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Research Interests

• Qajar and Safavid art and architecture
• Early modern Islamic urbanism
• Shi’i shrine culture
• Phenomenology
• Ephemeral architecture

Education

Courtauld Institute of Art, London, UK (2022– )

• Doctor of Philosophy | History of the Arts and Architecture of Islam and Iran
• Dissertation: “Inside a Diamond on Fire: The Sensorial Apparatus of Ayeneh-Kari in Iranian Palaces and Shrines (1612–1919)“
• Supervisor: Dr. Sussan Babaie; Advisor: Dr. Stephen Whiteman

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA�� (2019–2021)

• Master of Science in Architectural Studies | History, Theory, and Criticism of Art and Architecture | Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
• Thesis: “Fractured and Dissolved, Architecture Ablaze: Towards an Understanding of Ayeneh-Kari in Iranian Palaces”
• Advisor: Dr. Nasser Rabbat; Reader: Dr. Kristel Smentek

Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY (2015–2018)

• Bachelor of Arts | Art History and Middle Eastern Studies
• Thesis: “Metaphors, Mysticism, and Mathematics: The Life and Work of Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian”
• Advisor: Dr. Susan Aberth; Readers: Dr. Olga Bush and Dr. Katherine Boivin

Bard College Berlin, Berlin, DE (2016–2017)

• Certificate in Arts and Society

Awards and Honors

• Consortium for the Humanities and Arts South-East England Fellowship (2022–2026)
• MIT Master of Science in Architecture Studies Thesis Prize (2021)
• Aga Khan Program Travel Grant Award (2020)
• Graduate Fellowship in Architectural History at MIT (2019–2021)
• Jean French Award for Art History (2018)
• Community Action Award of Bard College (2016)
• Posse Foundation Full-Tuition Leadership Scholarship to Bard College (2015–2018)
• Congressman John Lewis Congressional Art Award (2015)

Publications

• Reza Daftarian, “Orosi��(sash) windows in the Shrine of Shah Cheragh at Shiraz.” Catalog entry in��The Emamzadeh Yahya at Varamin: An Online Exhibition of an Iranian Shrine, directed and edited by Keelan Overton, 33 Arches, 1403/2024–25. Host:��Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online (available online at
• Reza Daftarian, “Ayeneh-kari��(mirror-work) in the tomb of Shah Cheragh.” Catalog entry in��The Emamzadeh Yahya at Varamin: An Online Exhibition of an Iranian Shrine, directed and edited by Keelan Overton, 33 Arches, 1403/2024–25. Host:��Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online. (available online at )
• Reza Daftarian, “Zarih��(screen) of Emam Reza, known as��Zarih-e shir o shekar��(The Lion and Sugar Zarih).” Catalog entry in��The Emamzadeh Yahya at Varamin: An Online Exhibition of an Iranian Shrine, directed and edited by Keelan Overton, 33 Arches, 1403/2024–25. Host:��Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online. (available online at )
• Reza Daftarian, “Soundscapes of Iranian shrines and��emamzadehs.” Catalog entry in��The Emamzadeh Yahya at Varamin: An Online Exhibition of an Iranian Shrine, directed and edited by Keelan Overton, 33 Arches, 1403/2024–25. Host:��Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online (available online at )
• Reza Daftarian, Review of the Fourteenth Annual Boston Palestine Film Festival,��International Journal of Islamic Architecture��11, no. 2 (2022): 449–53.
• Reza Daftarian, “Naqqashi-ha-ye Qaveh-Khaneh, Ayeneh-Kari, va Gol o Bolbol dar Honar-e Monir [Coffeehouse Paintings, Mirror-Work, and The Rose and Nightingale in Monir’s Art],” in Yek Zendegi-ye Yadgiri: Honar-e Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian [A Life of Learning: The Art of Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian], ed. Ali Najafian and Maryam Najafian (Tehran: Negaristan Cultural Institute, 2021), 52–69.
• Reza Daftarian, “The Ornamental Idiom of Ayeneh-Kari,”��Imprint��1, no. 2 (2021): 109–19.

Presentations

• Society of Architectural Historians, Emerging Scholars Symposium (Virtual) | Ayeneh-Kari as Archive: Documenting the Ephemeral in the Shi’i Shrines of Iran��(Sep. 2025)
• Tenth Biennial Convention, Association for Persianate Studies, Tashkent, UZ | From Pane to Fragment: Ayeneh-Kari and the Affective Architecture of Ayeneh Khaneh (Aug. 2025)
• PhD Symposium, Courtauld Institute of Art, London, UK | “Know the World from End to End Is a Mirror”: Illuminating the Shrine of Imam Reza in Qajar Iran (May 2025)
• Sensescapes of War and Ritual, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NL | ��Shimmering Sanctity: Ayeneh-Kari and Ritual Embodiment in Shah Cheragh (Feb. 2025)
• PhD Symposium, Courtauld Institute of Art,��London, UK | Mediating the Sacred: Affect, Awe, and Ayeneh-Kari in the Tomb of Fatemeh-ye Massumeh in Qom (May 2024)
• Iranian Studies Graduate Student Symposium, University of Seoul, Seoul, KR |�� From the Shahnameh to the Battle of Karbala: Reorienting Coffeehouse Paintings and Ta’ziyeh Performances in Qajar Iran (Sep. 2021)
• New Paltz Art History Symposium, State University of New York, New Paltz, NY | Between Shah Cheragh and Gol o Bol Bol: Synthesizing the Sources of Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian’s Artistic Practice (Apr. 2019)
• Circle 1 Gallery, Berlin, DE | Staging Sovereignty in the Palaces of Safavid Iran��(Dec. 2018)
• Religious Studies Symposium, Humboldt University, Berlin, DE | The Phenomenon of the “Image” in Medieval Islamic Hagiographies (Nov. 2018)

Teaching Experience

• Courtauld Institute of Art, London, UK | Teaching Assistant: BA Foundations Model 1— Byzantium, Medieval, and Buddhist Arts (Sep.–Dec. 2023)
• ��Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA | Teaching Assistant: 4.617 — “What is an Islamic City? The Case of Cairo”��(Jan.–May 2020)
• Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY | Teaching Assistant: BLC 210 — “Inclusive Pedagogies” (Sep.–Dec. 2018)
• Bard College Berlin, Berlin, DE | Teaching Assistant: AH 340 — “Exhibition Culture and Public Space: Documenta, Skulptur Projecte Münster, Venice Biennial” (Sep.–Dec. 2017)
• Spelman College, Atlanta, GA | Guest Lecturer: ART 312 — “Contemporary African Art” (Jun–Aug. 2017)
• Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY | Guest Lecturer: ART 382 — “Modern Days, Ancient Nights: African Art, Music, Cinema, and Fashion” (Jan.–May 2017)

Work Experience

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA | Research Assistant to Dr. Nasser Rabbat (Jul. 2020–Jul. 2021)
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA | Research Assistant to Dr. James L. Wescoat (Aug. 2019–Jun. 2020)
• Circle 1 Gallery, Berlin, DE | Interpretation and Archives Staff Member (Jul. 2017–Jan. 2018)
• Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin, DE | Collections/Research Intern (Sep.–Dec. 2017)
• The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA | Curatorial Assistant of African Art (May 2015–Aug. 2017)

Exhibitions

• Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY | Co-Curator of��Off Shore (Nov.–Dec. 2018)
• The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA | Curatorial Assistant for Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design (Oct. 2017–Jan. 2018)
• The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA | Curatorial Assistant for Universal and Sublime: The Vessels of Magdalene Odundo�� (Jun.–Oct. 2017)
• Hessel Museum of Art—Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY | Co-Curator of To Care, To Exhibit, To Curate (Nov. 2016–Jan. 2017)

Research Languages

• Fluency: English and Persian
• Reading Proficiency: French and Spanish
• Elementary Proficiency: Classical Arabic