Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities

Abstract The human perspective has a direct impact on the environment. In the modern era, man has considered himself in the place of God and has dominated the nature that has resulted in encroachment upon its privacy and disruption of its cycle. During antiquity, man always defined himself within the universe and had firm belief that the cycle of nature could not and should not be disrupted. The manner of man’s interactions with nature and the environment has been varied and sometimes contradictory in different periods. The existence of a bio-centric view and the acceptance of the principle that man is part of nature and his life depends on the surroundings, has led to behavioral occurrence based on the respect for nature and the environment. Ancient Iranians, too, as one of the world’s first civilizations, have always been at the forefront of human and environmental issues. The laws governing the ancient world were based on belief patterns, and the governing policies of that time were based on the notion of the protection of the environmental elements of soil, water, plants and animals. In this article, apart from examining the bio-centric perspective on the remaining myths from ancient Iran, as well as exploring the sources of Zoroastrianism and the Avesta, the relationship between the policies of kings and rulers and environmental ideas is discussed. This article shows that ancient Iranians with a bio-centric attitude and using religious propositions tried to satisfy the four elements of nature and emphasized its preservation.

Abstract The question of how to confront the West has always been an important issue for Iranians and their political and intellectual elites. The Islamic Revolution of Iran was a product of such a concern. Ayatollah Morteza Motahari, as one of the most important ideologue of the Islamic Revolution, tried to provide an account of Islam that is able to compete with new Western ideologies, particularly Marxism, in order to prevent the youth from being attracted to such ideologies. He created new meanings and notions derived from religious, traditional and even modern roots. In this paper, the main question is how the West is represented in Motahari’s political discourse. The post-colonial approach is the theoretical framework and Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse analysis theory is the research method. The findings of the research indicate that Motahari through representation and creation of otherness draws an identity boundary between “us” (Iranians) and the other (the West), and represents the latter with signifiers such as imperialist, exploiter, evil, cruel and darkness.

Abstract Considering widespread implication of development projects, it seems that development is the only solution for elimination of problems such as poverty, starvation, insecurity and eventually justice. Developmental state and good governance theory are two major development theories which formulate the attainment of the mentioned goals. Developmental state theorists argue that development achievement requires a powerful state while supporters of the good governance idea, believe that development depends on elevating the governances quality and creation of trust between state and citizens. These two theories have many theoretical tensions. In this article we investigate such tensions and have come to the conclusion that developmental state and good governance theory have no discrepancies. Actually implementation and dissemination of good governance needs developmental state, in the other words, it is prerequisite for good governance.

Abstract One of the most serious issues facing humanity is the water crisis that requires systematic and immediate action. It has been addressed from different viewpoints across academic disciplines. In this paper, the most important dimensions between water and some areas of human sciences and sociology of humans are highlighted. The question of the role of water upon human life, its effects on the processes of civilization, and subsequently how the lack of water effects the relations between people, nations, and civilizations are the focus of this article. Likewise, it clarifies the problems through quantitative analysis. The conceptual focus of this paper is on the relationship between water and politics in Iran and the Middle East. After a literature of review, it demonstrates how water crisis can finally change the essence of ‘the politics’ tremendously while turning civilization into primitivism. Empirical facts such as water and war, or water and violence are used to support this claim. The paper concludes that water should be the subject for trans-disciplinary research. Its outcome, as a ‘problem identification’, paves the way for public policy to manage comprehensive plans and to cope with this huge crisis.

Abstract Secularism is one of the most important components of west contemporary civilization. The role of this system of thought, which emerged as a reaction against the function of religious institutions in the West, especially the church in the Middle Ages, is so prominent in contemporary civilization that its effects on political, social, cultural conditions and relationships can be clearly identified, and the geography of Iran is no exception. After a brief introduction and brief explanation of the foundations of secularism, this paper focuses on the issue of the effects of secularism on contemporary architecture and urban planning, and in particular the physical-spatial transformations of Iranian contemporary cities. A composite method is used: archival research for data collection and qualitative content analysis for data analysis. Our findings indicate that since architecture, urban planning and relevant issues (including spatial and physical transformations) are influenced by different social and cultural relations, Iranian contemporary architecture and urbanism are affected by secularism and its foundations. In order to prove this issue, objective examples and evidence are presented as part of analytical discussions.

Abstract The capability approach has been the subject of increasingly enthusiastic enquiry in development studies and welfare economics over the last three decades. Although Amartya Sen's capability approach was born in the field of economics, it extended very soon to the humanities and to other social sciences. This approach has been applied in many areas and a practical version has been created. In spite of its development within social and political sciences, few efforts to extend it to the citizenship area have been made. This paper attempts to provide an answer to the question whether the capability approach includes elements sufficient for formulating a citizenship hypothesis. On the basis that every citizenship tradition encompasses two dimensions of right and responsibility, if these two concepts are embodied in the capability approach in such a way as to explain the relationship between individual and society, then we can claim that the capability approach has the potential of extending to the field of citizenship. We show that this approach, with its emphasis on elements like "moral right" and "committed responsibility", encompasses sufficient features for the development of "citizenship of capability".

Abstract Since the 18th century, Rousseau has been often credited with egalitarian and liberal views worldwide; however, his potent pen in shaping ideas has led to women’s extreme suppression. It seems that Rousseau had been suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder to the extent that through one of his personality states he leads women to utter subservience, and through the other one he gives them an aura of holiness. The present paper depicts such dualities through the analysis of Rousseau’s three books, Emile, Social Contract and Confessions. In Emile, women are pictured as subservient to men. In the Social Contract, the most important book by Rousseau and an early work on the discourse of equality in the modern era, women are largely ignored, while in Confessions they are worshipped. In order to analyze and interpret these three perennial works, the author-based hermeneutic approach of Quentin Skinner was utilized in an attempt to unpick Rousseau’s intentions. Moreover, the theoretical and conceptual categorization of Luce Irigaray, the post-modern feminist who believes that the method of oppression of women by men on women is used in elaborating Rousseau’s unfair judgments. In this interdisciplinary study of women, Rousseau’s discourse and political thought on gender inequality are intermingled. In short, under the influence of psychological complexities, Rousseau gives women a subservient, far-from-human status through his use of language.

Abstract According to many experts and scholars of higher education, nowadays the most important factor of inefficiency of higher education policymaking in Iran is nonconformity of policies and decisions with scientific, theoretical and research basics. Policy research is defined as a research process focused on providing policy options and referred to the practice of policymakers and can contribute to reasonable and rational policymaking in the field of higher education. Therefore, the purpose of this study was pathology of higher education policy research process in Iran. In order to achieve this objective, statistical population of study were institutions and research centers of policy research including those affiliated to the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (such as Institute of Research and Planning in Higher Education (IRPHE), National Research Institute for Science Policy (NRISP), Institute for Social and Cultural Studies - ISCS) and those not affiliated to the Ministry, as well as informed policymakers in the field of higher education and 14 of them were chosen purposefully to carry out in-depth interviews. The validity of the findings was evaluated by methods of member checking and peer review. To analyze the data, open and axial coding was used. Results revealed the existence of 113 conceptual statements (subcategories) and 14 main categories in terms of five dimensions: contextual & environmental factors, structural factors, functional factors (related to Policy/decision makers in higher education and higher education policy researchers) and interactive & communicational factors which relations between them were drawn in the research model.

Abstract Science diplomacy is a developing foreign policy and international relationship among nations is affected by science and technology. Because of the major role of higher education in the production and dissemination of science and new technology, this important organization has always been attractive. This study is an investigation into measurements and factors for developing science diplomacy and the role of higher education as a fundamental factor in foreign diplomacy. This study is of applied type. The researcher-made questionnaire is the tool for data gathering in this paper. The sample in this research is composed of the faculty members of Khajeh Nasir Toosi University. The results show and confirm 3 dimensions and 33 elements for developing science diplomacy and 5 factors and 21 measurements for the role of higher education in developing science diplomacy. The main suggestions for higher education and foreign policy are developing infrastructure, developing international cooperation among universities, and finding solutions for shared challenges especially among neighboring countries.

Abstract This paper attempts to enter the fields of history, sociology and political sciences and finds a link between their theoretical and practical bases. Therefore, the main concern in this paper is to find the relationship between Anfal (a historical and socio-political event) and modernism (a political-philosophical concept). It attempts to find out if Anfal or the genocide of the Iraqi Kurds has any relationship with modernism and if it can be considered as a by-product of modernism. By explaining the concept of modernism and highlighting the paradoxes in it, this paper examines Anfal vs-a-vis these paradoxes. To answer research questions of the theory of modernism theory and its critical attitude one has to depend on data analysis and use of the descriptive analytical method. The hypothesis in this study is that Anfal is the product of modernism. Findings of the study show that Anfal is the product of the paradoxes in modernism and modernism while encountering Anfal has shown its dark side. Fatalism is an aspect which has developed as a result of instrumental rationality which in itself is an outcome of modernism.The instrumental rationality has brought with itbureaucracy, army and technology as a result of which government fell in the hands of the Baath Partywhich was the direct product of Anfal.

Abstract Critical hermeneutics is rooted in philosophy of knowledge, in general, and in the methodology of human sciences, in particular. This approach is methodologically considered as a qualitative study with the aim of achieving internal understanding in various fields such as linguistic, longitudinal and experimental sciences. Jürgen Habermas, one of the precursors of Frankfurt School, is the pioneer of this method. In 1981, he published one of his best works entitled “Communicative Interaction Theory”, and added the symbolic aspects of social interaction to Frankfurt critical theory. Thus, critical hermeneutics does not pursue a “unifying answer”; rather it seeks to portray the social phenomena that are derived through discourse. Discourse, as a means of obtaining data, is used in critical hermeneutics and as Habermas posited, the essential prerequisite for discourse is to provide space devoid of any trace of power. In this qualitative study, the researchers conducted in-depth interviews with individuals, and by transcribing the interviews, converted the phenomenon into text. These texts constitute the research data of the study. Then, the researchers interpreted the textual form of the phenomena and represented the obtained results in several limited themes, each of which is further split into certain limited categories. Since the main advantage of critical hermeneutics is developing and reorienting the existing interpretative approaches to the study of management, this paper attempts to examine this approach as a qualitative research method in organization and management studies, and represent its process and key features.

Abstract The conditions of success and reasons for failure of development strategies and plans, are among the most important “development studies” issues. This has been explained in different ways: for example, there is a strong relationship between the efficiency of development strategies and plans and development theories. Based on paradigmatic-implicative theory, which explains the relationship between development theories and political thought and considers the development theory as one of the practical implications of political thought, a condition for the success of development strategies and development plans can be found to be rooted in the political thought foundation. Therefore, in the present article we explore the political thought supporting Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth theory, as one of the oldest and most important development theories which in the 1960s resulted in understanding development as “growth”. We use qualitative content analysis method to show that the political foundation of Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth theory is based on the principle of “the most utility for the most people” in accordance with Bentham’s utilitarian political thought.