Sociology
Hamid Sarshar; Javad Kashi; Ali Janadleh
Abstract
The present article aims to trace the understanding of Iran's collective identity in historical reference to the rationality of schools. The theoretical guide of the research is derived from the conceptual apparatus of Michel Foucault, and the methodological logic of the research is through the ...
Read More
The present article aims to trace the understanding of Iran's collective identity in historical reference to the rationality of schools. The theoretical guide of the research is derived from the conceptual apparatus of Michel Foucault, and the methodological logic of the research is through the genealogical approach and Foucauldian discourse analysis. The findings of the study indicate that "historical events" and "multiple developments" during the "confrontation" at the beginning of the confrontation with the civilization of the West made Iran susceptible to multiple situations. Modern education, on the one hand, arose such a desire from within the society that here education is mainly focused on progress in the socio-economic fields and does not have a relation with the collective identity. On the other hand, the structural encounter with the Western world, the mainly military necessity of the government, and the health crisis led to the understanding and "technical rationality" of knowledge. The rationality that later at the end of the century, with the rebellion of the "progressive discourse" from its initial principles and the problematization of collective identity, put modern education at the service of "the impossibility of open collective identity."IntroductionA redefinition of society as “a land and political territory in the modern rational and center-oriented form” has brought about a new stage for human collective settlements. Having had a theory/idea whereby a society is perceived as a state-nation concept as required by modern historical rationality, the problem of collective identity has been raised. Now, with the break of boundaries of “time-space” and the possibility for “a direct action towards the place”, once again our perception of “society” is about to be historically broken. However, the question of the “collective identity of Iran” still remains as one of the serious issues. The simultaneous intermingling of good and evil in modern political rationality has been the source of many misunderstandings and sufferings by confining our understanding of our identity in the form of geographical-political boundaries. But, understanding the collective identity beyond good and evil in history requires a transition from a moral point of view and a focus on historical circumstances.Literature ReviewStudies of collective identity in Iran have mainly focused on the issue of whether Iranian collective identity is a new phenomenon or a late phenomenon. In fact, the main controversy is whether collective identity is "discovered" or "constructed" in the contemporary world. Based on this, the three dominant approaches in the study of Iran's collective identity have been the "nationalistic" narrative, the "modern" narrative, and the "historical" narrative. The nationalist narrative considers Iran's collective identity as a pre-modern phenomenon. The modern narrative considers collective identity as a phenomenon related to the modern world and the formation of state-nations. The historical narrative considers collective identity as a pre-modern phenomenon that has changed over time and has emerged in the modern world in the form of national identity. Dominated by modern rationality, socio-historical studies on Iran which have assumed the collective identity as a sacred affair of fact within a state-nation framework, have been searching for the reasons for collective identity formation, often from a rationalistic and subject-oriented standpoint; so, the question on how such a phenomenon is realized in modern institutions which function as an area where the relations between dominant forces and rationality play the most essential role in organizing modern societies, seems to be the missing part of such socio-historical studies.Research ObjectivesThis research aims to examine the collective identity of contemporary Iran with reference to history in educational practices. This article intends to map the current history of Iran's collective identity with a genealogical approach, in order to record the evolution and heterogeneity of the collective identity outside of a uniform finality by refusing to look for origins. In analyzing the collective identity in the discursive and institutional fabric of contemporary Iranian history, our focus in this research is on the institution of education and educational practices.Theoretical FoundationsThis research is theoretically placed in the postmodern epistemological paradigm, and specifically, the theoretical guide of the research is derived from the conceptual apparatus of Michel Foucault. The author has aimed to trace back the contemporary collective identity of Iran by making historical references to scholastic rationality and educational acts within Foucault’s genealogy, conceptual framework, and logic. From the perspective of Foucault's genealogical approach, the possibilities and impossibilities of social phenomena and their nature can be deciphered in the knowledge-power system.Materials and MethodsThis research has been done using genealogical methodological logic and Foucauldian discourse analysis. Genealogy does not provide a precise methodological logic, but rather an insight to understand the phenomena. An insight that explores the logic of social order, social developments, and the actions of social agents in relation to power-knowledge. An exploration that looks for traces of today's events in the past. Genealogy goes back to history to investigate and understand phenomena, and in this regard, its main emphasis is on dominant rationalities and the formation of power relations.ResultsThe findings of the research indicate that "historical events" and "multiple developments" during the "confrontation" at the beginning of the confrontation with the civilization of the West made Iran susceptible to multiple situations. Modern education, on the one hand, arose such a desire from within the society that here education is mainly focused on progress in the socio-economic fields and does not have a relation with the collective identity. On the other hand, the structural encounter with the Western world, the mainly military necessity of the government, and the health crisis led to the understanding and "technical rationality" of knowledge. The rationality that later at the end of the century, with the rebellion of the "progressive discourse" from its initial principles and the problematization of collective identity, put modern education at the service of "the impossibility of open collective identity."
