Depiction of Europe in an Iranian History Textbook: Resentment and Discontent

Abstract

This study was carried out following the historical nuclear agreement between Iran and 5+1 countries in April 2015. The agreement marked a major political achievement for the moderate government of Hassan Rohani, who hopes to expand and maintain his political-economic ties with the European Union. While political relations with the EU seemed to have progressed abroad at the time, this study began as a project with the goal of examining whether similar improvements were reflected internally in the school curriculum. This was important as the political discourses in Iran and in the European Union strongly indicated tolerance and an open-door attitude.