Masoud Farahmandfar مسعود فرهمندفر | Allameh Tabataba'i University (original) (raw)
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Papers by Masoud Farahmandfar مسعود فرهمندفر
The International Journal of Humanities, 2021
After the occupation of Iran by the Allies in 1941, the Shāh of Iran was forced to renounce the c... more After the occupation of Iran by the Allies in 1941, the Shāh of Iran was forced to renounce the crown in favor of his young son, and from then until the CIA-backed Coup of August 1953, the Iranian society experienced a period of relative cultural freedom, and particularly the press enjoyed an unprecedented liberty. One fruitful outcome of such freedom was the publication of serial novels with sociopolitical themes. One remarkable example is Dar Nim-e Rāh-e Behesht (Midway to Paradise) by Saeed Nafisi, which was published, in forty installments, in one of the most influential periodicals of that time, Kāviyan. Since serialized novels are reader-centered and their publication depends on how the readers receive them, Laclau and Mouffe’s qualitative method of discourse analysis has been used to analyze the political sphere of the time as well as the discursive sphere of the novel. Analysis of Nafisi’s novel Midway to Paradise shows that amongst the four major sociopolitical discourses of the period between 1941 and 1953—namely, Marxism, nationalism, Islamism and monarchism—the aforementioned novel supports the discourse of nationalism, which is revealed and represented by the narrator. This discursive position is also articulated by a critique of the ruling political discourse and its ‘Westoxified’ agents. The novel also debunks the myth of Communism as defined by the Soviet Union and argues that the Communist paradise is nothing but a sham delusion.
Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature, Art and Humanities, 2021
City in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and Morteza Moshfeq Kazemi’s Tehran-e Makhuf (The Dre... more City in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and Morteza Moshfeq Kazemi’s Tehran-e Makhuf (The Dreadful Tehran): A Comparative Study
Setting and space in fiction have always been important in literary analyses. Indeed, the concern with these concepts in literature goes back to the time of Aristotle who has first systematically discussed the concept of "spectacle" and its essential role in the formation of the proper tragedy in his Poetics. Since the end of the twentieth century, studies on space have gained a new importance. Today, spatial studies frequently acknowledge Charles Dickens as one of the greatest observers of the function of the city in the novel. Great Expectations, one of his major novels, which depicts modernity and social hardships of the time in the form of a love story is closely similar to Morteza Moshfeq Kazemi's Tehran-e- Makhuf (The Dreadful Tehran). The present paper offers a comparative study of the creation of social spaces through an interdisciplinary lens. Drawing on Henri Lefebvre's theory of space as an active agent in forming and transforming the society, the concern with space and city and their function is further reflected in the section “City, Space, and Society," followed in more detail in the section “The City.” In sections “Society, and the Author's Background” and “The Portrayal of the Two Cities and Social Space,” city portrayals are studied apropos of their relationship to the narrative, and social relations. Finally, the paper proposes that urban spaces produced in these two novels are not passive containers, but rather are products and producers, dominating and actively producing and transforming the society.
Key words: City, Social Space, Modernity, Great Expectations, Tehran-e Makhuf
The present article studies Mahmoud Dowlatabadi's novel Yusef 's Days and Nights and attempts to ... more The present article studies Mahmoud Dowlatabadi's novel Yusef 's Days and Nights and attempts to provide a different reading of the novel through the application of C. G. Jung's theories on the collective unconscious and archetypes. From Jung's perspective, the collective unconscious is the reservoir of psychic energy and the source of all human memories; also, the archetypes are universal mental structures the recognition of which becomes possible through the symbolic interpretation of dreams, fantasies, myths, and rituals. "Shadow" is one of the most important archetypes that, according to Jung, is the dark half of our being. This shadow is our alter-ego, and it is only when we accept it as a part of our being that we can achieve psychic equilibrium and complete the process of individuation. The process of individuation, and indeed of the conscious mind's coming to terms with the 'self, ' usually begins with suffering. Although this initial shock is not often recognized, it is a kind of summoning. However, Yusef (the protagonist of the novel) follows the path of denial and his projections of his fears and anxieties gradually make the distinction between illusion and reality difficult for him. Therefore, the confrontation with the This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Ovaj rad dostupan je za upotrebu pod licencom Creative Commons Imenovanje 4.0 međunarodna.
Journal of Critical Studies in Language and Literature, 2020
One of the major areas of interest in SLA research is the study of the ways in which expert and n... more One of the major areas of interest in SLA research is the study of the ways in which expert and non-expert readers respond to L2 texts and the fundamental changes that can be brought about in their L2 reading processes through formal instruction. In line with this research tradition, the present quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of formal training in figures of speech on university EFL learners' appreciation of an unseen literary text, Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" in the case of this study. Understanding literature requires knowledge of figures of speech. An experimental group (n=29) and a control group (n=26) of intermediate 3 rd year EFL learners, studying English for a B.A. degree at Kashan University, Iran, participated in the study. The participants were first pre-tested and matched for their level of proficiency in English and their initial reading comprehension ability. In addition to the normal curriculum content, the experimental group received instruction in figures of speech through a course called "Fonun va Sana'at" (Figures of Speech). The control group did not receive this instruction. Both groups were post-tested on their ability to read a literary passage and to appreciate it. The results of t-test analysis of the resulting data revealed significant differences between the means of the two groups. The experimental group that had received instruction in figures of speech significantly outperformed the control group. The findings of the study have practical implications for material development, curriculum planning, teaching English through literature, and second language acquisition.
![Research paper thumbnail of From Lahore to New York: In Search of the Third Space in The Reluctant Fundamentalist [in Persian]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/62001420/thumbnails/1.jpg)
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Historical novels are not only the legitimate progeny of a nation's becoming conscious of its own... more Historical novels are not only the legitimate progeny of a nation's becoming conscious of its own identity, they also contribute to fortify that nationalist discourse. In a sense, the very beginning of the historical novel is entwined with the emergence of a widespread consciousness about the idea of nation(hood); nevertheless, studies of the historical novel (and its relation and contribution to national identity) have remained under-investigated. The abiding aim of the present study is thus to examine this relationship, to draw attention to historical and cultural dimensions of Englishness. The present paper examines the influence of national ideology on fictional historiography, and focuses on the ways some English novelists, during the Victorian era, have reflected upon their Englishness.
The concept of "absence" in literary works.
The history of Western creation of stereotypes of Persia and the Persians goes back to Aeschylus'... more The history of Western creation of stereotypes of Persia and the Persians goes back to Aeschylus' The Persians where he described Persia (and met-onymically the Orient) as a zone of terror and irra-tionality, of excess and the demonic; these stereo-typical images were later intensified in the works of such major Renaissance figures as Ludovico Ariosto, Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, John Milton, etc. The present paper examines textual representations of Persia and the Persian in the works of the Bard in order to explore the underlying proto-orientalist style of thought, which has not been uncommon in those times. The textual representation of the Orient in general and Persia in particular is mostly imaginary, driven by fantasy and desire.
James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans can be read as an outline for the contact (or cl... more James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans can be read as an outline for the contact (or clash) of many
diverse cultures. This novel may also be seen as a story of the development of American national-racial identity. The
present paper aims at examining Cooper’s classic novel in order to reveal the underlying discourse of race and
nationhood. The paper will discuss Cooper’s idea of historical change and human progress, and will show how the
teleological, stage-by-stage passage of history from savagery to civilization, from tribal communities to a unified
nation, empowered by cultural appropriation, resulted in the formation of a fresh and inevitably hybrid American
national identity
The International Journal of Humanities, 2021
After the occupation of Iran by the Allies in 1941, the Shāh of Iran was forced to renounce the c... more After the occupation of Iran by the Allies in 1941, the Shāh of Iran was forced to renounce the crown in favor of his young son, and from then until the CIA-backed Coup of August 1953, the Iranian society experienced a period of relative cultural freedom, and particularly the press enjoyed an unprecedented liberty. One fruitful outcome of such freedom was the publication of serial novels with sociopolitical themes. One remarkable example is Dar Nim-e Rāh-e Behesht (Midway to Paradise) by Saeed Nafisi, which was published, in forty installments, in one of the most influential periodicals of that time, Kāviyan. Since serialized novels are reader-centered and their publication depends on how the readers receive them, Laclau and Mouffe’s qualitative method of discourse analysis has been used to analyze the political sphere of the time as well as the discursive sphere of the novel. Analysis of Nafisi’s novel Midway to Paradise shows that amongst the four major sociopolitical discourses of the period between 1941 and 1953—namely, Marxism, nationalism, Islamism and monarchism—the aforementioned novel supports the discourse of nationalism, which is revealed and represented by the narrator. This discursive position is also articulated by a critique of the ruling political discourse and its ‘Westoxified’ agents. The novel also debunks the myth of Communism as defined by the Soviet Union and argues that the Communist paradise is nothing but a sham delusion.
Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature, Art and Humanities, 2021
City in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and Morteza Moshfeq Kazemi’s Tehran-e Makhuf (The Dre... more City in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and Morteza Moshfeq Kazemi’s Tehran-e Makhuf (The Dreadful Tehran): A Comparative Study
Setting and space in fiction have always been important in literary analyses. Indeed, the concern with these concepts in literature goes back to the time of Aristotle who has first systematically discussed the concept of "spectacle" and its essential role in the formation of the proper tragedy in his Poetics. Since the end of the twentieth century, studies on space have gained a new importance. Today, spatial studies frequently acknowledge Charles Dickens as one of the greatest observers of the function of the city in the novel. Great Expectations, one of his major novels, which depicts modernity and social hardships of the time in the form of a love story is closely similar to Morteza Moshfeq Kazemi's Tehran-e- Makhuf (The Dreadful Tehran). The present paper offers a comparative study of the creation of social spaces through an interdisciplinary lens. Drawing on Henri Lefebvre's theory of space as an active agent in forming and transforming the society, the concern with space and city and their function is further reflected in the section “City, Space, and Society," followed in more detail in the section “The City.” In sections “Society, and the Author's Background” and “The Portrayal of the Two Cities and Social Space,” city portrayals are studied apropos of their relationship to the narrative, and social relations. Finally, the paper proposes that urban spaces produced in these two novels are not passive containers, but rather are products and producers, dominating and actively producing and transforming the society.
Key words: City, Social Space, Modernity, Great Expectations, Tehran-e Makhuf
The present article studies Mahmoud Dowlatabadi's novel Yusef 's Days and Nights and attempts to ... more The present article studies Mahmoud Dowlatabadi's novel Yusef 's Days and Nights and attempts to provide a different reading of the novel through the application of C. G. Jung's theories on the collective unconscious and archetypes. From Jung's perspective, the collective unconscious is the reservoir of psychic energy and the source of all human memories; also, the archetypes are universal mental structures the recognition of which becomes possible through the symbolic interpretation of dreams, fantasies, myths, and rituals. "Shadow" is one of the most important archetypes that, according to Jung, is the dark half of our being. This shadow is our alter-ego, and it is only when we accept it as a part of our being that we can achieve psychic equilibrium and complete the process of individuation. The process of individuation, and indeed of the conscious mind's coming to terms with the 'self, ' usually begins with suffering. Although this initial shock is not often recognized, it is a kind of summoning. However, Yusef (the protagonist of the novel) follows the path of denial and his projections of his fears and anxieties gradually make the distinction between illusion and reality difficult for him. Therefore, the confrontation with the This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Ovaj rad dostupan je za upotrebu pod licencom Creative Commons Imenovanje 4.0 međunarodna.
Journal of Critical Studies in Language and Literature, 2020
One of the major areas of interest in SLA research is the study of the ways in which expert and n... more One of the major areas of interest in SLA research is the study of the ways in which expert and non-expert readers respond to L2 texts and the fundamental changes that can be brought about in their L2 reading processes through formal instruction. In line with this research tradition, the present quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of formal training in figures of speech on university EFL learners' appreciation of an unseen literary text, Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" in the case of this study. Understanding literature requires knowledge of figures of speech. An experimental group (n=29) and a control group (n=26) of intermediate 3 rd year EFL learners, studying English for a B.A. degree at Kashan University, Iran, participated in the study. The participants were first pre-tested and matched for their level of proficiency in English and their initial reading comprehension ability. In addition to the normal curriculum content, the experimental group received instruction in figures of speech through a course called "Fonun va Sana'at" (Figures of Speech). The control group did not receive this instruction. Both groups were post-tested on their ability to read a literary passage and to appreciate it. The results of t-test analysis of the resulting data revealed significant differences between the means of the two groups. The experimental group that had received instruction in figures of speech significantly outperformed the control group. The findings of the study have practical implications for material development, curriculum planning, teaching English through literature, and second language acquisition.
Historical novels are not only the legitimate progeny of a nation's becoming conscious of its own... more Historical novels are not only the legitimate progeny of a nation's becoming conscious of its own identity, they also contribute to fortify that nationalist discourse. In a sense, the very beginning of the historical novel is entwined with the emergence of a widespread consciousness about the idea of nation(hood); nevertheless, studies of the historical novel (and its relation and contribution to national identity) have remained under-investigated. The abiding aim of the present study is thus to examine this relationship, to draw attention to historical and cultural dimensions of Englishness. The present paper examines the influence of national ideology on fictional historiography, and focuses on the ways some English novelists, during the Victorian era, have reflected upon their Englishness.
The concept of "absence" in literary works.
The history of Western creation of stereotypes of Persia and the Persians goes back to Aeschylus'... more The history of Western creation of stereotypes of Persia and the Persians goes back to Aeschylus' The Persians where he described Persia (and met-onymically the Orient) as a zone of terror and irra-tionality, of excess and the demonic; these stereo-typical images were later intensified in the works of such major Renaissance figures as Ludovico Ariosto, Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, John Milton, etc. The present paper examines textual representations of Persia and the Persian in the works of the Bard in order to explore the underlying proto-orientalist style of thought, which has not been uncommon in those times. The textual representation of the Orient in general and Persia in particular is mostly imaginary, driven by fantasy and desire.
James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans can be read as an outline for the contact (or cl... more James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans can be read as an outline for the contact (or clash) of many
diverse cultures. This novel may also be seen as a story of the development of American national-racial identity. The
present paper aims at examining Cooper’s classic novel in order to reveal the underlying discourse of race and
nationhood. The paper will discuss Cooper’s idea of historical change and human progress, and will show how the
teleological, stage-by-stage passage of history from savagery to civilization, from tribal communities to a unified
nation, empowered by cultural appropriation, resulted in the formation of a fresh and inevitably hybrid American
national identity
New Perspectives in Interpreting and Translation Studies, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language, 2021
Language gives shape to different thought systems. For this reason, each language produces cultur... more Language gives shape to different thought systems. For this reason, each language produces culture, concepts, and literature unique to itself. In order to make these unfamiliar concepts familiar to the world literature, translation is required to transfer the meanings of each language regardless of the linguistic diversities that operate as barriers among cultures. Translation plays the role of a mediator, the creator of a space in-between in which cultures and literatures can interact simultaneously impacting one another in the process through the contribution of different concepts. World literature thus benefits from translation on two distinguished levels. First, regardless of linguistic diversities, translation permits the interaction of languages beyond their rigid boundaries and nationalistic values. Translation opens up a space for the familiar “self to learn new concepts from the unfamiliar “other.” Into this space, that different languages are interacting as a mechanism to fight for dominance, the multitude of voices get heard. Second, the literature of the translated work gains new international and transcultural readers all contributing something to the text, dynamically transforming the work either through translation itself, or through innovative readings and interpretations. Without translation, world literature would not have been as dynamic as we know of today.
Routledge , 2020
The Routledge Companion to Humanism and Literature provides readers with a comprehensive reassess... more The Routledge Companion to Humanism and Literature provides readers with a comprehensive reassessment of the value of humanism in an intellectual landscape. Offering contributions by leading international scholars, this volume seeks to define literature as a core expressive form and an essential constitutive element of newly reformulated understandings of humanism. While the value of humanism has recently been dominated by anti-humanist and posthumanist perspectives which focused on the flaws and exclusions of previous definitions of humanism, this volume examines the human problems, dilemmas, fears, and aspirations expressed in literature, as a fundamentally humanist art form and activity. Divided into three overarching categories, this companion will explore the histories, developments, debates, and contestations of humanism in literature, and deliver fresh definitions of "the new humanism" for the humanities. This focus aims to transcend the boundaries of a world in which human life is all too often defined in terms of restrictions-political, economic, theological, intellectual-and lived in terms of obedience, conformity, isolation, and fear. The Routledge Companion to Humanism and Literature will provide invaluable support to humanities students and scholars alike seeking to navigate the relevance and resilience of humanism across world cultures and literatures.