This seminar explores Iranian culture, art, history and politics through film in the contemporary era.  We will examine a variety of works that represent the social, political, economic and cultural circumstances of post-revolutionary Iran.  Along the way, we will discuss issues pertaining to gender, religion, nationialism, ethnicity, and the function of cinema in present day Iranian society.  Films to be discussed will be by internationally acclaimed filmmakers, such as Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, Tahmineh Milani, Jafar Panahi, Bahman Ghobadi, among others.