Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs

Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs

Analysis of Iranian Studies Discourses in the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World: A Case Study of the Iran–Iraq War

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Associate Professor, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 Ph.D Candidate, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/irfa.2025.511904.1277
Abstract
Since the Iranian Studies discipline was created, different perspectives have taken shape and serve to present different representations of Iran. The purpose of this research is to identify the discourses of the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, as an example of contemporary institutions active in the field of Iranian Studies that comprise a range of viewpoints held by scholars participating in that field. Thus, through an analysis of this encyclopedia, several approaches and their possible discourses can be identified based on various individual and institutional dimensions. In this research, thematic analysis and van Dijk’s Critical Discourse Analysis are used as methods to study the Iran–Iraq War as addressed in the relevant entries in the encyclopedia. Results show that perspectives relating to Iran in this encyclopedia are multifaceted, and, in addition to the Western view of the East, the perspectives of Easterners and Iranians (focusing primarily on the Iranian diaspora) have also been included. The representation of Iran in each of these perspectives contains distinct features, as well as definitions of “self” and “others” with regard to Iran and the Islamic Republic. The integration of these approaches is reflected in the discourses and sub-discourses of Iranian Studies in Western institutions. The study also shows that institutions and researchers may both be involved in shaping these discourses; however, with specific reference to the analysis of this encyclopedia, the role of personal perspectives and backgrounds of researchers outweighs the institutional role.
Keywords
Subjects

Article Title Persian

تحلیل گفتمان‌های ایران‌شناسی معاصر بر مبنای دیدگاه نهادی و فردی: مطالعه موردی جنگ ایران-عراق در دانشنامه جهان اسلام اکسفورد

Authors Persian

محمد سمیعی 1
منیر عزیزی 2
1 دانشیار، دانشگاه تهران، تهران، ایران
2 دانشجوی دکتری، دانشگاه تهران، تهران، ایران
Abstract Persian

ایران‌شناسی یا مطالعات ایران چند قرن پیشینه‌ دارد و در این مدت برخی جنبه‌های مطالعاتی و رویکردهای آن تغییراتی داشته و برخی دیگر ممکن است چندان تغییر نکرده باشند. در حال حاضر محققان مطالعات ایران در رویکردها و گفتمان‌های خاصی در این حوزه فعال هستند. هدف این پژوهش شناسایی انواع دیدگاه‌های احتمالی است که در حال حاضر بین ایران‌شناسان قابل تشخیص است؛ سپس بررسی می‌شود که آیا از این دیدگاه‌‎ها می‌توان به گفتمان[‌هایی] رسید که هر یک از آنها نیز تعریف و بازنمایی متفاوتی از ایران و مطالعات ایران ارائه می‌دهند. دانشنامه جهان اسلام اکسفورد نمونه‎ای از مطالعات ایران‌شناسی در دهه‌های اخیر است که به عنوان یک نهاد علمی، طیف متنوعی از محققان در آن مشارکت دارند. در این پژوهش، تحلیل تماتیک و تحلیل گفتمان انتقادی ون‌دایک روی مرتبط با جنگ ایران-عراق در این دانشنامه انجام شد. نتایج نشان می‌دهد در ایران‌شناسی به جای صرفا یک دوگانگی مبتنی بر شرق و غرب، می‌توان به چند رویکرد رسید، که نهادها و محققان هر دو در تشکیل آنها سهیم هستند. ممکن است برخی از این رویکردها همچنان در حوزه شرق‌شناسی، نوشرق‌شناسی، شرق‌شناسی وارونه و ... قرار گیرند، اما رویکردهای جدیدتر، نگاه سایر شرقیان و نگاه ایرانیان (در اینجا متمرکز بر دیاسپورای ایرانی) به ایران است. در این صورت با یک «فراشناخت» از ایران روبرو هستیم، در واقع ایران به سادگی و صرفاً به عنوان «خود» برای فقط ایرانی‌ها و «دیگری» برای فقط غربی‌ها تعریف نمی‌شود و در هر رویکرد این تعریف از «خود» و «دیگری» متفاوت است. این تفاوت‌ها در نهایت در گفتمان‌ها و خرده‌گفتمان‌های مطالعات ایران متجلی می‌شود، که تصاویری چندلایه از ایران می‌سازند و با تلفیق آنها می‌توان درک کامل‌تر و بهتری از ایران داشت.

Keywords Persian

ایرانشناسی معاصر
گفتمان
بازنمایی
جنگ ایران و عراق
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Volume 16, Issue 1 - Serial Number 41
September 2025
Pages 55-80

  • Receive Date 11 March 2025
  • Revise Date 18 August 2025
  • Accept Date 20 August 2025