Resources
Aristotle. Selections from Politics. Trans. H. Rakham. Loeb Classical Library 264. Harvard Univ.
Press, 1932. Reading this for teachers' background knowledge is essential for this unit.
Azizi, Arash. “Four Decades of Propaganda in the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Iran Wire, 17 Dec. 2020, https://iranwire.com/en/special-features/68335/. This article not only talks of the propaganda of the Iranian Revolution but also the use of propaganda that persists today.
Boesche, Roger. “Aristotle’s 'Science' of Tyranny.” History of Political Thought, Spring 1993, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Spring 1993), pp. 1-25, Imprint Academic Ltd., https://www.jstor.org/stable/26214417. Another good journal article explaining Aristotle’s thoughts about tyranny.
Charbonneau, Mateen. “The Moon of Bani Hashim.” Sirat Project, 23 Sept. 2021, https://siratproject.alkisafoundation.org/the-moon-of-bani-hashim/. This provides a brief history of important figures in Iranian cultural history that focuses on heroism and resisting corrupt power.
Chelkowski, Peter and Hamid Dabashi. Staging a Revolution: The Art of Persuasion in the Islamic Republic of Iran. New York University Press, 1999. This book has so many examples of propaganda, along with in depth explanations of the images and historical explanations. This really is a must buy if you are using this unit.
Citra, Sabrina. “Veiled Truths: Memory and Resistance in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis.” Grafis Masa Kini, 23 June 2025, https://grafismasakini.com/article/veiled-truths-memory-and-resistance-in-marjane-satrapis-persepoli s/en. This article had a great explanation about how this memoir functions as an example of resistance.
“The Failure of the Left.” Worker’s Liberty, 30 Jun. 2006, https://www.workersliberty.org/story/2017-07-26/failure-left?language_content_entity=und. I like this article because it does address why the communists aligned with the Ayatollah and the religious faction. It also explains why this strong ideology failed. This connects significantly to Remembering Akbar.
Ghamari, Behrooz. “I Was a Prisoner in Iran. I’ve Seen the US Meddle in the Region for Decades.” The Walrus. 7 March 2026, https://thewalrus.ca/i-was-a-prisoner-in-iran-ive-seen-the-us-meddle-in-the-region-for-decades/. If you want to know about the author of Remembering Akbar and his views on past and current events, read this article.
Ghamari, Behrooz. Remembering Akbar: Inside the Iranian Revolution. New York: OR Books, 2016. This book was so enlightening about the Evin prisoners’ experiences. You could have students read this alongside Persepolis, but excerpts could be enough.
“The Graphics of Revolution and War: Iranian Poster Arts.” University of Chicago Library, Accessed July 13, 2026. https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/turnstile/challenge/?next=/collex/exhibits/graphics-revolution-and-war-iranian-poster-arts/. This website was the genesis of this unit. If you do not want to buy Staging a Revolution book, you could really rely on this website alone for a plethora of propaganda.
Guernsey, Grace. “From Young to Bold: Youthful Resistance in Persepolis and at Present.” The Georgetown Independent, February 8, 2026, https://www.georgetownindy.com/post/from-young-to-bold-youthful-resistance-in-persepolis-and-at-present.This a beautiful article that explains the significance of reading Persepolis now.
Hoveman, Rob. “How Iran’s 1979 Revolution Deposed Hated Shah.” Socialist Worker, 30 Jun. 2025, https://socialistworker.co.uk/in-depth/how-irans-1979-revolution-deposed-of-hated-shah/.
Jordović, Ivan. “Aristotle on Extreme Tyranny and Extreme Democracy.” Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, 2011, pp. 36-64, https://www.jstor.org/stable/29777247. This journal article has a great breakdown of Aristotle which I used to help my students understand what Aristotle was saying about tyranny.
Moss et al. “Legacies of Protest Art in Iran: The Revolutionary Art Workshop of 1979.” Public Culture, vol. 36, no. 2, 1 May 2024, pp.153–179., https://doi.org/10.1215/08992363-11158958. This source has so many images from Group 57 and explains the group’s importance to the Iranian Revolution.
Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis. Pantheon, 2003. This is the anchor text for this unit.
“Simulation as a Teaching Strategy | Center for Teaching and Learning.” Kent State University. Accessed July 27, 2026. https://www.kent.edu/ctl/simulation-teaching-strategy. A great webpage to justify simulation in your classroom.
Zarkar, Rustin. “The Poster Arts of May Day: International Worker’s Day in Revolutionary Iran.” Ajam Media Collective, May 1, 2013. https://ajammc.com/2013/05/01/may-day-in-poster-art-international-workers-day-in-revolutionary-iran/. This source has many images used to show the Islamizing of the Marxist cause in Iran.
Comments: