The rotation of the body as a theological mattertowards a socio-cultural approach (A study on the Cultural History of the Body in Iran)

Socio-cultural reading that is one of the most important approaches to cultural history is highlighted in the book An introduction to the cultural history of the body in Iran. In this article, a review of the methodology and content of the text begins with this question: What effect can the use of discourse approach in the cultural history of the body have on the view of the authors of the book and their reading of the sources and events of Iranian history, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of this approach? Using a critical approach and historical analysis, the achievement of the discussion can be described as follows: Introducing a new formulation for Iranian history, presenting a different interpretation of understanding history, highlighting the sociological approach and cultural studies of the body, interpreting clothing as a cultural-political-religious matter, and using literary and illustrated sources with the aim of strengthening the socio-cultural history approach. However, the dominance of the generalized and theory-based view has caused the various historical evidences that contradict the authors’ claims, and several historical facts can be presented that challenge the authors’ inference. On the other hand, the division of the historical periods of Iran into four eras (the era of empire, the era of constitutionalism, the era of modernity, and the era of religion) in different chapters of the book caused serious problems and cannot be consistent with the issue of periodization in the cultural history of the body. Also, the content of the last three chapters has been analyzed based on a similar structure, and reference to first-hand sources has received less attention.