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Volume 3, Issue 2 (, (Articles in Persian) 2012)
Abstract

Both intertextuality and intermediality are discursive phenomena that impact the semiotics by defamiliarization or interaction of the media and the text. Intertextuality function since its appearance could be seen only in the literature and its contrast was only with multi-media novel. In various arts, especially in the cinema, theatre and cyberspace, it seems that they could not achieve to prove the transdiscursive technical and media situation – particularly in the criticism area – until intermediality is discussed. The intermediality shows interaction of various characteristics between different mass media next to each other keeping all characteristics of its signs. It has then a transposition by which the primitive characteristics are suspended and differentiated. The most important aspect of this media conflux is to establish a material and a form of expression next to another material and form. The purpose of this research – besides studying intermediality discourse – is to consider its function in the semiotics and arts as well. That is why having the intertextuality reread, the borders between text and media and, finally, the effects produced by interaction of the media are regarded to gain a proper theory about intermediality.

Volume 4, Issue 2 (9-2014)
Abstract

The design of mosques in the Islamic countries has brought the recent designers with two key challenges. That is, the ideas and concepts regarding the tradition of Islam on the one hand, and the postmodern ideas of the global village on the other hand attract the design to themselves. Semiotics is a discipline that reads the texts to recognize and semanticize the signs of the texts. Architectural semiotics is a sub-discipline of art semiotics and therefore has a dependent representation. Considering the theoretical concepts of architecture, and along the linguistic and semiotic theories, it is required to develop and reproduce architectural semiotics. For this purpose, we introduced the linguistic concepts and theories of the semioticians, and then provided a model for semiotic reading of architectural works as spatial texts that are formed from diverse layers. These layers, which are classified into process and system layers, form the architectural text by their interrelation. The ideas about function, economic issues, time, aesthetic concepts, socio-cultural issues, and hermeneutic concepts form the system layers, and the issues regarding training, experience, subject, employer, and architect's attitude form the process layers of an architectural work. The semiotic reading of architecture aims to reproduce the design based on the relations existing between these layers and the impression of the addressee. In this paper, a model of architectural semiotics has been developed and introduced by the study of the theories of semioticians and based on the theoretical fundamentals of architecture. This model has been employed and tested for the reading of three contemporary mosques of Tehran (mosques of Tehran University, Tarbiat Modares University, and al-Ghadir Mosque in Mirdamad Street). The reading of the contemporary mosques can be used for the study of the concepts of Islamic tradition and its relation to the today's world. The reading of these experiences teaches the today's designers how to behave with the valuable principles of Islam tradition and its reflection in the recent era. Today, there are different theories on the formation and reading of architectural products. Such theories have been derived from human science in the past three decades. For instance, the ideas of Derrida can be traced in the ideas and designs of Eisenman, the philosophy of Heidegger has been reflected in the notions of Norberg-Schulz, or the recent architects and theorists such as Alberto Perez-Gomez and Nader El-Bizri have conducted phenomenological researches in architecture. Since 1970s, linguistic studies have been employed in art studies and it was followed by the application of semiotics as a branch of linguistics in the criticism and reading of artistic texts. In 1980s and 1990s, several books and PhD theses were written based on architectural semiotics. Such publications focused mainly on the literature of semiotics and tried to create a link between these concepts and the theoretical fundamentals of architecture. They provide no specific method based on semiotic theories for architectural reading. Considering these facts, this paper aims to introduce a method for architectural reading based on the semiotic theories.In any interpersonal action or communication, we produce and reproduce text. Any social text (like architecture) contains a message or a set of messages that are transferred to the addressee through signification nodes and intertextual relations. The addressee receives the messages of the text and semanticizes the text based on the network forming the text as well as the intertextual relations and layers that are interpreted by social conventions, subjective issues and understandings, and his point of view. That is, any text provides the addressee with a signification system and network, and each component of this network refers to another component in the network. Each component of the network is a sign inviting the addressee to represent and reproduce the text, which is itself a network of signs. These signs have no meaning in isolation, and they only receive their signification function when they are inserted in a network-like context of a text. To understand, interpret, and semanticize the text, a coherent discipline is required to recognize the elements of a text, intertextual relations, and interpret the meaning of a text. This discipline is called semiotics, and it is concerned with anything that can be taken as a "sign" Semiotics is the understanding of the phenomena of the world by reading the existing signs , and it produces meaning for the social phenomena based on signification relations. In other words, semiotics is the study of signs based on all cultural manifestations such as language, music, film, fashion, architecture, and the layers beyond tangible signs, as well as connotations and the absent realms of a text. Semiotics has three main functions including the study of signs, the relation between signs, and reading of addressee. Two structuralist and poststructuralist approaches govern semiotics. The structuralist semioticians had a linguistic approach and decoded the texts by believing in a direct relation between text and its meaning. The poststructuralist semioticians recognized an indirect relation between the text and its meaning, and dealt with the pluralistic aspects, internal layers of the text, intertextual relations, and Différance.In the following, several contemporary mosques in Tehran have been studied using semiotic approach.The hermeneutic layer consists of several sub-layers and meaning streams from a sub-layer to another sub-layer in a fluid and unfixed manner. Thus, the reading of an architectural text requires to pay attention to the layers forming the design and to semanticize the design based on the collocated layers. In the construction of contemporary mosques, no attention is paid to the layers of the architectural body and the balance between these layers, and only the functional and anatomical aspects are of significance. The simultaneous attention to the layers involved in designing contemporary mosques enables us to develop mosques that have appropriate functions, reflect Islamic aesthetics, have an Islamic-Iranian approach, and meeting the needs of today's human. In such a case, there will be no need to repeat the history and merely imitate the historical elements of mosques, but rather, the broad Islamic concepts are reproduced based on today's approach.
S. Mostafa Mokhtabad, Atosa Gholishli,
Volume 4, Issue 16 (Winter 2011)
Abstract

This study investigates the origins of rural drama in Iran and presents a comparative study with pastoral drama. Pastoral drama is a sub-genre of rural drama. In Pastoral drama, the emphasis is on dramatic effects such as spectacle, music, and sentimental characters. The focus of rural drama is on the social and human aspects which often could be found in rural sociological studies. This kind of approach in western drama is very modern and new. Its origin goes back to 1850s with Turgenev’s A Month in Country; a movement which was followed by Chekhov’s Uncle Vaniya and three other plays, namely The Cherry Orchard, Three sisters, and The Seagull. All the events of these plays happen in Russian rural atmosphere depicting the change in the life and everyday experiences of rural people. Among the four plays of Chekhov Uncle Vaniya is a unique rural drama that later becomes a model for other playwrightsall around the world especially Iranian playwright, Akbar Radi. Radiunder the influence of Chekhov’s rural drama has written two rural Iranian plays, namely Marg dar payiz [death in autumn] and Dar meh bekhan [sing in fog]. These plays represent the most fascinating aspects of Iranian rural life. This experience also has influenced other branches ofart such as poetry, fiction, and cinema.The process resulted in the improvement of the Iranian humanistic drama.
, S. Mostafa Mokhtabad Amrayi, Hamid Reza Shairih,
Volume 5, Issue 20 (Winter 2012)
Abstract

As intertextual studies penetrated in art, the intertextual scholars attention was drawn to various mechanism of text in intertextual analysises of Gérard Genette studies. Genette presented 5 types of these relations by proposing transtextuality. These studies gradually found their way to cinema. This article aims to survey hypertextual and paratextual relations-two component of transtextuality- in Iran’s cinema.Through facing cinematic adaptation, we will realize that how a movie text excerpts from other texts in different ways, whether they are literary texts or not! One of the basic issues of this research is to recognize all kinds of cinematic adaptations and their characteristics. In paratextual relations the text is placed on the threshold of the other text and it seems that its ratio to the release time is the most important issue in this regard. The objective pursued here is to introduce a model of intertextual relations which specifies types of these adaptations and paratextual time relations in iran’s cinma. For this purpose, after rereading review of literature of intertextuality, hypertextuality and paratextuality, we will distinguish intertext from intertextuality. Finally some of the movies of Iran’s cinema in 1370s and 1380s will be observed in order to achieve hypertextual and paratextual relations.

Volume 8, Issue 2 (Summer 2018)
Abstract

Introduction Encountering with environment, sensory perception paves the way for the creation of meaning and the architect has to mix merely technical ideas with sensory perception to make it possible to approach the real and living meaning, which have been present in people’s lives. Criterion architecture, where architect’s physical and mental features prepare the formation of his work, causes the audience to find an intellectual picture of him. Iranian traditional architecture, particularly Iranian Bazaar architecture, is a type of visual-perceptual architecture, which involves all senses. The aim of this study was to investigate and understand the concept and structure of the Kashan Bazaar as a space consistent with Iranian values and identities. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods was used and the main body of the research was an analytical-exploratory method.
Conclusion As one of the examples of Iranian bazaars, the architecture of Bazaar of Kashan creates a sensory concentration system by embodying sensory incentives. Within the major directional system, corridors invite you to walk through them and discover the surroundings, and peace can be found in places such as mosques, Timches, and open spaces nearby. In the bazaar, the perceptual process is achieved in the face of the enormous congestion and desolation in the environment. This secrecy in the first step leads to the creation of the quality of inviting to gain tranquility, contemplation and thought; in the next stages, and based on human consciousness, it leads to the adoption of semantic systems and ultimately leads to the recognition of values and aesthetics.


Volume 9, Issue 3 (Vol.9, No.3 (Tome 45), July, August & September 2018, (Articles in Persian) 2018)
Abstract

In order to investigate the concept and function of the Iranian market, which is one of the important and influential elements in Iranian cities and has many social, economic, political, physical and cultural functions, it is possible to examine it in the framework of text analysis approaches such as linguistics and semiotics. The context of the Iranian market has implicational features; in other words, the context itself and its constructive factors all have the ability of meaning association. Now, given that the purpose of this research is to implement a conceptual model for proper reading and to examine the effective components in creating concept in the Iranian market like a context and as a shear of the city with a layered semiotic framework, its layers must be Identified and objective representation of the code network must be specified in a communicative action. Therefore, after explaining the basic concepts and outlining the theoretical necessities in the field of architectural semiotics, the layers involved in this reading will be identified and will be subjected to a precise analysis of the layered semiotic approach. The semiotics methodology of the foundation theory helps the researcher, in the form of an analytical method, identify the layers of Iranian market and examine the factors affecting the proper reading and decoding of it by identifying the signs and codes presented in the Iranian architecture, while investigating the signs and changing the types of them. The results of the current research showed that the market is a context in which various layers are slipping over each other and the monopolistic and separatist relations of the building elements have become overlapping and penetrating relations. The physical, functional, environmental, temporal, and semantic layers have been combined and unified and created a systematic whole in the name of Bazaar. In fact, the sets of the companion layers and the systems involved in this building are mutually supportive, and the coherence and creativity and proper reading of the Iranian market is possible due to the combination of the physical, functional, semantic, environmental and temporal layers; in such a way that the reading of this epitaxial semiotic complex relies on the audience's sense of movement within the physical and ultra-physical codes of the Iranian market.
 

Volume 9, Issue 37 (3-2021)
Abstract

Religious beliefs are shaped by myth. Mythical heroes and innocent Imams are always considered to be among the recurring themes as the sacred and identifying elements of the Iranian culture. They are in the subconscious, beliefs, and traditions of the people. With common goals and similar destiny, they have been influential in the formation of various literary and artistic works, including Ferdowsi's Shahnameh and Taziehs. This study focuses on the semantic decoding of repetitive mythical elements, in two texts from the pre - and post- Islamic eras. Employing the Genette's hypertextual approach, the study analyzes the story of Siavash in Shahnameh (pre-Islamic) and the Tazieh of Imam Hussein) post-Islamic(. The purpose of the research is to find out how the textual narrative was adapted by the theatrical narrative. After explaining the theoretical issues, the summary of the texts, and the characteristics of the heroes, the results are given in a table. The common or unique elements and symbols of thought and actions of the Iranian hero are sometimes manifested in an earthly-mythical and sometimes religious-historical and celestial personalities. Every year, similar rituals are repeated and reproduced in the mourning. The research method is descriptive-comparative and the analysis is done through content analysis and the use of library documents. The findings showed the following symbolic similarities: the halo of light, intelligent horse, white clothes, the presence of extraterrestrials, among others. The difference between the rituals were: the symbol of the plant god, the passage of fire, the Siavashun feather, Zulfiqar, the magical armor, among others.
Introduction
Research Background
There are several research projects conducted on the hero's myth, behavioral pattern, rituals left in their honor, spiritual journey and comparative relations on the texts about Siavash's mourning. Some examples are Dalir (2008) in an article entitled "The Intertextual Relations of Siavash's Story from Shahnameh and the Condolences of the Martyrdom of Imam Hussein’s Tazieh" in which it has examined the intertextual relationship through the similarities of the two stories and the structural comparison, space, and characters of the play. Alizadeh Moghadam (2010) has compared the epic and tragic world of the imitations of Imam (AS) from the perspective of the hero. In the book of mourning for Siavash, by Meskoob (1975), issues about the myth, epic, and mourning of Siavash are given. In the Iranian plays by Ashourpour (1994), and Housouri (2002), some commonalities of general mourning and the mourning of Siavash, which are mostly in the field of mythological beliefs, the genealogy of Siavash and Imam Hussein are investigated. It also has a historical connection with the ritual of Tazieh.
 
Goals, questions, and assumptions
The goal and the research problem are the adaptation and decipherment of symbolic elements, common intertextual relations, and the mythical and recurring role of the "hero" between the two works. This article seeks to answer the following questions: What are the most important recurring similarities in the mythical symbols of the hero between the two texts? What is the difference between the fields of fiction, narration, the concept of time, place, behavior in Tazieh and Ferdowsi's Shahnameh? What is the effect of the heroes' behavior in tragic and epic literature in Iran on the formation of two types of dramatic literature (in Tazieh) and epic literature (in Shahnameh)? As a research hypothesis, it is suggested that historians have consciously established an intertextual relationship with Shahnameh in line with their goals and motives. Also, the mourning of Siavash of Shahnameh and Majlis Tazieh of Imam Hussein (AS) within intertextual reading has had many connections during the history.
Discussion
The myth of the "hero" in the historical memory (national and religious) of our nation, his role in wars, and the constant confrontation between light and darkness, is one of the most stable and influential common themes in popular culture, literature, and art of different ethnic groups. The repeated presence of the hero in the context of history is considered as one of the influential and pivotal elements in the creation of artistic texts. It is with the connection of myth and history that the heroic character can be given an eternal aspect. In every field, time, and place, his presence can be considered as a believable model. The history of Iran as a whole is, on the one hand, a mixture of ideas (myths), facts (history), popular opinions and beliefs (myths), and documents that exist in various forms, while shaping the existence and identity of the Iranian nation. Recognizing and adapting the role of mythical and historical heroes, their worldview regarding existence and creation, the superhuman and mystical content of their actions and their role modeling in later periods, can meet human needs. In this regard, the reason for the symbolic features of the "hero" as the driving and shaping element of the story of Siavash (in the epic literature of Shahnameh) and Imam Hussein (in the tragic play of Tazieh) need to be compared.
Conclusion
The myth of the hero speaks of the common themes of "human existence and spirituality", aiming to fight demons and oppression. It goes through similar steps to achieve their human and lofty goals, and because of their human nature, they consciously embark on a difficult journey. In the end, with their oppressed and bitter martyrdom, they leave a stable and living model in the minds and executive customs of the people, sometimes in the form of a mythical and sometimes infallible face of religion. They join in the context of history. Similarities and implications in mythological components, the variety of common or unique forms, dense semantic layers in belief, literature and popular art, common and unique symbolic aspects that have high interpretability, all in all show that the two texts are influenced by each other. The findings indicate that the repetitive elements that have become the reason for the ritual and similar repetition every year are to appreciate the sacrifices of the heroes.
References
Alizadeh Moghadam, A. & Vamiri, M. (2019). A comparative study of the characters   and heroes of Shahnameh and Tazieh with an approach to dramatic literature. Research in Art and Humanities, 3(17), 19-26.
Ashourpour, S. (1994). Iranian performances. Surah Mehr.
Dalir, A. (2009). Intertextual relations between Siavash's story from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh and the condolence of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. Honar, 77(4), 176-187.
Ghadernejad, M., Khalandi, A., & Shafei, K. (2019). Re-reading the ritual of mourning for Siavash and mourning for Imam Hussein (Based on the analysis of paintings related to Siavash mourning in Central Asia and a work by "Hossein Zande Rudi". Persian Language and Literature Research, 49(4), 71-94.
Hosuri, A. (2001). Siavoshan. Cheshmeh.
Meskoob, Sh. (1975). The mourning of Siavash (in death and resurrection). Kharazmi.
 


Volume 12, Issue 2 (Summer 2022)
Abstract

Aims: Colored windows are part of the architecture of traditional Iranian buildings in the Islamic period, which act as gates for the passage of single light into space and its division into different colors. The main purpose of research is to create sensitivity in design of colored glass, to express the principle of using color in colored windows of traditional and Islamic buildings, to discover the relationship between color separation and architectural space quality in sustainable lighting system. the other goal is to achieve one of the effective characteristics in creating balance in a permanent building (Nasir Al-Molk Mosque).
Methods: The type of research is qualitative-quantitative. The extraction of materials has been done by collecting information from documentary sources and field perception of the pattern and area of Nasir Al-Molk Mosque colored glass.
Finally, through the comparative analogy of the proportion of colored glass surfaces with the theoretical basis of the results have been extracted.
Findings: In the sample, five types of general coloring and 15 types of partial coloring were analyzed. Blue, turquoise, green (cold colors) and red and yellow (warm colors) are used in colored windows with balance and one in between.
Conclusion: Extraction of the ratio of cold to warm colors close to one in accordance with the principles of Islamic philosophy showed that, the pattern of color distribution in space was not random, and in this regard, there is unity.

Volume 13, Issue 4 (September & October 2022)
Abstract

The Later Ludwig Wittgenstein believes that language games cause the formation of meaning. He considers language to have a logic that is perfected in its original grammar. But situational contradictions create conditions in which another conception of the same situation can be reached. An image that crystallizes in a new language game and can be called imagination. Thus, this notion can be transformed from a mental thing to a Lingual one. One of the contexts in which these language games can be followed by example is the field of dramatic texts. Hence, because Wittgenstein describes the nature of research in description and opposes analysis and explanation, he claims that the philosophy of language has done its job by describing language games, with the aim of how imagination is formed in language. Asghar Farhadi's About Eli has been selected for research. How does Farhadi organize his language game to achieve this goal? He seems to have used the absence element for this language game. This research, which is based on a qualitative method and on the collection of library information from the perspective of applied purpose, has reached the conclusion that absence causes the formation of contradictory and shaky language situations and helps different language procedures in dealing with Form each other.

1. Introduction
The philosophical idea of “language games” by Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein alongside with linguist, Ferdinand de Saussure, has brought about major changes in theories of language studies. This philosopher developed philosophical research in an attempt not to describe than‌ to explain, but to focus on functional elements. In this regard, he replaced meaning not only with a picture that he considers mind word‌ but the function of the ‌language.
A screenplay text by Asghar Farhadi has been purposefully selected ‌for this study in this regard to address the issue in the field of philosophy of art. Farhadi is known as an international filmmaker whose art works have been warmly welcomed by local and international viewers with any form of language game he chooses. About Elly (2008) has been chosen. This film has dramatically created a situation in which language game‌ expansion is feasible. This study aims at determining the role that language game plays in developing dramatic language in such plays.
The question is how Farhadi has turned the element of imagination into language factor and expanded dramatic language in his ‌narratives.

2. Literature Review
The late Wittgenstein believes that the meaning of language forms ‌in its function. Human is involved in language‌ games in everyday language. The games‌ which we learn how to play while playing ‌and apply ‌unconsciously. These games are subject to‌ rules that are considered ‌grammar. Grammars have primary and secondary forms. The primary grammars are the context for building initial sentences in‌ language games; on the other hand, secondary grammars influence the infrastructure of‌ language which is culturally shaped. He does not believe in the mind aspect and takes this view that whatever happens in the language life of people‌ has a prominent aspect, which has to be coordinated and accompanied by‌ language games. The mentality of people is regarded as an individual grammar that is inaccessible to the public and it will not be perceivable unless it takes the language aspect in one of the language game rules.
Imagination is no exception.
Throughout the history of philosophy, imagination has a mental nature that is in line with Wittgenstein's mental subject‌; thus, it can be available until a language structure is made‌. Therefore, it must be determined how the language game of imagination makes meaning in function‌. One of the factors is "‌absence" that can integrate imagination into language games. Absence has been repeatedly discussed. It occasionally has philosophical, linguistic, and artistic logic aspects. Thus, absence has aspects ‌that can face its function‌ with different daily issues‌. Absence comprises all of these ‌functions in the context of language.

3. Methodology
Wittgenstein has benefited from the descriptive method to provide his research and this study. According to‌ Wittgenstein, a researcher has to provide schemes based on which a machine operates, like drawing an engineering map, to know how the machine works‌; this refers to how to study language and find grammar in language‌. Hence, this study has considered how the language of imagination has been applied in Farhadi’s screenplay by reviewing Wittgenstein's literature‌ and providing study‌ samples of Farhadi’s texts. This study is based on a functional goal, collecting library information, qualitative method, and descriptive nature.

4. Discussion
About Elly by Asghar Farhadi is examined‌. Language‌ games are created in this screenplay, which is listed in following table‌.

Table 1
 The situation and language games of the movie about Eli (Source: Authors)
Situation
 A
Sepideh and Elly situation: Elly has a fiancé who is going to divorce her and Sepideh has suggested her to travel with her to North in order to introduce her to Ahmad. (This situation is in ‌preface.) Language game
P
Situation
B
Sepideh situation: Sepideh has started the absence play of preface‌. All the players in the game have believed her‌ story. Language game
~P
Situation
C
Elly situation: Elly has disappeared in ‌this situation. Everyone is looking for her and to know how she is. Language game
q
Situation
D
Alireza situation (Elly’s fiancé): Elly’s fiancé has entered the game and the story of situation is‌ obvious. Language game
r
Situation
E
Collective situation: Inverting the situation of A in a new language game Language game
~r

In these situations‌, agents involved in language games create contexts ‌for playing without any absent elements in order to present ‌an aspect of their language and make another factor for aspect‌ expansion. Dramatic‌ dialogues ‌are first ‌selected and‌ then analyzed individually. It is obvious that the writer of the screenplay ‌has chosen various ‌ways to apply absence in this‌ analysis. Factors such as deletion of a character’s ‌name, and physical deletion of a character to name a few, reach‌ to deep linguistic structure, ‌which transforms the function of ‌language.

5. Conclusion
“Absence”, if not considered as language reference, could create an imaginary situation in language games. Asghar Farhadi has tested these issues by considering different situations of language games in his screenplay of “About Elly”. His function has resulted in switching from absence to name and physical deletion and different situations. Consequently, what has been considered ‌mental is turned into something objective and linguistic. The created‌ situations are widely considered logical situations‌. It is not nonsense. However, on the other hand, the logical situations are turned into another procedure of language and are somehow transformed into an imaginative situation when are in conflict with previous and next situations. We can identify other aspects of language by using the expression “imagine” depending on the agent and the situation that has been created. Absence destabilizes the unconscious situation of language. This instability continuously leads to the creation of various kinds of language games; thus, the functional aspect of language develops. This note is a direct answer to the research question and proves the‌ hypothesis in this study. This issue could result in creating drama in conscious areas due to the fact that contradictory situations cause tension and challenges between them, which Farhadi has taken advantage of in the screenplay of “About Elly”. Eventually, it can be claimed that imagination is not just a mental matter. It also can have verbal characteristics provided that we can identify and express its proper language game. This is a way of expanding language. It is important that Wittgenstein does not seek for providing a specific shape or instruction for ‌language games. They might be family-related‌ but are more focused on how to play language‌ games in method than on providing or explaining a specific instruction‌. In this study, we tried to ‌heed more attention to absence ‌as one of these possibilities.
 


Volume 14, Issue 1 (2-2007)
Abstract

-The term “Ta’ziyeh” refers to an Iranian dramatic genre which might be compared to the Western Passion Play and is the only indigenous drama of the entire Islamic world. This ritual drama has both an Islamic and a Persian heritage, the central theme of which is the tragic and heroic martyrdom of Imam Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed and the third Imam of Shi’ite in the desert of Karbala in 680 A.D. Shiites believe that Imam Husayn sacrificed his life to be their Intercessor on the Day of Judgment. The history of Ta’ziyeh did not begin with the events at Karbala rather it dates back to pre-Islamic culture as well as the dramatic expressions of both the Memorial of Zarer, a religious epic from the Sassanid era, (226-652 A.D.), and the Tragedy of Siyavush, a work from ancient Iran, which precedes the Ta’ziyeh play by 1,200 years. The tradition continued from an early processional form to the Magtal-Khani (a recital of martyrdom stories), until it took a dramatic shape. Further, both the playwrights and the structure of the Takiyeh performance building, its performance site, contributed to the evolution of Ta’ziyeh. In this paper, the emphasis is to demonstrate the character of Ta’ziyeh, its foundation and, the development of its various elements. It also attempts to reveal, from an objective stance, its value to a people who embrace it as a kind of ritual, both a holy and national art form. Ta’ziyeh is a kind of ritual drama which has fascinated some of the world’s most famous theatre historians, critics, and performers, who view in it some elements of the postmodern theatre.

Volume 17, Issue 2 (6-2010)
Abstract

Kiarostami’s unfinished cinema emphasizes the importance of audiences’ involvement in a movie by using postmodern images. Some essential points of critically reading his, so-called half-created cinema, could be summarized as self-reflexive style, diagrammatical perspectives, in-between narratives,and Individual minimalism. The main postmodern achievement of this cinema is focusing on the process of creating meaning through the experience of film. Furthermore, the close-ups function as separate independent units that are constantly generating their implicit affections. In this respect, Kiarostami’s unusual works are interpretable by Deleuze’ some neologism like affection-image. The films are some affective micro-dramas formed in a gap between the audiences’ receptions and the close-ups. Despite their postmodern reflections, unfinished movies have no strict disciplines that may limit the process of creating meaning. This paper attempts to present a new approach of reading Kiarostami as an increasing global interest.

Volume 20, Issue 1 (1-2013)
Abstract

The main sources of all natural light are the sun, the moon and the stars. In other words, the principle source of illumination is the light as mediated by atmosphere. According to some philosophers, spiritual or holy light includes not only material and quantified aspect, but being non-physical properties it treats as a spiritual connector between god and man. The light is the main part of existence which not only contacts to the surface of objects, but also helps them form. In other words, light is the key of finding space fundamental in making holy places meaningful. The present paper tries to make a comparative analysis of lighting in some of the most famous sacred buildings around the world. As such, the methodology preferred in this piece of research is descriptive, analytic and comparative.

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