course information
available since
20 September 2025
main language
English
course price
50 dollars
Material Religion Among Shia Muslims in Iran Today
Exploring Shia Islam in contemporary Iran through the lens of material religion, this course examines how sacred architecture, calligraphy, ritual objects, textiles, visual arts, soundscapes, and performative practices shape and sustain religious worlds. Case studies span the design of mosques and shrines and other religious buildings, miniature and other forms of painting, carpets and several other forms of weaving, mosaic and tilework, music and other sounds, ritual performance, literature, fashion, graphic design, cinema, and abstract as well as contemporary arts. Situating these within global debates on the materiality of religion, the course probes how objects, bodies, and spaces act as resources in theology, devotion, and identity, revealing Shia material culture as integral to the making of lived religion.
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Inside the Course

Session One

1 – Theoretical Frameworks
Readings:
Birgit Meyer: Mediating Religion
Manuel Vásquez: Materiality of Religion

Video Lecture: Why Study Material Religion in Shiism?
Forum: Share an example of material religion from your own context
Session Two

2 – Shrines, Space, and Sacred Architecture
Focus Studies

Focus on Mashhad, Qom, Shah Cheragh, etc.
Aesthetic politics of light, tilework, and tomb design

Optional Reading: Pedram Khosronejad on shrine photography
Assignment: Shrine as sensory space (photo essay or observation)
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