معرفت فرهنگی اجتماعی

Hollywood and Representation of Iranophobia in Its Analysis of the Events of November 4, 1979 (an Analysis of the Movie "Argo")

Rafi' al-Din Ismaili / PhD student of culture and communications, Baqir al-'Uloom University
Received: 2014-7-6 - Accepted: 2014-4-14  Rafi.esmaeili@Yahoo.com

Abstract

Today, the media try to represent what they want, not what is true. Therefore, the gap between reality and what is presented in the media is behind the many attempts which have been made to show how and why the representation of outside world by the media takes form. The present paper, which is concerned with Hollywood's representation of Iranophobia, tires to analyze and criticize the movie "Argo", which won "Oscar" in 2013, using John Fisk's semiotics. The findings that this movie distorts the facts about the event of November 4, 1979 and about Iranians' culture and conduct, and tries to picture the Iranians as violent, irrational and semi-wild. This paper investigates the cultural, technological and ideological symbolism used in this film

Keywords: representation, Iran, Hollywood, Argo, Culture, Aban..

Hollywood and the Plot of Generating
Islamophobia through Penetration into the Unconsciousness

Seyyed Hussein Sharaf Al-Din / Assistant professor of IKI  sharaf@qabas.net
Seyyed Mahdi Ganjiyani / Qom seminary students in grade four  ganji.70552@yahoo.com
Received: 2014-20-5 - Accepted: 2014-7-1

Abstract

The struggle of Islam against oppression and its defending the rights of the oppressed seems too costly to the West. In recent years the wave of Islamic awakening which was influenced by the Islamic Revolution of Iran, made the global arrogant powers into learnt of the existence of Islam. Therefore, the global arrogant powers have tried to damage the validity and holy status of this heavenly religion and Muslims' identity in different ways, especially through cinema and film-making based on the world-famous Hollywood Cinema. Focusing on the unconscious and conditioning the mind, Hollywood appeals to audiences' taste to accept the beliefs, values and ideals it pursues as a dominant discourse, and undermines the doctrines and ideologies which are not in line with the global arrogant powers interests. The present paper seeks to highlight the over-one-century enmity shown by the United States to Islam and Muslims and its use of Hollywood cinema for manipulating global audiences and gradually penetrating into the unconscious on a world scale. To this end, this paper, based on a semiotic study and content analysis, examines a set of the most known and selected movies about Islamophobia. It mainly focuses on Hollywood's practical use of the techniques of "association of meaning" and "conditioning" in generating Islamophobia.
Key words: Islam, cinema, Hollywood, conditional, association, conscience, the unconscious, violence. 

Secularization in Afghanistan
and the Role of Amir Abdurrahman in Secularization

Aman –o-Allah Fasihi / PhD Candidate in sociology; Tehran University    
Received: 2014-3-10 - Accepted: 2014-7-6  fasihi2219@gmail.com
 

Abstract

Secularization is a social phenomenon about which various theoreticians have expressed their views. The present paper is a study of the process of secularization in Afghanistan. It makes use of Allamah Tabatabaii's theoretical framework. Based on the research method used in this research, this paper has chosen the era of Amir Abdurrahman for this discussion. In his era, a special order was established in Afghanistan, which reconstructed itself time and again throughout the history of this country and which has undergone no fundamental change; an order that was established by Amir Abdurrahman and that led to the secularization of Afghanistan’s society. The problems from which Afghanistan's society suffers today are attributed to the confusion in religious knowledge which Amir Abdurrahman has created in Afghanistan. That is, Amir Abdurrahman’s inadmissible interpretation of religious teachings has been behind the current problems in Afghanistan.
Key words: secularization, religion, Abdurrahman, Afghanistan, rationality, logic.

 Rationality and Secularism

Sadegh Golestani / Faculty Member, IKI  sadeq.qolestani47@Yahoo.com
Received: 2014-2-24 - Accepted: 2014-6-18
 

Abstract

Rationality is an outstanding feature which characterizes the new world. According to sociologists, it is this feature that distinguishes culture and modern society from the previous era. This rationality has caused many changes, opened up new vistas for man for a better understanding of social life and changed his conditions. One of the significant effects of this feature and dominance of rationality over the action and modern world structure is the decline of the role of religion in social life and in its confrontation with the trend of secularization. This research takes a critical look at the mechanism of the influence of rationality on the process of secularization after investigating the various types of rationality.
Key words: religion, rationality, secularization, action, structure, change.
 

The Social Principles of Imam Ali's Theory of Knowledge

Hamid Parsania / Associate professor of Baqir-Al-'Uloom University  H.parsania@yahoo.com
Hossein Ajdari / Ph.D. student of sociology at Hawzah and university research center    
Received: 2014-3-3 - Accepted: 2014-5-26   Hajdaryzadeh@rihu.ac.ir

Abstract

Contrary to the three-Dimensional approach dominating current sociology, this paper  shows that society has four dimensions (God, man, land and relation(, and referring to Imam Ali's speeches and using a “qualitative content analysis”, this study shows that each of these four dimensions of society influences man's way of thinking and mentality in a longitudinal manner in one way or another. God's influence which is certain extends to all other factors. Although concerning voluntary actions of man, such influence is exercised through human will, the role of God is present therein. In the next stage comes the human factor and it plays a leading role in this process longitudinally after the exalted God's part. In the third stage, supernaturalistic factors (angels and Satan) operate; and finally, in the fourth stage, the natural and social are involved.
Key words: Imam Ali, Nahj al-balaghah, knowledge, society, theory.

Demonstrativ Communication asa Fandamental
of Exxellence Culture and Sociaty in Elme Madni of Al Farabi

 
Asghar Islami Tanha / PhD student of culture and communications Baqir al-'Uloom University    
Received: 2014-2-18 - Accepted: 2014-7-4  islamitanha@yahoo.com

Abstract

In his civil law, Farabi, a philosopher of the Islamic world's culture, has investigated man's social life and its various dimensions such as "communication", using a rational approach. According to his cultural - communicative view, the reason of human relations as well as its nature is of great importance. He sees that the question about the nature, reason, and quality of human relations and the analytical study of Farabi's works show that "meaning" has been of special interest to him. "Communication", to him, is the art of using signs for conveying meanings between "one" and "the others " which creates the meaning system or people (culture) and determines the social structure or nation (society). Therefore, Farabi links communication to culture and to society, and believes that the change in communication patterns causes cultural and social change. Farabi believes that the typology of societies is dependent on the communication pattern, and his main concern in civil knowledge is creating an idea human society. Hence, identifying the most perfect meaning, i.e. certain meaning -and demonstrating the best kind of communication-, i.e. the discursive relation, Farabi presents a picture of such a society.

Key words: meaning, sign, communication, discursiveness, people, nation, Farabi.