FEBRUARY 28, 2026 — What can we say about today? We wake up to troubling news of air strikes in Iran. A girls’ elementary school has been bombed and 53 people among the dead.
I do not have the expertise to get into how we got here, yet it is important to know who is involved.
Everything I first learned about the reality of modern Iran, I learned from Persepolis. This memoir brings us through Satrapi’s childhood, and tackles difficult themes like torture, arrests, protests and police/military violence.
We’ll soon share primers on more countries and cultures that help families understand current events. There is no perfect or all-encompassing way to learn about such rich, vibrant world histories, but here are good places to start with your kids (preteen and up).
I urge you to also watch it for free on YouTube and follow your family’s curiosity on its themes.
What does Persepolis Mean?
Designated as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1979, the ruins of Persepolis were founded in 518 B.C. as the capital of the Achaemenid Empire in Iran.
Persepolis, whose magnificent ruins rest at the foot of Kuh-e Rahmat (Mountain of Mercy) in south-western Iran, is among the world’s greatest archaeological sites. Renowned as the gem of Achaemenid (Persian) ensembles in the fields of architecture, urban planning, construction technology, and art, the royal city of Persepolis ranks among the archaeological sites which have no equivalent and which bear unique witness to a most ancient civilization.
Read more at Britannica
Persepolis Study Guides
Penguin Random House Persepolis Reader’s Guide by Marjane Satrapi
Teachers Pay Teachers: Persepolis Novel Studies
Image/Photo credit: Unesco World Heritage Site, Britannica, Persepolis
Sources
- Persepolis the movie
- Persepolis the graphic novels. Buy at Bookshop with our affiliate link. If you use the link, we receive a percentage of the sale at no cost to you. Out Think Media is reader-supported, and every bit helps!
- Interviews with Marjane Satrapi
- 28 February 2026, Staff, “Israel strikes two schools in Iran, killing more than 50 people,” Aljazeerah, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/28/israel-strikes-two-schools-in-iran-killing-more-than-50-people
- Unesco World Heritage Convention
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