Social Positioning and Every Day Life in Qajar Persia

Conference, 4-6 June 2008, Amsterdam and Leiden

In rethinking the Qajar period (1781-1925), Nasser ed-Din Shah's reign (1848-1896) could be seen as a pivotal point in the study of social history in modern Iran. Furthermore, the turn of the twentieth century saw fundamental changes to Persia’s traditional political and cultural patterns, which were interrelated with some profound socio-economic transformations affecting every aspect of life at all levels. In studying Qajar Persia, it seems that social history is the least developed of current historical research trends. The proposed conference is a response to this challenge.

Bringing together historians from Iran, Europe and the North America, this conference aims at identifying new methodological devices, discussing critical views and exploring fresh sources of historical information for the study of social history in modern Iran. Drawing on the existing literature and critiques in the field, the conference will critically focus on the following themes:

• Methodological and conceptual underpinnings as well as historical perspectives as an area of enquiry in constructing a social history of Qajar Persia
• Examination and interpretation of newly-found primary sources such as diaries, letters, photos, manuscripts and original documents
• Interpreting and understanding the context in which primary sources were generated
• Identifying conflicting evidence and locating factual and interpretive information that can help researchers of Qajar Persia resolve or eliminate existing differences

The conference will be jointly organized by Leiden University, International Qajar Studies Association, and International Institute of Social history (IISH) in Amsterdam. The event is open to the public and convened by Touraj Atabaki, Professor of Social History of the Middle East and Central Asia at Leiden University and Senior Research Fellow at the IISH and Ferydoun Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn, Vice-President

Programme

Locations:
International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam, Cruquiusweg 31, Amsterdam
University of Leiden, Kamerlingh Onnesgebouw, Steenschuur 25, Leiden

Wednesday 4 June: First Conference Day, Amsterdam
14.00-14.30: registration of conference
14.30-14.40: opening conference
14.40-15.20: Touraj Atabaki, Revisiting Social Historiography of Qajar Persia.
15.20-16.00: Nayer Glenn-Mostofi, Mostofi’s ‘Story of My Life’
16.00-17.00: drinks

Thursday 5 June: Second Conference Day, Leiden
09.30-09.55: registration conference at Leiden University, book tables open
Chair Touraj Atabaki
09.55-10.00: opening address
10.00-10.40: Abbas Amanat, Social Positioning and Every Day Life in Qajar Persia; the Sources
10.40-11.20: Hans Timmermans, Review of the Notes of Lieutenant-Colonel H. Picot on Royalty and Notables in Qajar Persia
11.20-11.50: coffee break, book tables open
11.50-12.30: Nahid Nosrat-Mozaffari, What do we know about the lives of Qajar women?
12.30-13.30: lunch
Chair Manoutchehr M. Eskandari-Qajar
13.30-14.05: Ferydoun Barjesteh, Short Report: DNA-evidence versus the Paper Trail. Groundbreaking News on the Origins of the Qajars
14.05-14.45: Ali Gheissari, A Physician of Body Politic in late Qajar Iran: Hajj Mohtasham os-Saltaneh on ‘Causes of Our Misery and its Cure.’
14.45-15.00: tea break
15.00-15.40: Reza Sheikh, Photography as a tool for Social Positioning
16.00-17.15: opening and visit of the exhibition ‘Eyes on Persia’ of photographs from the Hotz Collection at the Universiteitsbibliotheek Leiden
19.00-23.00: conference dinner, Leiden

Friday 6 June: Third Conference Day, Leiden
09.30-09.55: registration, book tables open
Chair Nahid Nosrat-Mozaffari
09.55-10.00: opening second day
10.00-10.40: Houchang Chehabi, Qajar Titles and their Abolition in 1925
10.40-11.20: Stephanie Cronin, Nationalism and the Invention of the ‘Tribal Problem’ in Late Qajar Persia
11.20-12.00: Manoutchehr M. Eskandari-Qajar, The Message of the Negarestan Mural of Fath Ali Shah and His Sons: Snapshot of Court Protocol or Determinant of Dynastic Succession
12.00-13.30: lunch break, book tables open
13.30-14.15: Round Table, final discussions, moderator Hans Timmermans
14.15-14.30: Close of conference

See the conference poster.