Historiography of Iranian Architecture: Narratives, Debates, and Emerging Directions

Abstract This roundtable opens a small window onto current debates regarding the historiography of Iranian architecture, highlighting the work of a new generation of scholars whose academic formation is rooted in intellectual discussions within Iran. Although postcolonial critiques have challenged colonial and nationalist narratives, such critiques are still largely theorized and circulated through academic institutions in the Global North. Against this backdrop, the roundtable foregrounds the intellectual agency of scholars working at the “margin,” whose attention to local specificities offers perspectives that can enrich broader historiographical debates. By creating a platform for these voices, the roundtable highlights the epistemological value of perspectives grounded in local intellectual contexts and encourages further initiatives that may help balance the geography of knowledge production in architectural historiography.