Iranian Journal of Anthropological Research
Year:2018 | Volume:8 | Issue:1 |Papers Count:8

Due to persistent turmoil in their native country, a large number of Afghan migrants have found new homes in various parts of Iran. Several cities, including Tehran, have become important areas of Afghan residence. This article probes the housing, socioeconomic, cultural, and legal circumstances of Afghans in the Harandi neighborhood of Tehran. It also investigates host community attitudes to Afghan residents and the impact of service providers on the lives of the migrants. Field work was carried out through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions conducted with NGOs, various migrant groups, Iranian residents, and local officials as well as observation and review of the available documents. Findings are indicative of a certain degree of integration observed among Afghan migrants. Furthermore, a particular structure of employment has been shaping among them in association with the neighborhood’ s opportunities and especially its informal economy. Afghan presence in the neighborhood has been largely sustained due to these opportunities, services provided by NGOs, and relatively low housing costs as well as the generally positive attitude of other residents toward migrants. Yet, an inadequate sense of responsibility toward Afghans is discernible in urban management, with negative implications for the formulation of necessary service frameworks.

The research aims to analyze the readability of Valiasr Crossroads Pedestrian Underpass. Valiasr crossroads is one of the most populated centers of Tehran; to solve the traffic problem in this urban space, Municipality decided to separate pedestrian movements and constructed the underpass in 2012; but users resist entering the underpass because they find it inconvenient in directing them. So the main question is about the role of the applied semiotic systems in the readability of the crossroad and its underpass. For the analysis, three criteria of identity, structure and compatibility have been recognized for the concept of readability and they have been evaluated in both function and physical form of the case study. The methodology of research is ethnography and field data have been gathered by observation. Results show that the Pedestrian Underpass has increased illegibility of Valiasr crossroads because of: 1-the monotonous, single colored form of underpass, and using only written signs for directing people 2-creating several new formal and informal activities inside and outside the underpass 3-not being able to make compatibility between the function of underpass and its form.

The cultural transformation of women's and men's relations with each other during the Qajar period, that owes it to cultural relations with Europe, has also changed the acting and spatial systems of houses. The purpose of this research is to study the Reflection of Qajar gender discourse transformation on the acting and spatial systems of aristocratic houses. Therefore, the main question of the research is that: How does the transformation of gender discourse in the middle of Qajar period affect the transformation of acting and spatial systems of houses? The research methods are descriptive-analytical, interpretive-historical, and surveying methods and the research process is as follow: the common gender discourse in Qajar community and its transformation were identified from validated books and articles. Then, based on these data, the acting and spatial systems of houses were investigated and it was determined that which sections of these systems were organized on the basis of gender discourse; In next step, the reflection of Qajar gender discourse transformation on the acting and spatial systems of house was examined. Then five aristocratic houses of early and late Qajar era in Qazvin were selected to provide more comprehensive answers to the above questions by deep interviews, field observations and library studies. The research results showed that, after the transformation of gender discourse, the acting system was transformed more inside the houses and men participated in women's interior collective activities; while up to the end of the Qajar period, women were not allowed to have wide activities outside the houses. Moreover, after the transformation of gender discourse the interior part of houses also grew further, and, in addition of providing the possibility of men and women meeting, men also brought their economic activities in these parts, and thus, the exterior parts of houses lost their previously defined function.

Recognizing and analyzing the values of the railway heritage requires a careful examination in the evolution of the concept of values, which is explained by an integrated and comprehensive understanding of its cultural dignity. Due to the variety of works and concepts, the concept of value in the railway heritage for a better understanding of the boundaries of cultural dignity is a little difficult, which has been tried to present a practical method for expressing the values of the work. Studies related to the era of the Industrial Revolution are one of the most important historical periods in each country, and this stage of the society's transition from the traditional structure to modernity has brought about widespread changes at all levels and aspects of human life. Trans-Iranian Railway as a work on the UNESCO World Heritage site's tentative list contains outstanding universal values not just as a communication path, but also as an important part from memory of a committed engineering and a masterpiece of construction. This research provides a framework for understanding and clarifying the values of the railway heritage and its adaptation with trans-Iranian railway as a case study.

The phenomenon of polygamy although is not the dominant structure of family life in Iran, but among the Sunni people, particularly the Baloch, is a common phenomenon such that the highest observed proportion of polygamy is in Sistan and Balochistan province. The tribal structure of the Baloch people and their adherence to their ethnic and religious tradition have paved the way for this phenomenon. This phenomenological study, by investigating the causes of polygamy spread among the Baloch living in Chabahar, seeks to answer the question “ How polygamous culture has been able to reproduce itself? ” . On the other hand, “ Are Baloch women willing and able to resist against polygamous family structure or simply have accepted these conditions? ” . It was found out that Polygamy in Sistan and Balochistan is an accepted culture because in many cases, it increases the number of children and, as a result, the social and economic power of the family and tribe. This is against the situation of Baloch women in the social and economic hierarchy, their financial dependence, lack of legal support for divorce, and lack of social support. In addition, the breadth of this phenomenon has a cultural background, rather than age or wealth of men, and it cannot be limited to a particular tribe or social class. Regarding second question, findings of the current study showed that, although the decision to live in polygamy is usually a one-sided decision made by men, women are not only passive and receptive because compensation or revenge-based strategies have given them a degree of subjectivity to react against this family structure in an informal and silent way.

This article seeks to study the social and cultural consequences of Monorail on the urban life of Kermanshah. The theoretical approach is based on Michel De Certeau's theory on strategies and tactics in everyday life. Urban planners have abstract and top-down approach to policy decisions. On the other hand, people make the city habitable for themselves through their everyday actions and spatial narratives. The research method of this article is ethnography and the deep observation and interviewing techniques have been used for gathering data. The findings show that Kermanshah is a fragmented, multicultural city that needs a public space for social solidarity. The place of Monorail construction is the main corridor of the city that as an important public space plays a prominent role in the multicultural society of Kermanshah. Monorail as a wall, has caused more segregation in the city and also it has transformed the main public space of Kermanshah to a non-place. Monorail concrete structure is tedious, alienating and uniform and it has destroyed the history and memories of some districts; as being located next to Khosrow-parviz Hunting Ground and Taq-e Bostan, it has postponed their registration in the World Heritage. As a tactic, people of Kermanshah have chosen some other places as the main public spaces of their city; they have transformed some highways into linear parks and also they have created the market of Dolatabad spontaneously in one of informal settlements of Kermanshah.

This article aims to analyze the process of acculturation in music of Kojour district in Mazandaran province. Since the Safavid period, different ethnic groups have migrated to Kojour; their encounters and interactions over the years have led to emergence of two groups of "Gil" and "Eel", which after centuries of conflicts, have turned into mixed cultures. Since musical acculturation can be studied alongside other social and cultural changes of ethnic groups, authors of this article have analyzed this process in the music of Kojour according to concepts of "syncretism" and "substitution". The research is an ethnomusicological study and data have been gathered by interviewing with well-informed people about Kojour music and recording musical pieces. Field data have been analyzed by comparing melodies based on the acculturation process. Findings show that presence of different migrant groups in Kojour district since centuries ago and the interaction of their cultures have led to a cultural integration and it has deeply influenced the music of this district as an important cultural component.

Due to the cultural structure of Iran, infertility is an issue with many significant dimensions. Nowadays in order to solve the issue of infertility, medical knowledge has introduced a variety of methods and strategies, including offering alternative womb and in vitro fertilization. Although these methods can prove effective in fertility, they can have both positive and negative consequences in the lives of the infertile women. However, considering that the bulk of anthropological researches have been carried out qualitatively, this investigation which has been conducted in the field of medical anthropology is qualitative as well. Data have been collected by using observations and comprehensive interviews with fifteen infertile women in Infertility Treatment Center of Yazd, Iran taking into account the maximum socio-cultural and demographic variance. Then ten themes were extracted based on which the main concepts of the research were obtained. In order to analyze the research findings, interpretive phenomenology was used. Results showed that infertility is one of the most significant causes of physical and psychological stress among the infertile women. Throughout the process of treatment, these women experienced a continuum of lack of hope and disappointment; so they adopt exposure strategies and various other solutions. In fact, fertilization gives them hope for life, as they are born again and start a new life with the birth of their child.