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Showing 9 results for Binary Opposition


Volume 6, Issue 21 (9-2018)
Abstract

Tales are the heritage of the public in literary, intellectual and cultural contexts that have a powerful and creative function.  They can be considered the first and most valuable subjective and linguistic creations that are highly prominent in their depths. The narrators have also created stories of events, human concerns and dreams benefiting from artistic structure and multi-dimensional meaning as a permanent function. Yazd area has a special place in this regard. Hence, the diversity of research based on binary opposition and structural analysis in the field of storytelling have reduced the meaning of folk tales. The purpose of this research is to examine the perverse basis of the confrontational structure in Yazdi's popular stories. Research methodology in this paper is descriptive- documentary and analytical. In such an approach, it is clear that the binary opposition in the folk tales have the potential for reversal of meaning, and through the notion of deconstruction, the reproduction of other meanings which corresponds to the mind of the audience and the reading time would be possible.
, Fattaneh Mahmoudi,
Volume 8, Issue 32 (12-2015)
Abstract

Dogmatic approaches interpret literary texts in definitive ways. However, literary texts do lose their supposed absolute and final meanings when approached from a poststructuralist perspective. Consequently, it is possible to have multiple readings of a text from different perspectives. Drawing on Derridean deconstruction of binary oppositions, this paper studies a miniature painting by Sultan Mohammad Naqqash based on Hafez’s poetry. Hafez’s divan is always open to various interpretations between spiritual and worldly approaches. Contrary to the classical interpretations in which a definitive meaning is sought after, “Heavenly and Earthly Inebriation” painting by Sultan Mohammad deconstructs this opposition and presents a new reading of the poem. Based on an analytic-historical method, we argue that this painting creates a new hermeneutic world by geometric composition, colors, and characterization. The painting, we conclude, maintains the poetic ambiguity of Hafez’s poetry. Accordingly, we can say that there is no final meaning in this painting because the spectators simultaneously experience both poles of this opposition and, as a result, for them there is no absolute interpretation.  

Volume 8, Issue 33 (6-2020)
Abstract

Abstract
Binary opposition is one of the fundamental concepts in the critique of structuralism, and post-structuralism as well as the theories of linguistics and semiotics which are rooted in the mythological and cultural beliefs. Binary opposition shifted from linguistics to cultural studies and was challenged in the postmodern condition eventually. Claude Levi-Strauss espouses a bipolar-oppositional structure to the logic of myth, including proverbs. In his view, the structure of the human mind to understand phenomena puts each continuum in a binary reciprocal polarity. This pervasive mental action will eventually lead to the binary opposition, such as nature and culture. The purpose of the present study, however, is to represent the value binaries in the proverbs of the Ilami people. Due to the reconstructural nature of the case study, the research paradigm was qualitative and the method used was qualitative content analysis. The data is the published books about the proverbs of the Ilami people and some key informants were asked to supplement the information. These people were selected through purposeful sampling and were questioned through semi-structured interviews. The findings indicated that the binary value of the Ilami proverbs includes the following general binary oppositions: rational/irrational; collective/individual; dynamism / stagnation; universalism / particularism; order/ disorder; social capital development/ social capital erosion; moderation/ extremism; and justice/ oppression. These binaries consist of more detailed subcategories that represent a society saturated with opposition. The binary oppositions derived from the findings are largely consistent with the Talcot Parsons model variables.
 

Keywords: Binary oppositions; proverbs; social value; social capital; conflict.
Introduction
Popular literature or "oral literature is an important branch of popular knowledge or folklore that includes a large collection of songs, lullabies, riddles, stories, myths, and proverbs" (Zolfaghari, 2013, p. 9). Proverbs reflect all aspects of life, material or spritual (Zolfaghari, 2005, p. 18). Proverbs represent the life of a people who have illustrated their aspirations, wishes, values, norms, different issues of life, and their social behavior through an artistic expression. In this context, proverbs are nowadays considered as one of the most important sources for cultural and social studies, and can be used to realize individuals' cultural and social viewpoints among which "binary oppositions" is a case in point.
The term "binary oppositions" was coined in the school of structuralism, and employed as a means to examine and analyze the fundamental structure of thought and culture. This term refers to opposite pairs in an area, which usually shows the dominance of one over the other (Ghiyasi and Mahmoodi, 2015). Binary oppositions dominate one pole over the other one and leave the identity and presence of one in the absence of the identity and presence of the other. Similarly, ideology is largely based on oppositions since it depends on values, and values oppose anti-values to be defined. Some other examples include religion against infidelity, good against evil, infallibility against sin (Talebian et al., 2009).
Conceptual Framework
Binary oppositions include values based on which actors act. These values are at the two ends of a continuum that is generally privative and demanding.
Social values are the bases of social actions. According to Pasrons, values associated with actions are not imposed on individuals from the outside but in their interactions with the society. In fact, the values, in practice, form the constructive conditions of the social actions. All actions involve these choices and reflect the system of the actor's choice. There are four major alternatives in this regard (Azkia and Ghaffari, 2008, p. 184), which Parsons calls "pattern variables". They include universalism vs. particularism, specific vs. diffuseness, achievement vs. ascription, affective vs. affective neutrality, and self-interest vs. collective-interest.
Aims, questions, and procedure
This study aims to investigate the representation of binary oppositions in proverbs of the people of Ilam. Within the same line, the following question was raised:
what is the representation of the following binary oppositions in the proverbs of the Ilami people: rational / non-rational, individualism / collectivism, individualism / collectivism, social dynamism / social static, universalism / particularism, order / disorder, formation / destruction of social capital, balance / indulgence, and justice / injustice?
This study employed a qualitative content analysis method of investigation. The scope of this study was the printed books on proverbs of the Ilami people. To triangulate the data, key informants, who were selected through purposive sampling, and their competence was determined based on the saturation principle, were interviewed.
Conclusion
The binary oppositions in proverbs of the Ilami people were represented in eight general pairs, including:
In the binary of rational/non-rational, there were the binaries of considerate/inconsiderate, prudence/non-prudence, and rationality/ irrationality. The binary of collectivism/individualism included opportunist/altruist, responsibility/ non-responsibility, cooperation/ competition, common grief/indifference, and facilitator/ troublemaker. The binary of static/dynamism included social dynamism/ coercion, and incorrigibility/ reversibility. In the binary of universalism/ particularism, the following values were found: specialization/non-specialization, and achievement/ ascription. The binary of order/disorder included the categories of social order/social disorder, agreement/non-agreement, and taking turns/ignoring turns. In the binary of formation of social capital/destruction of social capital, the binary values of social trust/distrust, honesty/demagoguery, trusteeship/ barratry, dignity/ stinginess, forgiveness/ reproach, and humility/ arrogance were represented. The binary of balance/indulgence represents the binary values of patience/ impatience, tolerance/ intolerance, understanding/hostility, adaptability/ dominance, and observing the rights/indulgence. The binary of justice/ injustice included equity/inequity, and the value of women/ patriarchy.
Such binaries are, to a great extent, consistent with Parsons's pattern variables. The difference is that in order to distinguish the traditional societies from the non-traditional ones, Parsons believed that each of the mentioned societies has only one of the attributes in the oppositions, while the representation of oppositions in proverbs of the Ilami people is based on a kind of attitude dynamism and jelly thinking as well as reciprocal movement between the two ends of a continuum. In this sense, we face a society saturated with oppositions, which sometimes tends to the affirmative values and sometimes to the negative ones. It sometimes tends to the rational actions and sometimes to the emotional ones. It sometimes demands individualism and sometimes collectivism. It sometimes calls for dynamism and sometimes emphasized coercion; sometimes calls for order and sometimes for disorder. It sometimes emphasizes formation of the social capital and sometimes its destruction. It sometimes considers balance as its ideal and another time puts indulgence on its agenda.
References
  •  Ghiyasi, N. & Mahmoodi, F. (2015). Deconstruction of binary interpretations in Hafez's poems in the painting of Sultan Muhammed Naghash. Literary Criticism, 32(4), 105-131
  •  Talebiyan, Y., Sarfi, M., Sharifpour, E. & Kasi, F. (2009). Binary oppositions in Ahmadreza Ahmadi's poems. Persian Language and Literature Journal of Research (Gohar-e-Guya), 3(4), 21-34.
  •  Zolfaghari, H. (2005). The stories of proverbs (in Farsi). Tehran: Maziyar
  •  Zolfaghari, H. (2013). The dictionary of Persian proverbs (in Farsi). Tehran: Elm Publication

Masoud Algooneh Juneghani,
Volume 9, Issue 33 (5-2016)
Abstract

Semiotic Square, as a model trying to analyze and explain the foundation of signification, was ‎firstly developed by Greimas. This model is the logical outcome of the development of binary ‎oppositions, and is based on the primary structure of signification. It was first used in the ‎structural analysis of narratives. However, Greimas, Rastier and some other members of Paris ‎school applied it in the field of semiotics of poetry, as well. Nevertheless, researches using ‎this model in the field of Persian literature are mainly concerned with its application in the ‎structural analysis of either prose or verse narratives, and as a consequence, there is no ‎comprehensive research which analyses the process of signification in poetry according to this ‎model. Hence, after providing the basic assumptions of semiotic model, the present article ‎tries to apply it in a semiotic reading of poetry. Therefore, at first the basic components of ‎semiotic square and their combination methods is explained and afterwards the internal ‎organization of the components of a poem by Attar, Mowlavi, and Hafiz is respectively ‎analyzed. Such a research not only provides the possibility of the analysis of the poem's ‎structure, and brings forth some of its latent perspectives, but also offers a reader-oriented ‎model which indicates how a potent reader recognize and categorize the semantic ‎components of the poem so as to arrive at a better understanding. ‎

Volume 10, Issue 1 (3-2019)
Abstract

Rouzbahan Baghli is one of the major figures of 6th century who has his own particular mystic language. His language shows a set of particular features like abstractness. The present article has taken into account the semiotic square theoretical framework in order to analyze his language as well as to yield a better understanding of his mystic experience. Accordingly, having taken into consideration his mystic language, the properties of his language will be analyzed in the light of semiotic square. This study reveals that among the current oppositions like contradiction, contrast and entailment, Rouzbahan’s language incline towards contrast. This is due to the fact that Rouzbehan generally speaks about major existential categories, which are completely contradictory in two poles. Thus, whenever he talks about his experiences, he sometimes intermingles the binary oppositions in a complex meta-term. As a result, he sometimes collects these binary categories and puts them together to create a "compound" term. Sometimes he rejects both categories and creates a "neutral" frequency, and sometimes a "positive indicator" by deleting both. Other meta-terms like neutral, complex, positive deixis, and nameless are the dominant indicators of his abstract language.
 

Volume 10, Issue 41 (12-2013)
Abstract

This article studies the binary significations of Hafez/Zahed (Pious) in Hafez’s lyrics through a Derridean deconstructive approach. In order to do this, first we outline the deconstructive reading as the theoretical framework of the study. Within this framework, we would explain the Platonic binary oppositions, its effect on Saussurean binary linguistics, and Derrida’s treatment of the oppositions, specifically the binary of the signifier and the signified. Then we deconstruct the binary of Hafez/Zahed and conclude that this binary opposition is unstable and Hafez’s poetry is a self-deconstructive text.

Volume 10, Issue 45 (8-2022)
Abstract

 
Research background
Ghasemlou, in his book Pathology of Persian Proverbs (2012), has tried to question the constructiveness and positive cultural impact of some of these proverbs with through a novel view, but his research lacks theory and method. In many cases, it only refers to their use and origin of proverbs. Athari, in an article entitled "Analysis of Time and Time Indicators in Proverbs with a Symbolic and Semantic Approach" (2013) has tried to show with a semantic approach how time is represented in a proverb. It can change from prescriptive tense to present tense, so as to form a level of knowledge and awareness in the minds of users. Zulfighari, also in an article entitled "Examination of Persian proverbs at two lexical and syntactic levels" (2008) tries to measure the amount of lexical changes and syntactic displacement as well as the adaptation with a formalistic and statistical point of view. He examines the lexical items in many proverbs.
Objectives, questions, and hypotheses
The research question in this study is: how can the criticism and analysis of the proverb "You don't want to be shamed, be the same color as the group" provide a modern and practical reading of this proverb to cultural users, so that it can bring about social changes? And how it reflects contemporary modernism? In the analysis and pathology of this proverb, how can the theory of deconstruction help? The premise of the article is that the deconstructive reading of this proverb will provide a more modern reading so that more users can read it in accordance with the contemporary social changes in Iranian culture. This reading makes the dual oppositions in the construction of this proverb be shifted. By shifting these dualities, the semantic centrality changes from "collectivism" to "individualism". In other words, the deconstructive analysis of this proverb seeks to remove the semantic emphasis from "collectivism" to "individualism".
Discussion
There is no proverb that does not have an objective or subjective duality. Sometimes, there is an opposing duality in the construction which is easy to understand. In other times, there is a deep double opposition that makes the immediate understanding of the proverb somewhat difficult and complicated. "You don't want to be shamed, be the same color as the group" is one of the famous proverbs in the cultural atmosphere of Iranians today. The structure of this proverb, like all other cultural and non-cultural structures, is based on mutual pairs. The opposition on which the structure of this proverb is based is the duality of "individualism" and "collectivism". The opposition is "I" and "we". The opposite duality in the proverb is mental and profound. The superstructure and deep structure of this proverb show that the hidden and visible linguistic actions - condition, order, warning, threat - are aimed at promoting collective values. Being of the same color, which shows the centrality and semantic authority of this proverb, emphasizes more than anything the worldview of submission, imitation, uniformity and loyalty to the group. Although this proverb is a product of specific cultural, historical, social and of course class demands, with its intelligence and tyranny, it has made the individuality, originality and self-awareness of people be considered low value. The internal conflict in the proverb "You don't want to be shamed, be the same color as the group" can be studied in different fields such as sociology, psychology, history, etc.
Cultural criticism of the proverb "You don't want to be shamed, be the same color as the group" raises questions such as "I" or "we". This cultural question shows one of the strategies and intellectual foundations in a society. The historical criticism of the proverb "You don't want to be shamed, be the same color as the group" also shows that classicism has always emphasized collectivist values ​​and, by proposing predetermined patterns, demands the adaptation of individual behavior to them. Sociological criticism of the proverb "You don't want to be shamed, be the same color as the group" shows the dual opposition of the individual and the society. Durkheim, one of the positivist sociologists, "proposes the duality of the individual and the society". (Durkheim, 2003, p. 45). The economic criticism of the proverb "You don't want to be shamed, be the same color as the group" also shows the endless struggle between communism and modern capitalism.
Conclusion
It is necessary to organize a wise combination of the proverb "You don't want to be shamed, be the same color as the group", in order to be able to promote a kind of authority, individuality, talent, originality and innovation. The tyranny, authority and hostage-taking of this proverb must be broken so that individuality is freed and creativity and diversity grow. Deconstruction of the "You don't want to be shamed, be the same color as the group" can be a more excruciating reading and a more progressive and modern form of this proverb, and of course the necessity of this reading is a reflection of vitality, mobility and social and cultural dynamism of today's Iran. In the new reading, the reversal of priorities has caused the semantic authority to be removed from "homrang" and transferred to the word "Rosva". In other words, if in the traditional readings, "homogeneity" and collectivism were promoted in its essence, in this new and destructive reading, "scandal" or that is, individualism, becomes the center of semantic authority and "individualism" turns into "collectivism" and individuality and its essentials, i.e. freedom, independence, creativity, dynamism, dissent, etc., are emphasized.
References
Durkheim, E. (2003). Individualism and the intellectualsIn M. Bayer and J. Cohen, Emile Durkheim sociologist of modernity. Blackwell press.


Volume 13, Issue 53 (12-2016)
Abstract

Structuralism is one of the method to analyze the text. Binary oppositions in this approach are considered as foundations. Structural theoreticians believe that the main function of human mind is to create these binary oppositions which are the underlying structure of each culture. In fact, our cultural actions originate from these binary relationship in which lexical contrast and contradictory thought are hidden. By adopting this research methodology, this article investigates Baharestan by Jami; a literary work with social, ethical and mystic thoughts or background whose foundation is based on these binary oppositions. In parallel with explanation of thought and origin of Jami’s stories at the level of deep structure; the authors tries to show these oppositions at the level of surface structure. The main question of this study is that to what extent the reading of Baharestan illuminates its literary value.
Nima Nattagh, Fares Bagheri,
Volume 17, Issue 66 (8-2024)
Abstract

Since the 1930s, narratives of the fundamental story of the Arash myth have been narrated by contemporary Iranian writers. These narratives have read this myth with impressions that are influenced and appropriate to the intellectual, cultural and political currents of the society of their era. The common denominator of all these narratives are the dual confrontations that constantly repeat themselves in the narration process. The confrontation between Arash and the people, between Iran and Turan, and even between Arash and his own self. For a clear analysis of the structure in mythology, Strauss calls it in his own way as Asturaj. This method, which originated from linguistics, is a suitable method for analyzing this myth. In this research, an attempt is made to study five contemporary texts that focus on the myth of Arash and by using the method of separating the constituent parts of the myth according to Strauss, to address the differences between the retellings of the myth of Arash in the mentioned texts. The idea of knowing myth as a form of language has always been of interest among mythologists. Myth, in its roots, before stories and legends, was alive in the discourse of humans, and it was considered a form of language for communication between humans, and it was also the way of thinking of previous humans. Claude Lévi-Strauss, by studying the origin of mythology, had noticed the existence of dual oppositions of their ancient foundations. In the book Raw and Cooked, Strauss sees the dual opposition as two parallel lines that flow into each other.
Extended Abstract
The idea of ​​understanding myth as a form of language has always been popular among mythologists. When we look for the roots of mythology and find out that before stories and legends they were alive in the discourse of humans and were actually a form of language to communicate, we mostly come to the fact that mythology was the way of thinking of earlier humans. Claude Lévi-Strauss, by studying the origins of mythology and most of European mythology, notices the existence of dual oppositions in their ancient origins. In Iranian mythology, these dual confrontations are also clearly visible. The basic idea of ​​Iranian mythology is based on the battle between good and bad or good and evil. This idea repeats itself in Iranian mythology; Ahuramazda and Ahriman, Jamshid and Zahhak, Iran and Turan, etc., even in some Iranian myths, whose stories are about the same character, this dual opposition can be seen. Like the story of Zarvan, who was born as good and bad, he faced a double conflict with his doubts. Strauss presents this idea in his book Raw and Cooked. But he does not see this double opposition as two parallel lines that never meet, but believes that they flow into each other. In fact, Strauss considers myth as a kind of basic structure for understanding cultural communication. He believes that these connections mainly emerge with dual confrontations or contradictions. Like raw and cooked. They contradict each other. Raw is associated with nature and cooked shows culture. It is these contradictions that create a kind of basic structure for all the ideas and thoughts of every culture.
In order to better understand and analyze these contrasts, Strauss proposes a method called Asturaj, which uses phonology in linguistics, helps to better analyze the myth, and in the following, we use the same method to analyze the retellings of the myth of Arash. For this reason, we studied the retellings of the myth of Arash, which have been written by contemporary writers, who have different accounts of what was in his original story.
Since the end of the 1930s, the legend of Arash, which was less discussed among Iranian legends (due to the absence of his story in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh), has been re-read and in these re-readings, it has gained a new life among Iranians. This book was initially compiled by Ehsan Yarshater in the collection of stories of ancient Iran, which presents a two-page narrative of the story of Arash Kamangir to the audience for the first time in the modern era, and with the recognition of this myth, Siavash Kasraei, Arsalan Pouria, Nader Ebrahimi, Bahram Beyzai and Siavash Hemti wrote their different interpretations of this myth. Undoubtedly, the political and social situation ruling Iran at the time of writing these works was not without influence, but when we analyze the myth from within and analyze the contradictions between the elements that make up the structure of each narrative, we come to find distinctions, the study of which can lead us to learn more about the function of this ancient myth in today's times.


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