INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES IN THE HUMANITIES (IRANIAN JOURNAL OF CULTURAL RESEARCH)
Year:2015 | Volume:7 | Issue:4 (28)|Papers Count:7

Interdisciplinary studies can play a pivotal role in the growth and development of sciences, especially the humanities. In the present article, through semi-structured interviews with some experts and thinkers in Iran and the content analysis of their ideas, attempt is made to answer these questions: in the view of experts, what are the main obstacles to the development of humanities in Iran? And what role can interdisciplinary studies play in the development of humanities? The results of the study show that according to experts, “interdisciplinary development”, having the twelfth place among the sixteen important factors in the development of humanities, does not have a considerable effect on the development of humanities in Iran per se, and its efficacy depends on the existence of more important conditions, such as the provision of an open intellectual climate at universities and the independence of scientific community. The development of interdisciplinary studies can play a part in the development of humanities in Iran, only if it results in scientific synergy among experts in different disciplines of humanities, improves the scientific ability of professors, students and researchers, and makes humanities more applicable in society.

The direct bond between the Qur’an and Muslims’ beliefs is one of the important factors, considered to result in a kind of exclusivism in conducting research on the Qur’an on the part of religious scholars in the Islamic tradition of studying the Qur’an. Due to this kind of control, there has always been a restriction as to how the Qur’an must be approached. Thus, the results of these studies have been mainly in accordance with the Islamic beliefs and principles, because the researchers have already been fully familiar with Islam, Islamic theology and the Qur’an. But by the virtue of the changes and developments occurring in science and research and the emergence of interdisciplinary studies and also to avoid exclusivism, a larger number of researchers currently engage in Qur’anic studies. Considering the inevitability of this climate, the sensitivity of research on the Qur’an and necessity of preventing mistakes in this field, it is of great importance to identify theological requirements for Qur’anic study in various fields of research. This article, by focusing on the theological requirements for interdisciplinary research on the Qur’an and using library method, tries to introduce the requirements for this type of research at three levels of epistemology, terminology and methodology so as to develop a proper outline for such research and thus alleviate worries about the results of interdisciplinary Qur’anic studies.

The present research examines, within the context of political thought and using the analytical-interpretive method, the most important theoretical assumptions of Amartya Sen’s capability approach, and investigates its effects on the field of gender equality. Here it is argued that understanding development and its impacts on equality and justice cannot be separated from its underlying philosophical implications. In this context, gender-based study of theories of development suggests their failure in the field of women’s issues and their gender-related barriers in benefitting from the opportunities and real sources of life. These approaches either adopt a passive attitude toward women or overlook their abilities by having an abstract conception of freedom and equal opportunity. Capability approach, which is the basis of Amartya Sen’s humane approach to development, provides us with a comprehensive perspective in this regard. By establishing a link between freedom, justice and democracy, Sen considers the empowerment of women to be the axis of development. In this approach, in order to fulfill women’s instrumental freedom, development should focus primarily on women’s empowerment and then provide suitable external conditions for them to express themselves and to have their power of selection.

Modern Brazil (in the early years of the second decade of the 21st century), as the tenth biggest economy of the world and the second biggest country to attract foreign investment and also as a member of the third generation of newly industrialized countries (NICs), is treading the path of development and progress. One of the important issues in Brazil has been the relationship between economic development and political development in the past decades. This relationship has grown in importance, especially since the 1960s, when the military people gained political power through a coup d’état, and for a short time brought about an economic growth, mostly referred to as ‘the Brazilin miracle’. The uneven process of development in the late 1970s during the debt crisis, the formation of the elective, democratic government in the mid-1980s and the relatively sustainable development in the 1990s and 2000s, add considerably to the significance of the relation between political development and economic development. The present article mainly aims to study these trends and relationships analytically and historically. The main idea in this article is that the trend of the economic development of Brazil has been inconsistent and unsustainable due to lack of political development, and that a relative balance between political development and economic development would result in a more sustainable development and stability in both arenas.

What differentiates a scientific research study from a non-scientific one and makes it valid or non-valid is the research methodology. Methodological considerations, especially in studies such as gender studies, which are not generally covered in the framework of a special discipline, call for more precision and sensitivity due to their complicated nature and dimensions. Therefore, the present article, by examining the methodological aspects of the research carried out on the effect of the variable of gender on job satisfaction of faculty members and using qualitative approach and systematic review technique, tries to draw researchers’ attention to the necessity, importance and role of methodological considerations in making a deeper understanding and explanation of research possible, and providing a clear and precise answer in conformity with reality for problem-solving and fulfilling research objective. The findings of this study show that there are two main problems in the works of research studied here. One is ambiguity and lack of transparency in problem statement and research objective, and the other is tendency toward using a single (quantitative) research method without paying attention to differences in the nature and dimensions of fields of research. It seems that in fields such as gender studies, in order to gain a deeper understanding and a more valid and clear answer, adopting a combined approach will be a more reliable choice.

The emergence of some significant critical approaches and directions in the field of applied linguistics from the mid-1980s onwards has met with various positive and opposite reactions. On the basis of their strength and significance, such approaches and directions have challenged some of the mainstream approaches’ claims, principles and assumptions. Among them, critical applied linguistics can be highlighted as a new approach, developed by the Australian applied linguist, Alastair Pennycook. The aspects, domains and concerns of this new approach were introduced in his book in 2001. Due to the undeniable importance of this approach, as well as partial negligence regarding it in Iranian academic setting, this paper first intends to introduce this approach, as an approach that evaluates various disciplines of applied linguistics through its own specific principles and interests. Then, in order to show its step-by-step application in the evaluation of different disciplines of applied linguistics, with a glance at its significance and appropriateness in Iranian society, two domains, namely English language education and language policy and planning, are introduced and evaluated in order to provide readers with a visible and practical picture of its interdisciplinary nature and evaluative functions. The findings indicate the efficacy of applying this interdisciplinary framework in any language-in-education policy and planning in accordance with the political, social and cultural context of the target society.

Globalization has different effects on human life, which are more noticeable in rural areas than in cities. Thus, the present article aims to study the effects of globalization on lifestyle in rural areas. The methodology in this research is descriptive-analytical; and to collect data in the theoretical section of the study the library method has been used and in the field study questionnaires have been employed. In the present study, the residents of Roshanabad in Gorgan, composed of 24 villages, are included; using Cochran sampling method, 265 families were selected as sample. The results of the study show that the effects of globalization can be detected in all aspects and indexes of lifestyle, and according to participants in the study, some changes are occurring in lifestyle in the rural society. The regression testing indicated a Beta coefficient of 0.328 for most changes happening in lifestyle as a result of globalization. It can be said that since Iranian villages are experiencing a transition from tradition to modernity or even postmodernity, different aspects of lifestyle are somehow mingled; young people in rural areas show a tendency toward urban lifestyle while older people prefer local rural lifestyle.