Mira Xenia Schwerda (Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts)
A Revolution in Pictures: An Examination of Early Political Photography in Iran and the Ottoman Empire

Mira Xenia Schwerda’s research focuses on the first nationwide political protests that occurred during the Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911) in Iran and which resulted, eventually, in the curtailment of the rulers’ rights and the establishment of a constitution and parliament.

In her doctoral dissertation, “How Photography Changed Politics: The Case of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution”, she argues that the introduction of new technologies, such as print and photography, was essential to extend the protests beyond the capital of Tehran and enabled the Constitutionalists to reach audiences beyond the small circle of the intelligentsia, which is evidenced by the large number of widely circulated photographic postcards of the period. During this period, Istanbul played a significant role as many of the Iranian Constitutionalists resided there. Ottoman and Persian photographs and prints depicting political unrest circulated in Turkey and Iran and influenced each other. Yet, they have rarely been analyzed together.