Challenges to Univocal Scripts - Emotions in Visual and Acoustic Sources

Univocal emotional scripts, crafted by dominant institutions, often seek to reaffirm

the power they emanate from by sidelining alternative emotional undercurrents.

Emotions embedded in unsanctioned expressions can challenge these narratives,

unveiling more nuanced emotional experiences. To explore such challenges, this article

draws on visual and acoustic source materials, namely unofficially painted

murals of so-called “martyrs” in Tehran and official recordings produced during the

First World War from the Berlin Lautarchiv. Tracing the place of emotional scripts,

emotional landscapes, and emotive artifacts in two distinct contexts, the article attempts

to show how non-textual sources can be unlocked to historically explore the

potency of emotions.