Invented Tradition as a Theoretical Approach Within Iranian Memory Studies: A Review

Abstract

This article explores the existing literature on social memory in Iran, a growing research area for studying the country’s past. The scattered and fragmented nature of the literature across disciplines makes an in-depth thematic analysis important to organize these intellectual efforts. The article is divided into two parts. The first part presents a chronological scheme that identifies and discusses three distinct phases of literature development. The second part is a theoretical review demonstrating that memory politics has been the most popular topic in Iranian memory literature. The article adopts two broad paradigms to classify the theories used in the literature: structuralism and symbolic interactionism. Structuralism is the most popular paradigm, while symbolic interactionism is a new trend. The article concludes with recommendations for future researchers working on social memory in Iran.