The Village in Contemporary Persian Poetry

This paper explores the ever-shifting symbiosis between the village motif, social justice and populist politics in Iran over the past three decades. The village has remained a recurring motif in Persian literature, employed by a variety of writers and state institutions for a range of means. As a symbol, it has been a conduit into which any ideology can be poured; the village allegory can be manipulated to both condemn and support the official policies of the state. A comparison of Iran’s pre- and post-revolutionary literature sheds light on the ways the state literati perpetuated an idealized picture of the village as an authentic, sacred space, increasingly associated with religious nationalism during the 1980s. The paper examines the key socio-political influences on the evolution of the pastoral motif, the work of state-sponsored official poets, and the impact of the village on the cultural doctrine of the Islamic Republic.     

The literate revolution in Polynesia

Abstract

Pearl oysters are among the most important natural resources of the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia. For over a century and a half, Tuamotuan pearl oysters have been commercially harvested by diving methods. Regulation by the French has allowed intensive exploitation by external extrepreneurs, leading to stock decline. Available archival documentation, primarily in the form of government communications and legal papers, reveals a long history of recurrent struggles involving islanders, external entrepreneurs, and colonial administrations. Today, a new and highly successful pearl farming industry has been developed, but problems have emerged which mirror those in the former diving industry.     

Persian Linguistics in the Twentieth Century

This article focuses on Persian linguistics with the emphasis on grammar and word formation in the twentieth century. After presenting a brief overview of the history of the study of grammar in Iran, I discuss the recent trends in linguistics from diachronic to synchronic aspects. In Persian diachronic linguistics, we will see that most works focus on the reading, and deciphering of the old texts. In synchronic studies, there are three main stages: 1) traditional linguistics, 2) structural linguistics, and 3) generative or formal linguistics. I show how each one of these stages affects Persian linguistics in the twentieth century. Finally, I conclude the article by looking at the current state of Persian linguistics and the future prospects for the field.     

The green revolution game

Abstract

Teaching qualitative methods in the context of an existing research methods course presents a number of problems. Qualitative methods tend to be marginalised and constrained by traditional expectations of teachers and taught to elicit a polarised response from students. A number of factors contribute to this reaction: the paucity of library resources, a perception that qualitative methods are frivolous and challenge traditional values and the difficulty of teaching large numbers. As the course has developed, a number of innovations have been introduced to combat these reactions and they are described and evaluated in a short article by James Sidaway appended to this paper.     

The bittersweet harvest of the green revolution

Keith Griffin. The Political Economy of Agrarian Change: An Essay on the Green Revolution. Cambridge‐. Harvard University Press, 1974. xv + 264 pp. Tables and index. $11.00.