The history of curriculum in Iran constitutes a complex, multilayered narrative reflecting the interplay among power, ideology, social needs, and political transformations. This history has frequently been recounted in formal, descriptive formats lacking profound critical analysis. This study aims to perform a “critical reconfiguration” of of curriculum studies history in Iran and propose a novel framework for theoretical epochs, utilizing a “critical historiography”. The theoretical framework of this research represents a deep synthesis of Habermas’s “cognitive interests,” Foucault’s “knowledge and power,” and Cronin’s “critical narrative.” The research method based on the analysis of upstream documents, historical texts, executive reports, and official discourses during key epochs of Iranian curriculum studies. Findings indicate that curriculum historical trajectory in Iran was not solely driven by technical developments or educational policies. Rather, it served as a battleground for the power discourses, cognitive interest’s reproduction, and efforts to shape national identity. By examining hidden layers, suppressed voices, and invisible structures within Iran curriculum history, this study employs a qualitative approach on critical historiography, responds to the fundamental question: How have historical developments in curriculum studies shaped the current and future pattern of curriculum theorizing? It proposes a framework in which curriculum is understood not as a static document, but as a dynamic process of “emergence” arising from historical and critical roots. Furthermore, in a historical-critical formulation, it delineates a clear framework for the future of theory curriculum in Iran, wherein justice, emancipation, and participation serve as the main pillars for science development and curriculum design.