Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities

Abstract Literary Theory and Criticism: An Interdisciplinary Textbook is written by Hossein Payendeh as a university textbook for master's degree course in Persian language and literature. It was first published in two volumes in 2018 by SAMT publications. Given the global importance of interdisciplinary studies in literature in recent decades as well as the need of the same in Persian literature, the current article makes an attempt to investigate the extent and manner of the application of interdisciplinary approaches in the aforementioned book. Taking into account historiographical and critical-analytical approaches, we could obtain a history of the theory and literary criticism in the West and then in Iran. This topic has also been presented in the official curriculums of Iranian universities. The form and structure of the book were studied after explaining the prevalence of the literary criticism discourse in Iran. In the section on reviewing the content, while enumerating the most important variables of the book, the relation of topics with the current situation of the theory and literary criticism in the West and Iran was explained and its contents drew the attention in order to confirm interdisciplinary studies in Persian literature. Based on the findings of this article, it can be argued that the publication of Literary Theory and Criticism: An Interdisciplinary Textbookwhile preserving the link with literary theories, indicating a break from those theories and turning attention to interdisciplinary studies in Persian literature. Its publication as an academic textbook can be considered as a turning point in academic literary studies in Iran.

Abstract The inner connection of Persian poetry and literature with painting, which shows commonality in imagination and images, has caused these two domains to have deep attachment and provide a common language and expression to describe forms and meanings of the imaginary world. Iranian poets and painters have used special verbal and visual tools to convey these forms and meanings. This article, with emphasis on metaphor, discusses its role and expressive ability in poetry and painting. In the process, the paper seeks to answer: 1- What are the expressive effects of metaphor in Iranian poetry and painting? 2- How have painters used the capacity of metaphor in their visual expression? The purpose of this article is to study the relationship between the two cultural domains of Iran i.e. poetry and painting, and explain their commonalities, that is, in the world of imagination and images. Another purpose is to identify the type of metaphors and their visual kinds in paintings. This is a descriptive-analytical research in which data have been collected through library and documentation centers. The data indicate that metaphor used in Persian poetry in the form of words and sentences explicitly and implicitly transferred to Iranian painting. In other words, painters expressed these metaphors visually in the form of shapes, colors and textures and thus introduced a new visual identity to express themes.

Abstract Sadegh Hedayat, a contemporary name-writer who achieved fame by presenting a novel way in fiction, relying on biological anthropology to retain his unique content, a collection of essays such as: Myths of Creation" Fathers of Man”, “Turkish Salt”, and “Darkroom” can be counted among them. Biological anthropology is one of the important branches of anthropological knowledge that examines the evolutionary structure of mankind. A few of his works contain some of the ideas of biological anthropology that, with their retrieval, can be found in the heritage of the survival of this knowledge. There are two documentary works that show the sources of guidance in this branch of anthropology. “The human and animal”,  and “Benefits of vegetarianism”, which can be inferred from the depth of his studies in this field. The present study intends to study the capacity of these works from the point of view of biological anthropology and the extent of its services to recognize this knowledge in Iran.

Abstract Culture teaching generally focuses on helping foreign language learners develop an understanding of the culture of the target language and, ideally, positive attitudes towards it. In today’s world, the domination of English in entertainment, mass media and new media may sometimes be accompanied by unbalanced views. This interdisciplinary paper draws upon pragmatics, anthropological and cultural studies findings and shows how they can be utilised in language pedagogy. It argues that in a world where non-native speakers of English outnumber native speakers, culture teaching should widen its aims: in addition to helping learners develop positive attitudes towards and knowledge of the culture of the target language, it should also aim to develop a more explicit understanding of the rules of the learners’ own culture. It focuses on the concepts of communicative competence and pragmatic failure, and then presents a model of analysis of Persian culture, analysing the concept and components of ‘face’ and the principles of politeness in Persian (deference, humility and cordiality). It then demonstrates how this analysis can be used to develop classroom strategies.
Keywords: culture/language teaching, pragmatics, Persian deference/face, anthropology.

Abstract One of major concerns of human beings regardless of their religion or school of thought is to observe ethical issues. This paper discusses the issue and lays emphasis on observing ethical matters in teaching in virtual learning environments in general and computer assisted language learning in particular. The paper tries to throw light on the current status of observing ethical issues in virtual learning environments and drawing both instructors and students’ attention to this issue. The research has been conducted by using two questionnaires one given to students and the other to instructors. Data analysis revealed that majority of instructors observed ethical issues when confronted with students’ personal details. Students were most sensitive regarding disclosing their personal photos in these virtual environments; however, they were comfortable if their personal details were controlled by the instructors. The Chi-Square test showed no substantial difference between gender and observing ethical issues in virtual learning environments. 

Abstract The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between structural narratology and interdisciplinary studies. We will try to answer two main questions: What factors have been effective in narratology’s orientation toward interdisciplinary studies? Is this tendency the result of a possibility in narration or a methodological necessity? The movement of narratology to interdisciplinary is observable not only in new narratological tendencies but also in changes in structural theories. Therefore, this article will trace the roots of this tendency in the revises and critiques of these theories until 1970s. By tracing these changes it can be realized that the theories of structural narrotology have broken with idea of independence and self-sufficiency of literature and embraced other disciplines. The main factors in these changes are: attention to cultural elements and reading process in the perception of narrative structure. These considerations have been accompanied by some results; first, the main targets of narratology changed from investigating textual properties to reading and understanding the narration process; second, some disciplines and fields related to culture and mind studies found their way into narratology.

Abstract The present article tries to study the story Ašghālduni (Dustbin) by Gholāmhossein Sā’edi and the adapted movie Dāyere-ye Minā (The Cycle) by Dāryuš Mehrjuyi with a view to new adaptation theories. Of course, these theories have not yet been consistent and well-established; but its literature is going to evolve, especially its essentials are discussed in the study method of narratology. As an example, this proposition is discussed in theoretical subjects of adaptation that even in the loyal adapted movies, in which the structure of the literary story and the sequence of events in the movie are preserved, some of the semantic functions change because of story entry into the cinematic discourse along with the needs of medium of cinema. For example, the figurative aspect of Sā’edi's story in its adapted movie has been influenced by the scheme and sometimes realism dominates symbolism. Mehrjuyi has organized the events in the discourse of classic cinema in order to encourage the reader to persist the events during a certain time period. The way of timing a movie in terms of a three-screen structure encourages the spectator to follow the events and causes the "scheme" to dominate the "idea". Since the dominance of either scheme or idea creates different themes, it can be said that the very structural change leads somewhat to semantic change. Similarly, the change of Sā’edi's open ending narrative to a close one prevents the audience to participate in re-making the fictional fate of Ali; the sort that exists in a literary text.

Abstract Although increasing number of nose surgery, it's high costs and social damages today has become the most important subject in sociology and psychology, it has never been the subject of literary studies. The aim of this paper is to search the roots of nose surgery in Iran, relying on sociological studies. Descriptive analytic and the library method was used for collecting the data. The scope of study includes the Iranian poetry and the frequency of the face parts used in them. We analyzed the subject in the Hafez sonnets as a valuable sample of Iranian literature.

Abstract Different aspects of the poetry of Hafez have been studied so far.  The material and non-material features of his poetry have been examined in different fields such as literature and anthropology. Due to the influence and importance of Hafez’s poetry, it seems that it can be studied from the perspective of other fields as well. Communications science is among these fields, dealing with how and why communications are established between the speaker and the audience. In the present article the nonverbal aspects in the poetry of Hafez are studied. It seems that the verbal aspects of his poetry are not the only factors that have made it remain popular with the audience through generations; nonverbal aspects have played a great part as well. This article aims to examine the literary work in terms of nonverbal communications in order to demonstrate the skill of the poet in establishing communications with its audience beyond the boundaries of speech; the poet’s mastery over this feature is also culturally interpreted. The utilized method is qualitative content analysis.

Abstract Focusing on the two novels Prince Ehtejab and The Neighbors, this study examines the role of dress in reflecting the class structures of Iranian society within these narratives. The principal aim of the research is to analyze how dress is employed to depict class differences, to reinforce or contest social norms, and to attain a deeper understanding of the structures of power within society. To examine the relationship among language, power, and social structures in the two novels, this study employs a critical discourse analysis approach. The findings reveal that dress is not merely a superficial element but a potent instrument for representing and critiquing class structures. In both novels, dress is deployed to differentiate among distinct social classes, to reinforce social norms, and to signal historical-social transformations. In Prince Ehtejab, for instance, attire clearly delineates the divide between the aristocracy and the subaltern classes, whereas in The Neighbors, dress functions as a symbol of poverty and deprivation.
This study demonstrates that both novels, through dress, engage in the representation of existing socio-class structures, albeit with differing intensities and methods. Overall, the present study underscores the significance of dress as a symbolic instrument for a deeper understanding of the social and class structures within modern Persian literature.