Journal of Iranian Cultural Research
Year:2010 | Volume:3 | Issue:1 (9)|Papers Count:9

Globalizations including ideological globalizations are technologically result of Global Communication Industry which accelerated the trans-nationalization of cultures and civilizations. In another word, globalization simultaneously has created two voluntary and involuntary global dialogues in the world. Before the emergence of global communication industry or as the Frankfort School of thought has called “culture industry”, members of the world civilizations had no access to the simultaneous and common cultural spheres. Although the civilizational spheres were far apart but at the same time they could impact each other in a very long historical process. Entering to the communications era or the single space of communications, the new and inevitable era of civilization`s dialogue and confrontations between civilizations emerged. Such a situation needs serious overview in the form of exchange between civilization and cultures of the world on the bases of monologue and dialogue among civilizations. Having this perspective, four grand historical approaches could be explained; these four approaches based on mathematical picturing to the beginning and continuation of civilizations in relation to monocentric and polycentric approach can be defined. This matrix of relationships reflects four model of relationship between civilizations of the world: 1) Relative Euro-centrism, 2) Absolute Euro-centrism, 3) Americo- centrism and 4) Polycentrism. As a conclusion, a new approach to civilizational dialogue arisen from emergence of Universal dialogue among civilization which has been affected by reduction of civilizational dogma will be discussed.

This article aims to study culture in relation to elements of national power and answer to this question that how Imam Ali sees situation of culture in relation with political, economic, social and military factors of national power. Based on content analysis method of sermons (khotba), poems and short words of Imam Ali, the findings reveal that he was more focused on culture during his statesmanship and gave more developmental, theoretical and valuable principles preference to other elements of power and national authority; in a way that Imam Ali`s political, social, economic and military behaviors, were more based on realism, truth-boundnes, god-centrality, perfectionism and human –revolveness.

Studying “Otherness” and “Representation of Other” in cultural studies especially in Birmingham Cultural Studies School, has been a significant subject of Study and has been used for understanding self, society and the self culture. The “Oriental Studies” of Edward Saied, “The West and the Rest” of “Stuart Hall”, are the two salient works of this subject. The culture industries and human communications are the most effective issues in approach formation toward west. In this sense, we could consider the first generation of Iranians who traveled to west, as the first generation who represented “the other” in Iran. The aim of this article is to study representation of west in itinerary of Iranians who traveled to west during constitution revolution era. Thus, Rezaqoli Mirza, Haj Sayyah, Emad Alsanltaneh, Mirza Saleh Shirazi`s itineraries are the cases of this study. The aim question of this article is that how west has been represented in these itineraries? The hypothesis is that west, more than anything else is a historical-cultural construct. In order to explain theoretically the idea of “Otherization”, Dreda`s Deconstruction, Barthes`s theory of text, inter-textuality of Cristova, Lakan`s Psychoanalysis, Saussure and Bakhtin`s Linguistics, discourse of Foucault, Lakla and Moufe and Representation of Hall will be used. The texts of these itineraries are analyzed by Representation-Discourse`s Method. The mechanisms of stereotyping like naturalization, fetishism, deny and diminishing the deference, are used for analysis in this article.

This article attempts to analyze a part of the findings of documentation survey and field work carried out for five years in two cities and 67villages in Komeijan region of Markazi province, Iran, from some new perspectives such as ritual morphography, dramatic origin studies, eastern Scapegoat’s and anthropology of rituals. Using methods of current, and interviewing with 119 of the eldest native settlers ,as informants, and regarding the biochronology of man’s life in this region from the primitive form to civility which have been assigned to go back from the third millennium B.C. up to the present time, the morphography of 48 popular Dramatic Rituals has been determined. Among the findings of the study, one of the Archetypal Dramatic rituals, called Qaraiskurmah in the field of Anthropology of rituals, is Scapegoat’s. All these show the high IQ, innovative mind, and creative artistic tastes of the people in this region of Iran, whether they are Turkish, Persia, or Tats speakers.

While focusing on the teleological matters, most of the studies about the roots of disorder and anarchy in Iran attempt to explain the “present” obstacles against order of law; the present study aims to analyze the structural-historical conditions affecting the “possibility and impossibility of the order of law in Iran”. In the former studies, “Iran’s history” is inversely applied in order to explain the present situation of society. Instead of interpreting the determining social structures in the history, such studies attempts to understand “contemporary Iran”. Furthermore, applying comparative-fundamentalist method, they base their analysis on the economic or political conditions of the matter. However, the present study claims that the general theory of social transformation–either the Marxian or Weberian-that is produced approaching western medieval societies- could not explain roots of disorder and anarchy in Iran. Instead, applying a structuralist model, and focusing on “articulation” in analysis, the present study aims to explore the historical obstacles against the order of law in the history of Iran (rather than western medieval history). Thus, it claims that the main root of “disorder in the history of Iran” is the governing system of political, martial, and economic management in Iran.

Soft power, is a product and result of positive portrait and credit achievement in the world public opinion, and indirectly affects other countries interests and behaviours, by utilization of such means as culture, brilliant backgrounds, and human ideals and values. Thus, soft power is a social phenomenon, related to environmental elements, that has been mostly influenced by elements of national identity, in contrast with other means of foreign policy. This study aimed at analyzing the impact degree of the foundations and elements of Iranian identity on the application of the soft power of the Islamic republic of Iran. In this direction, the current study, by making use of constructivist approach to comprehend national identity in Iran, has adopted descriptive method and based on analysis and argument.As the findings of this research indicate, among elements of national identity, a new Iranian identity, based on legal, human, as well as Islamic measures, in the framework of “religious democracy”, has the main impact on the soft power of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Consequently, strengthening this element of Iranian identity leads to the utmost effectiveness of the soft power of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the world, and in the Muslim nations, in particular.

This article reviews social identity among students of secondary school with emphasis on national identity. This paper is to answer how we can increase students` belonging to national identity. Two high school students in two areas of Zanjan city with 700 people are the sample of this study which 30 persons were selected to attend the workshop. This research, based on objective, is practical and problem solving and based on time is longitudinal and panel study. The Research method is qualitative and the technique is based on PCM (Project Cycle Management). Theoretically, Tajfle, Giddens, Jenkins and Pyter Burk`s approaches are used in addition to micro, macro and combinational perspectives. Data collection in this study is through workshop and questionnaire. Research findings showed that students` belonging to national Identity have 10 percent increases since the workshop performance. Belonging to the national identity in male students has increased to 15 percent and in female students 5 percent after the workshop. Both female and male students` belongings to national identity have doubled after the workshop. Moreover, students’ familiarity with Iranian national figures, elements of national culture, the historical and national monuments and some national myths, which are all elements of national identity, have doubled after the workshop.

This research conducted with the aim of investigating the relationships between overall fairness and cultural values with organizational justice, job satisfaction and turnover among the personnel of training and education administrations in Esfahan city. Statistical population were the personnel of education and training administrations regions, which 309 persons from them selected using simple random sampling. Research instruments were overall fairness with 3 items, cultural values (in two fields including materialism and power distance with 8 items), distributive, procedural and interactional justice with 3,3,3 items respectively, job satisfaction with 3 items and turnover with 3 items. Data were analyzed with Pearson’s correlation coefficient, structural equation modeling, moderated hierarchical regression and mediating regression analysis. Results showed that there are significant relations between overall fairness with distributive, procedural, interactional justice and turnover, job satisfaction and materialism (P<0.01) but there is not significant relation between power distance with overall fairness (P>0.05). The results of structural equation modeling and mediating regression analysis showed that overall fairness relatively mediate the relations between procedural justices with turnover. But there was not mediated role for overall fairness in relations between distributive and interactional fairness with turnover and job satisfaction. Moderated regression analysis showed that power distance likely have moderated role in relations between overall fairness with turnover likely.