Transnational Modernization and the Gendered Built Environment in Iran
Transnational Modernization and the Gendered Built Environment in Iran: Altering Architectural Spaces and Gender Identities in the Early Twentieth Century (1925-1941) A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Architecture and Interior Design of College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning By Armaghan Ziaee Bachelor of Architecture, 2009 Master of Architecture, 2013 Master of Arts, 2018 2018 Committee: Amy Lind, Ph.D. (Co-chair) Adrian Parr, Ph.D. (Co-chair) Edson Cabalfin, Ph.D. Abstract When Reza Shah Pahlavi (1925-1941) came to power in Iran in 1925, he initiated a rapid and irreversible process of change that began in the public domain of the city and filtered into the private domain of the home. During this era of accelerated, westernized modernization, gender- segregated private housing, including courtyard houses, and gender-exclusive, masculine public spaces were repurposed relatively quickly and/or were replaced by modern villa-style houses/apartments and gender-inclusive public spaces. Over the years, as Reza Shah’s policies of western-style modern houses, urban spaces, fashion, and design grew, he intensified his support for gender desegregation, most notably through banning women’s use of the Chador (the traditional Iranian veil) in public spaces. In this sense, the first Pahlavi modernization project of the built environment was constructed through a gendered lens of progress, in which physical structures, public and private spaces, and women’s (and men’s) very senses of embodiment and identity – in their homes, in public spaces, in regard to their dress – became a contested battleground at the center of broader struggles concerning modernity and westernization in Iran.
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