Cultural Studies
H. Naderi; M.A. Mousavi
Abstract
Culture, as one of the main components of any social system, has always been exposed to all kinds of reflexivity, and one such case of ideation is related to the promotion of the notion of collapse by the elites. The purpose of this article is to examine what cultural collapse is, and to identify the ...
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Culture, as one of the main components of any social system, has always been exposed to all kinds of reflexivity, and one such case of ideation is related to the promotion of the notion of collapse by the elites. The purpose of this article is to examine what cultural collapse is, and to identify the root cause of it related to the elite community. To achieve this goal, a qualitative study with inductive content analysis was conducted with the participation of 12 academic elites who were experts and had published books on the subject under study. To analyze the data, a thematic analysis was adopted and the data were coded in Atlas.ti8. The findings showed that the use of the idea of cultural collapse has caused conceptual confusion among the elites, and while culture does not disappear but can be accompanied by metamorphosis and change. The roots of this go back to the forms of cultural change, analytical deception, the role of educational centers, the body of power, and the media; and the nature of the idea of collapse is related to the political system and has nothing to do with culture.
Women Studies
Y. Foroutan; M. Shojaee
Abstract
This research paper primarily focuses on gender considerations of demographic attitudes in Iran. More specifically, it has three major research objectives. First, it examines whether males and females hold varying demographic attitudes. Second, it aims to explore the effects of gender perceptions on ...
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This research paper primarily focuses on gender considerations of demographic attitudes in Iran. More specifically, it has three major research objectives. First, it examines whether males and females hold varying demographic attitudes. Second, it aims to explore the effects of gender perceptions on demographic attitudes. Third, it takes a comparative approach to investigate whether and how demographic attitudes are affected simultaneously and comparatively by sex and gender attitude. Five key components have been measured in the course of study: childbearing desires, attitudes towards the current official population policy or the so-called pronatalism, and attitudes towards emigration, divorce, and women’s age at first marriage. In addition, the term sex refers to both males and females, while their gender attitudes are measured on the basis of the respondents’ views on working women. This is a survey-based study with samples including 5200 males and females aged 15 years and more from the selected rural and urban areas of Iran. Outcomes of the research analysis support the key notion of the contemporary scholars of gender theory: a comprehensive knowledge on gender considerations of demographic attitude requires not only to going beyond the simple differences between males and females, but also to take into account the effects of gender attitudes of both sexes from comparative and simultaneous perspectives.
Sociology
Z. Mesgartehrani; A. Kazemi
Abstract
Studies in the field of religion and women consider the emancipation of women from the structure of patriarchy and the challenge of the beliefs and interpretations of traditional Islam to belong to the upper class and elite of society. In this study, this question arises whether traditional pious women ...
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Studies in the field of religion and women consider the emancipation of women from the structure of patriarchy and the challenge of the beliefs and interpretations of traditional Islam to belong to the upper class and elite of society. In this study, this question arises whether traditional pious women of the lower classes also have the ability to re-interpret religion in their everyday lives? How do these women, without knowing the sources of religious intellectualism, re-interpret traditional religion and practically apply it in their lives? For this study, in-depth semi-structured interviews with traditional pious women in Ankara and Tehran were used. The results of this study show that women have not only used religion as a tool to expand their empowerment opportunities, but they have challenged traditional Islam and the interpretations that has tried to suppress them with the help of patriarchy for long years. They have inadvertently opened the space for the entry of religious intellectualism thoughts into their practical everyday life. Indirect opposition to the laws that have a jurisprudential basis has caused: firstly, women to go beyond the stage of resistance, and secondly, this opposition as intangible struggles has been able to change aspects of their lives, and eventually it shows a more concrete view of Islam's equality towards women.
Shahrooz Shariati; Mohammad Azimi Taraghdari
Abstract
Although the nature of the cultural crises is totally different from that of disasters like fire, flood and earthquake, it seems that cultural crises must be considered among those which require a careful management as they cause uncompensable damages to the social assets of the nations in mid- and long-terms. ...
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Although the nature of the cultural crises is totally different from that of disasters like fire, flood and earthquake, it seems that cultural crises must be considered among those which require a careful management as they cause uncompensable damages to the social assets of the nations in mid- and long-terms. Meanwhile, since the entity of culture has had an undeniable role in the victory of Islamic Revolution of Iran and its continuation, and acts as a pivotal and dominant entity in every social affiliation and reform, the enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran continuously struggle to make crisis in the country by spreading the Western Culture and through changing the beliefs of the people and thus endanger the independence of the country as well as the outcomes of the revolution. This is while no comprehensive strategies have been provided to realize the management of the cultural crises or immunize the society against the invading cultures. This paper aims to provide optimized strategies for crisis management and immunizing the society against alien cultural invasions. As a case study, and using the field method, after studying various viewpoints and opinions, an environmental study by sending questionnaires, and taking interviews, the weaknesses and strengths, the cultural vulnerabilities, and the threats and opportunities were counted using the Delphi technique and crisis management strategies and immunizing the society against the invading cultures were provided.
Nematollah Mousapour1
Abstract
It goes without saying that the managerial experiences should be transmitted when a manager is replaced by another one. Yet, the transmission of managerial experiences in research and educational institutes is faced with problems and obstacles, recognizing which contributes to the development of policies ...
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It goes without saying that the managerial experiences should be transmitted when a manager is replaced by another one. Yet, the transmission of managerial experiences in research and educational institutes is faced with problems and obstacles, recognizing which contributes to the development of policies and plans in this sphere. These obstacles have been identified using the lived experiences in management at different levels of university system in a period of around two decades, in different conditions of performance. By different conditions, three different states for accepting and transferring management are meant: evident competition (contradiction process), evident friendship (cooperation process) and impartiality (separation process). Accepting and transferring managerial responsibilities under competitive conditions evoke feelings of victory and defeat which can act as an obstacle to transmitting managerial experiences. Under friendly conditions, a feeling of intimacy prevails which is accompanied by the transmission and application of managerial experiences. And under conditions of impartiality, a feeling of caution and conservatism emerges which associates the transmission and application of managerial experiences with other issues. An analysis of facts suggests that obstacles to the transmission of experience under competitive conditions are jealousy on the part of the previous managers and mistrust on the part of the new manager; under friendly conditions the obstacles include proposition from the previous manager and self-reliance on the part of the new manager; and under impartial conditions the main obstacle is lack of mutual understanding. However, the transmission of managerial experience is connected with other variables, to explain which the two variables of the status and the position of the manager are used here. Also, two important phenomena which play their part in all these conditions are “lack of organization of experiences”, rooted in the tradition of oral preservation of experiences, and “maintaining ambiguity”, which is a sign of capacity and competence and generates a kind self-confidence.
Sayyed Abolhassan Riazi
Abstract
Since today’s consumer culture is regarded as the main characteristic of modern culture, and the Iranian society’s culture, as a result of influential cultural exchanges, is considered a culture in transition to the modern state, providing an image of the consumer culture of the Iranian society ...
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Since today’s consumer culture is regarded as the main characteristic of modern culture, and the Iranian society’s culture, as a result of influential cultural exchanges, is considered a culture in transition to the modern state, providing an image of the consumer culture of the Iranian society can contribute to a careful analysis of its transition from the traditional society to a modern society. In the present article, the data from the national survey on cultural inclinations and social attitudes, which dealt with leisure time activities in Iran, has been analyzed using secondary analysis method. Since the patterns of leisure time activities are among the main components of consumer culture, attempt has been made to present a critical portrait of the consumer culture of Iranian society, through typologies and secondary classifications of the data from the aforesaid survey. The statistical universe of the research, whose data has been used in the present article, includes all the cities and villages in Iran. The sample was collected using multi-stage cluster method. Finally, the result of the analysis of the collected data indicated that the pattern of leisure time activities can be divided into six groups, each of which denotes a certain form of consumer culture in the Iranian society.
Seyed Hossein Serajzadeh; Mohammad Sedigh Mohammadi
Abstract
In this paper clergies and academics' View on Religiosity Criteria will study and compare. Religiosity criterion is considered as the principle based on which the extent of religiosity of people is evaluated.Based on the sociological theories of Weber, Stark and Girth about the relationship between religious ...
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In this paper clergies and academics' View on Religiosity Criteria will study and compare. Religiosity criterion is considered as the principle based on which the extent of religiosity of people is evaluated.Based on the sociological theories of Weber, Stark and Girth about the relationship between religious understandings of different groups and their social status and situations and on the basis of secularization theories, and also considering the fact that clergies and academics enjoy different social characteristics, particularly with regard to their relation with academic institutions and modern values, it was hypothesized that clergies and academics criteria for religiosity vary and academics put more focus on general moral aspects and less emphasis on ritualistic, collective and juridical aspects of religiosity.For this aim, three samples of clergies, academics and academic clergies compared by conducting a questionnaire in which the respondents decided on the significance of the items of a multidimensional religiosity scale. The data revealed that academics and clergies emphasized differently on various aspects of religiosity. While clerics focused on all aspects and dimensions of religiosity, academics put primarily stress on moral aspects of religiosity and put less stress on collective rituals. The diversity could be explained based on the differences of social situation and educational tradition of clergies and academics.
Amin Parvin; Seyed Abdolamir Nabavi
Abstract
These days war has became one of the most important identical factors of the Middle East in western media. As war is representing the Middle East ugly and horrible to the public opinion, is being repeated normally in the lives of the Middle Eastern residents. On the other hand, the anti-war movements ...
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These days war has became one of the most important identical factors of the Middle East in western media. As war is representing the Middle East ugly and horrible to the public opinion, is being repeated normally in the lives of the Middle Eastern residents. On the other hand, the anti-war movements blame politicians and the terrorist groups. This article will consider such subject by emphasizing war as an everyday life issue in the Middle East (as multidimensional and culture phenomenon) and antiwar especially in America. The hypothesis is that war as a totality has covered all aspects of the Middle East residents (such as Iran) as has turned to part of their everyday life. On the contrary, anti-war in the western countries (America) has the same situation as above. In this paper, as a theoretical base, Zimmle, Marx, Weber, Lukach, Do serto, Foucault, Hall and Fisk will be used. The data has been collected in 1387 [2008] via qualitative methods (dialogue, observation and news analysis).
Naser Bahonar; Tahereh Jafari Keyzaghan
Abstract
This paper explains the effects of TV on culture by an emphasis on ethnical and national identities. The provided results which have been obtained from a part of a scientific research in IRIB research center show that on one hand, messages on some issues have been repeatedly broadcasted from IRI TV in ...
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This paper explains the effects of TV on culture by an emphasis on ethnical and national identities. The provided results which have been obtained from a part of a scientific research in IRIB research center show that on one hand, messages on some issues have been repeatedly broadcasted from IRI TV in three sections namely satiric programs, news and serials and watchers have been exposed to these messages, and on the other hand, watching TV has no influence on ethnical identity of the individuals. For national identity, the results of multivariable regression proves that level of watching TV has been entered into the equation and has been known as the third influential element after variables including communication network domain and level of individuals’ self confidence. On the whole, despite the fact that IRI TV produces and broadcasts messages regarding any of the identity issues under investigation, yet such messages are beside other influential elements and TV has been an effective element on the view of addressees regarding identity after social system variables. Moreover, the investigation showed that despite Gerbner’s Cultivation theory, TV in Iran has no Cultivation influence on the minds of addressees and people are more under the influence of other social system variables.
Hasammoddin Ashna; Mohammad Reza Roohani
Abstract
Identity is one of the most complicated concepts in humanities and social sciences. It is a multi-aspected phenomenon which expresses different meanings from different viewpoints. Generally we can say that Identity is a result of dialect between conceptual system and socio-cultural structures. In this ...
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Identity is one of the most complicated concepts in humanities and social sciences. It is a multi-aspected phenomenon which expresses different meanings from different viewpoints. Generally we can say that Identity is a result of dialect between conceptual system and socio-cultural structures. In this approach, Identity is addressed in relation with ; and so, emphasis on “self” and “others” unit of analysis. But when we focus on “cultural identity”, the relationship between identity and complicated concepts, e.g. culture and nationality, will turn into a mess which then, identity concept can be interpreted by different theoretical approaches. This meaning specially is important in Iran, because Iranian, Islamic and western identity sources affected Iranian people identity in different ages and finally born into contemporary Iranian cultural identity. We can name two different identity approaches here: descriptive approach which describe now and then, and prescriptive or policy approach which regards identity policies. In prescriptive approach, identity elements are general and abstract concepts, because identity change is regarded as an incremental movement .in regard with this basis in identity policy, we can analyze main Iranian cultural identity elements in five domains: religion, language, cultural geography, history and cultural memory, and social system.
Hossein Pirnajmoddin; Seyyed Mohammad Marandi; Mohamadreza Adeli
Abstract
This paper addresses the representations of the Muslim world, especially Iran, in Western media. These representations are traced back in orientalist discourse, one through which ‘knowledge’ is produced about the East which empowers the West to justify and maintain its dominance over its ...
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This paper addresses the representations of the Muslim world, especially Iran, in Western media. These representations are traced back in orientalist discourse, one through which ‘knowledge’ is produced about the East which empowers the West to justify and maintain its dominance over its Eastern Other. The writers first discuss the nature and functions of representation and proceed to examine some of the aspects and strategies of the Western media approach to the Muslim world in general and Iran in particular. The aim is to shed some light on the discursive functions and formations involved here. The need to address such pressing issues in order to create a more balanced and rational atmosphere necessary for a fruitful dialogue between nations and cultures is emphasized.
Maryam Sadat Ghiasian
Abstract
This study attempts to introduce two main currents in orientalism, the classic and the modern. The Western attitude toward the Orient, and especially Islam, is analyzed in both currents and the operative factors that lead to modern orientalism are surveyed. The 9th September 2001 event is here considered ...
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This study attempts to introduce two main currents in orientalism, the classic and the modern. The Western attitude toward the Orient, and especially Islam, is analyzed in both currents and the operative factors that lead to modern orientalism are surveyed. The 9th September 2001 event is here considered one of the most important points in modern orientalism. Media are here assumed to play a crucial role in representation of the orientalist and racist attitudes which nowadays focus on cultural differences. Accordingly, the present study surveys reflections of western cultural attitudes toward Iran in the linguistic construction of two British journals, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph and two American ones, Time and Newsweek, after the occurrence of the 9/11 event.
Younes Nourbakhsh
Abstract
The present study attempts to offer a model for social and cultural solidarity: a model based on ethnic and cultural diversity which help to the richness of a culture. Therefore, different approaches to culture, ethnicity and nation would be discussed and then, the concept of intercultural policies and ...
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The present study attempts to offer a model for social and cultural solidarity: a model based on ethnic and cultural diversity which help to the richness of a culture. Therefore, different approaches to culture, ethnicity and nation would be discussed and then, the concept of intercultural policies and thus its social and cultural consequences will be analyzed: the policies which are born in a special geographical situation and correlated with specific historical events. These cultural policies could not be applied unless the geographical, political, historical, cultural and social dimensions are taken into acount. In this regard, application of cultural policies in Iran will be evaluated and an appropriate model (structural unity and cultural pluralism) will be introduced which reinforces not only the concept of nation and national solidarity but also the cultural diversity.
Hassan Khani
Abstract
Religion and media are two important phenomena in today’s Middle Eastern societies. In these societies media is a newcomer player which its history of presence hardly approaches a century while religion is among the oldest and most important elements and factors in the Middle East. This article ...
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Religion and media are two important phenomena in today’s Middle Eastern societies. In these societies media is a newcomer player which its history of presence hardly approaches a century while religion is among the oldest and most important elements and factors in the Middle East. This article is an attempt to evaluate the different aspects of confrontation and interaction between these two in the Middle Easters societies in general and in Iranian Society in particular. The aim of this article is to investigate the different ways in which media occurred for and against religion trying to show how religion has managed to use media as an opportunity and at the same time how it has been threatened by it. This article argues that cooperation and confrontation between media and religion has left a significant effect on these societies influencing deeply the process of formation of political and social culture of the people something that can affect the confrontation between tradition modernity in these societies.
