The American College of Tehran, 1929–32: A Memorial Album

Abstract

This essay introduces a previously unpublished memorial album of the American College of Tehran compiled by a former student during the early Pahlavi period. The album contains a wide range of contributions by College faculty, associates, occasional visitors as well as fellow students and encompasses material on national history, ethics, sports, military service, mathematics and poetry, as well as numerous pencil drawings and art work. In addition there is a wide range of photographs of the College, its faculty and staff, its diverse student body, classrooms, athletics, special occasions and outdoor activities (a list of the album's contents and samples of contributions and photographs are appended to the essay). As discussed in the essay, and in manifold ways, the documentary evidence illustrates how both physically and cognitively the College provided a necessary space for participation in educational reform during the early decades of the twentieth century. Seen from this perspective, it was part of a wider context of modernization with which a broad range of individuals from different social and community backgrounds and generations identified themselves. On the whole, the album offers valuable glimpses into the social and educational aspects of the early Pahlavi Iran.