One of the most remarkable developments in international film of recent memory is the emergence of a vibrant and creative film industry in Iran following the Islamic Revolution of 1979. In light of worldwide acclaim for the work of Iranian filmmakers, scholars have pointed to a strong similarity between the style of these films and those of post-war Italian Neorealist filmmakers. By analyzing the works of three of Iran's leading directors, Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Majid Majidi and comparing them with the greatest Italian Neorealist film, The Bicycle Thief, this study will attempt to show how Iranians are working within the Neorealist tradition while at the same time making it distinctively their own.

Religious authority in the Shi‘ite world is often claimed and justified by drawing on national ideologies. Examining the relations between the ruling religious elite in Iran and Lebanese Shi‘ite party of Amal and followers of the Lebanese Shi‘ite scholar Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah, this article shows how the latter two actors seek to break official Iran's hegemonic claim to lead the Shi‘ite world through parody and critical narratives about the history and society of Iran. This politics of religious authenticity is not limited to debates among Shi‘ite scholars but also involves other actors such as political party members, students of religion, and pilgrims as they take part in shaping claims to seniority and authenticity in Shi‘ite tradition.

In this article by one of the founders of the Georgian school of Oriental Studies, the role of the gholams in Safavid service is highlighted by focusing on the career of Allahverdi Khan and his children. First, it is shown that Allahverdi Khan was not an Armenian, but a Georgian of the noble Undiladze family. Second, the rise of the Georgian slave in the Safavid administration and that of his children is discussed, both their political and cultural roles within the Safavid kingdom as well as their continued relations with Georgia. Finally, the cause of the family's downfall, due to too much success, its continued involvement in the affairs of Georgia, and its rivalry with fellow-Georgian Rostam Khan, is analyzed with emphasis on the use of Georgian sources.

The essay of Sergo Gamdlishvili (1882–1910), a Georgian participant of the Gilan resistance, was published in Tbilisi in February–March of 1910. The source focuses on the Gilan resistance and provides insights and interesting details regarding the political attitudes, strategies, and collaboration of the Transcaucasian and Iranian revolutionaries from the end of 1908 through the summer of 1909. The source is also interesting material to study how the Iranian Constitutional Revolution was seen by its Caucasian participants, what they deemed to be major peculiarities of the Movement in different regions in Iran, and how they saw their role in these events.

This paper maps how American popular culture came to terms with the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran through a study of Hussein Khosrow Vaziri. Vaziri, better known by his moniker, “The Iron Sheik,” was active in professional wrestling in the 1980s and remains to this day one of the most well-known Iranians in American cultural memory. Through an analysis of his character and how he has been represented in the popular media, I argue that he was chiefly utilized as a figure through whom Americans could cope with the devastating blow that the Revolution caused to American power. I argue that this reaction continues to this day, albeit focusing not on Iran but on the current political tensions involving the attacks of September 11, 2001.