Reflection of the Main Concepts of Development in the Alternative Media, the Narrative of a Half a Century of Modernization in Preeminent Persian Novels (1960-2001)

The study of the narrative of modernization in preeminent Persian novels is an interdisciplinary research linking communication sciences and fiction. In this research, a preeminent novel has been considered as an alternative medium which can display the current conditions of society in any period by recounting certain narratives. What is investigated in this study is the reflection of the modernization discourse as observed in the preeminent novels of the five decades (1960-2001). More specifically, this research seeks to demonstrate the functions of the novel as a medium in reflecting the concepts of modernization. To do so, the greatest novels of the five decades were selected through "Reputational Case sampling" and a survey conducted among experts, critics, writers, and literary journalists. As its methodology, the research draws on Narrative analysis, and specifically, on Gerald Prince's structuralist narratology. Based on the results of the study, modernization, which according to development theories, can be studied in a wide range of political, cultural, social, economic, and even psychological contexts, is observable in the narrated events of the selected novels. The narratives of these novels are in line with the current conditions of each period. Moreover, concepts such as, political development, political criticism and critique of politicians, socio-political rationality, religion, immigration, class divide, and women are present in all these novels.