.S.). Kusha brings Science and Technology Studies and, interrelatedly, the new materialism to bear on historical, political, and cultural sociology, with an emphasis on the Global South.

Accessibility
Access information for the IAS Forum can be found on the IAS website.