Lecture
The Uprising Against the Theocracy: Background and Perspectives
by Prof. Dr. Katajun Amirpur
23. October 2026, 19:00 – 21:00
online

The Overbeck-Gesellschaft invites you to an online lecture that examines this uprising in its historical, social and political contexts. Prof. Dr. Katajun Amirpur will also address the question of whether war and sanctions are suitable means of weakening the regime, and what prospects are opening up for the country’s future.

For decades, people in Iran have been protesting against the regime of the Islamic Republic. Time and again, the protests are crushed with the utmost violence, and time and again, the population rises up against it. The causes of this resistance are manifold, and that is precisely what makes it so enduring.

The lecture accompanies the current exhibition THE SLOW RHYTHM OF CARE by Tirdad Hashemi. Hashemi’s paintings turn our gaze to an immediate present with documentary resonance: to women in the streets, to bodies standing upright, and to gazes that refuse to look away. Hashemi does not reproduce the images of protest and state violence, but translates them into a visual language that can be experienced physically.

Working in acrylic on canvas, Hashemi creates scenes that move between abstract floral landscapes and burning cities. Visible brushstrokes and flowing color transitions give the paintings an immediate impact, while loosely drawn figures convey openness and vulnerability. The bodies gather, hold one another, resist and bear witness. Against the backdrop of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, this collective presence itself becomes an act of resistance. The lecture complements the artistic perspective with political and scholarly context.

Please register by October 21, 2026 at info@overbeckgesellschaft.de.
The link will be sent to all participants on the day of the lecture.

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Katajun Amirpur was born in Cologne in 1971. Since 2018, she has been Professor of Islamic Studies with a focus on Iranian Studies at the University of Cologne. Her research focuses on reform theology as well as Islam and gender. Her recent publications include Iran ohne Islam (Iran Without Islam, published by C.H.Beck).