Iranian identity, as one of the most foundational cultural and social constructs, plays a pivotal role in the reproduction and transmission of values within the national educational system. The Farsi (Bekhanim) textbooks used in Iranian elementary schools during the 2010s employ classical Persian narratives and their accompanying illustrations as key pedagogical tools for representing, stabilizing, and internalizing national identity among children. Grounded in Laclau and Mouffe’s Discourse Theory, this study investigates how Iranian identity is articulated through the visual representations of these classical stories. The research purses two major aims: first, to identify the primary components of Iranian identity embedded in the illustrations of classical narratives across the Farsi textbooks of the 2010s; and second, to explain how these components are discursively articulated within the theoretical framework of Laclau and Mouffe. Accordingly, the study addresses the following central questions: What identity components are most prominent in the visual representations of classical narratives? How are these components articulated through nodal points, chains of equivalence, and processes of exclusion? Which dominant discourses govern the representation of Iranian identity, and through which signifiers do they assert their hegemony?
The findings indicate that the visual construction of Iranian identity in these textbooks is organized around six major axes: (1) epic–national, (2) moral–didactic, (3) religious–spiritual, (4) scientific–rational, (5) cultural–literary, and (6) hybrid or multi-layered representations that combine several of these elements. Each axis functions as a nodal point anchoring a broader chain of equivalence, thereby linking dispersed signifiers-such as heroism, virtue, piety, scientific inquiry, and Persian aesthetics-into coherent identity frameworks. Among these axes, the epic–national and moral–didactic dimensions demonstrate the strongest hegemonic force. Illustrations of national heroes and mythological figures foreground cultural memory, sacrifice, and resistance, while moral narratives visually encode virtues such as honesty, justice, and wisdom. Through their repetitive presence across grade levels, these images contribute to the stabilization of a national–ethical identity that connects Iranian belonging with moral excellence, spiritual sensibility, and historical pride.
The study further reveals that visual style plays a crucial developmental and discursive role in identity formation. In the lower grades, simplified and symbolic illustrations are employed to correspond to the concrete cognitive capacities of young learners, enabling the transmission of foundational ethical and cultural markers through clear, child-friendly imagery. In the middle grades, semi-realistic styles enriched with Persian motifs provide more culturally specific cues, deepening students’ engagement with Iranian aesthetic and historical codes. In the upper grades, highly realistic and detailed illustrations appear, allowing for more complex articulations of national, historical, and scientific identity. This progression reflects a pedagogical logic in which visual complexity increases alongside students’ cognitive development, thereby facilitating the gradual and layered internalization of identity.
The analysis also highlights mechanisms of discursive exclusion. The relative absence of female heroes, ethnic diversity, and representations of modern social realities suggests that the curriculum constructs a selective and idealized image of the Iranian subject-typically male, traditional, and historically grounded. In Laclau and Mouffe’s terms, these omissions function as constitutive outsides that delineate the boundaries of the hegemonic identity project. Thus, identity is articulated not only through what is depicted but also through what is silenced or marginalized.
Overall, the findings demonstrate that the illustrations of classical Persian narratives in the elementary Farsi textbooks of the 2010s operate as powerful discursive instruments that produce, stabilize, and reproduce Iranian identity. Through nodal points, chains of equivalence, and stylistic strategies aligned with developmental stages, these visual representations articulate a multifaceted Iranian identity that is national, ethical, spiritual, and cultural. Far from being mere complements to literary texts, the illustrations function as central ideological mechanisms within the educational apparatus, shaping children’s understanding of what it means to belong to the Iranian cultural and historical community.