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Studies on Literary Theory and Genres Vol.1, No.2 Abstracts 15 Studies on Literary Theory and Genres Vol.1, No.2 Abstracts 15 A Post-Imperialist Glance at People’s Self-Image in the 21st Century Britain: A Case Study of Stephenson’s play, Enlightenment Behzad Ghaderi Sohi1 Erciyes University-Turkey/Tehran University Abstract It seems that in the second half of the twentieth century, post-imperialist discourse was divided into two distinct but interrelated branches. The first branch deals with the reactions of the oppressed/„other‟ people to the dominant culture, literature, and attitudes of the colonizers that, in fact, dates back to previous centuries, although it changed course and thrust after the 1970s with the publication of Edward Said‟s Orientalism (1978). The second branch involves the reactions of the artists and writers of the dominant countries, e.g., Caryl Churchill and Howard Brenton in England, who began to criticize the imperialistic nature of their own countries after 1968 „events‟ in Europe and America, a watershed for various, new works of art. In modern English drama, one could find exemplary dramas of British writers that, deploying a post-imperialist approaches, guard against the cultural arrogance and literary hegemony of Great Britain. To dismantle the dominant modes of culture and to give birth to a new consciousness, these new dramas shun away from Aristotelian drama whose principles of Mimesis and Catharsis were misused by the mainstream theatres of the dominant countries to establish their own self-image as racially and cultural superior people. These modern dramas reflect the attitudes of strata of the British society who have come to believe that for centuries Great Britain has tried to have cultural hegemony over nations through the legitimation of slavery and oppressing political activists in the native countries. These dramas challenge the hegemony of Great Britain and attempt to reconstruct the domestic culture of their people(s). Hence, the heroes in these post- imperialist dramas often adopt a new identity in their post-imperialist cultures and/or communities. The present article tries to illustrate how Shelaugh Stephenson negotiates such issues with her compatriots in her plays Mappa Mundi and Enlightenment. Keywords: Self-image, Contemporary drama, Post-imperialist criticism, Great Britain. 1 . Professor of English Language and Literature, Erciyes University-Turkey Retired Professor of Tehran University: [email protected] Received:14/12/2015 Accepted:26/04/2016 14 Abstracts Vol.1, No.2 Studies on Literary Theory and Genres A Study of the Minimalistic Structure of Gulistan of Saadi Issa Najafi,1 Sirros Gazlani2, Masoud Bavanpouri3 Razi University, Shahid Madani University Abstract One of the existing misconceptions regarding literary theory is that one can only find literary theory and criticism in contemporary texts. However, this is not true since criticism is a scientific approach and any text, whether it is classic or contemporary, could be analyzed through a modernist perspective. Short story is one of the literary genres that have undergone extensive changes in recent years. Minimalism is a new version of narration in which stories shrink in size day after day. Using an analytical-statistical design and examining samples in terms of size, time and place restrictions, few characters and so on, the present study tries to show the minimalist properties of stories in all the stories of Gulistan of Saadi. It was found that many of the stories narrated in Gulistan reflect features of minimalistic stories. The majority of stories of Gulistan are lacking in plot and in case they have a plot, the plot is not complex and the story is narrated with the least complication. Another minimalistic feature of the stories in Gulistan is time and place restrictions; a close look at Guilstan shows that many stories are lacking in precise time and place and, if time is addressed, it is treated vaguely in the form of a day, a night, a year or a village, a city or the like. Keywords: Literary criticism, literary theory, story, Minimalism, Gulistan of Saadi. 1 . Assistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Razi University: [email protected] 2 . M.A. Holder in Persian Language and Literature, Razi University: [email protected] 3 . Ph.D. Candidate of Arabic Language and Literature, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University: [email protected] Received:28/12/2015 Accepted:19/04/2016 Studies on Literary Theory and Genres Vol.1, No.2 Abstracts 13 Ecological Analysis of the Poetry of Forough Farrokhzad based on the Theory of Ecocriticism Moslem Zolfagharkhani1 Hakim Sabzevari University Abstract Ecocriticism is recognized as an Interdisciplinary Study in which literature and environment are central to the discussion. The study is a response to Postmodernism and Poststructuralism, and finds a connection among the reader, the text, and the world. Ecocriticism has been traditionally related with the women and Feminism. As a social and intellectual movement, Feminism targets at improving women‟s social conditions. Feminist ethics and preoccupations are different: helping women to achieve a better situation, supporting social equalities, eradicating human exploitation and male dominance, and so on. The most significant question for which Feminism attempts to find an answer is how far men are capable to speak instead of women in literary texts. Hence, Feminism led to Feminist Literary Criticism. In Persian Modern Literature, the most serious and influential Feminist Criticism occurs in Forough Farrokhzad‟s poetry. She is the first Persian female poet who disclosed her womanist desires and hopes in a feminine, pure, and humble language while illustrating world of women in contemporary Iran. Ecofeminism, as an outcome of Feminism, Ecology, and Ecocriticism, aims at revealing first how nature and the society have been changed and devastated, and second how women‟s rights are ignored and oppressed in a patriarchal society where male dominance enslaves the female and the nature. The goal of this article is to explore Ecofeminist traces in Forough Farrokhzad‟s poetry. Therefore, the following themes and issues which may help to connect her thoughts and language to nature are presented: “The Nature Ontology”, “The Seasons and Time Passage”, “The Four Major Elements in Nature”, “The Tree and The Plant”, and “The Earth and The Sky Creatures”. Attempts are made to investigate how these themes are interwoven in Farrokhzad‟s poetry, and how she had been indirectly under the influences of such ecofeminist tendencies in the world of literature. Keywords: Forough Farrokhzad, Comparative Literature, Ecofeminism, Interdisciplinary Studies. 1 . Assistant Professor of English Language and Literature, Hakim Sabzevari University: [email protected] Received:07/12/2015 Accepted:12/04/2016 12 Abstracts Vol.1, No.2 Studies on Literary Theory and Genres An Intertexutal Analysis of Valadname, Resaleye Sipahsalar, and Manaqib al-'Arifin Based on Gerard Genette's Theory Farzad Baloo1, Batool Mahdavi2, Hajar Agh3 University of Mazandaran Abstract In intertextuality studies, no text is assumed to be self-sufficient and any text serves its intertextual function for the preceding and succeeding texts. This study examines the intertextual relations in Valadnameh by Sultan Valad, Resaleye Sipahsalar by Fereydun-ibn-Ahmad, and Manaqib al-'Arifin by Shams-al-Din Aflaki drawing on theoretical concepts of Gérard Genette. It was found that Resaleye Sipahsalar and Manaqib al-'Arifin are under the influence of Valadnameh in terms of structure and content of the stories in explicit, non-explicit and implicit ways. It was also found that though Manaqib al-'Arifin, compared to Resaleye Sipahsalar, is more extensive in content and includes more unreal and fictional content, it has a higher status in terms of its story telling and literary value. Keywords: intertextuality, Gérard Genette, Valadname, Resaleye Sipahsalar, Manaqib al-'Arifin. 1 . Assistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature, University of Mazandaran: [email protected] 2 . Assistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature, University of Mazandaran: [email protected] 3 . M.A Student of Persian Language and Literature, University of Mazandaran: [email protected] Received:02/01/2016 Accepted:19/04/2016 Studies on Literary Theory and Genres Vol.1, No.2 Abstracts 11 The Role of Women in Bahram Beyzaie's Works According to Simone de Beauvoir's Theories in The Second Sex Ali Eshghi Sardehi1 Islamic Azad University Abstract In numerous Bahram Beyzaie's dramatic works, women play a major role. Some of his works are about women and in other works women play an important role alongside men. Many of these women in Beyzaie's works are active, explorer, justice seeker and fighter. Many of them want to be aware of their rights, role and importance in public life, and to maintain their rights, choose the way of fighting with those who have limited their freedom. They may occasionally use some tricks in their fight, but their efforts are mainly constructive in nature rather than destructive. In this paper, based on the theories of Simone de Beauvoir, French philosopher, in her two-volume book, The Second Sex, the position and status of women in the works of Beyzaie are investigated. In this book, Simone de Beauvoir has explored the gender and sexuality or health and psychological status of women and their role in society and the family. Some of Beyzaie's and de Beauvoir's comments are similar and in some cases there can be seen differences between the views of these two writers. Topics such as the differences between men and women, the position of the women in patriarchal society, the masculine behavior of women, sacrifice, the mythical role and influence of women over men or community and women's role in the family are discussed in the present study as reflected in Beyzaie's works and they are compared with the views expressed by Simone de Beauvoir. Keywords: Status of women, Women's demands, Male-dominated society, Women's struggles, Awareness, Affecting women.
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