پژوهش نامه انتقادی متون و برنامه های علوم انسانی
پیاپی 93 (امرداد 1400)

The Scythians tribes were one of the nomadic tribes inhabiting large areas in the central Eurasian steppes from about the 9th century BC up until the 4th century AD. These tribes moved into parts of present-day Iran after many displacements in the first millennium BC. These tribes have played important role in central Eurasian steppes and in Persian and part of India. What scholars know about the Scythians tribes based on the writings of Herodotus. These people have played an important role in Persian and Indian epics, as well as in various historical periods of Iran, such as the Iron Age and Achaemenid and Parthian periods. Their presence in Iran has been illustrated by at least the name of one of the Iranian cities, Sakestan or Sistan, which is the name of these people. Few archaeological findings in Iran have been attributed to Scythians. However, in recent years, new burial grounds have been found which shed new light on the Scythian’s presence in Persia and central Eurasian that appears to confirm the writing of historians. In recent years many articles and books have been published about Scythians based on archaeological findings. Recently a new book has been published entitled Scythians Warriors of Ancient Siberia. This paper critically reviews this book edited by St. John Simpson and Svetlana Pankova.

Revitalization plays an important role in protecting the historical buildings, which simultaneously protects the culture and the body. This approach has played an important economic role. Today, many revitalization projects, regardless of the importance of cultural factors and with a purely economic perspective, have caused numerous damages in historical contexts. Therefore, by regulating the principles of revitalization, new use can be assigned to the monument. Reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of these plans can be effective. This underscores the importance of the critique of revitalization projects and how to intervene in them. In addition to cultural and economic returns, principled restoration is also an effective approach to encourage people to participate and invest in the restoration of historic collections. Historic houses are the most remnants of Iran's architectural heritage, the multiplicity and diversity of that in historical contexts provide good potential as urban catalysts. This research has been done by reviewing documents, field studies, and libraries and by the qualitative research method. The purpose of this research is to analyze the effective features in reviving one of the historical houses of Kashan city called "Manouchehri House" which is considered as a case study in this regard due to being a candidate for the Aga-Khan-Award and cultural economic prosperity provided by a tourist-accommodation.

Studies in Iconology, Humanistic Themes in the Art of the Renaissance by Erwin Panofsky clarifies the function of the Iconology method in interpreting artworks. The goal of this critic is to express the significance of interdisciplinary studies and also is a survey in how methodically organized studies is used in analyzing artworks. Thus this study criticizes and studies the form and contents in the book and also author’s opinions about analyzing and referring to the sources according to Iconology method. In its form, the book looks into the basic relations between the form and subject in analyzing art forms and shows analyzing and interpreting artworks according to their historical context in which they originated and the multiplicity of visual and textual sources which refers to the artworks. By the way, in some cases missing references are seen and the order in using them in the text is not also correct and reliable references are needed, especially sources of Islamic philosophy which have caused some limitations in using the book in some related conditions. Despite these problems, researchers can go further than a mere Formal study by using interdisciplinary and in order to make an understanding about Symbolic Meaning and Contents of artworks, they can have fruitful research.

This text tries to criticize and analyze the book entitled “in following stars” and introduce it to individuals who are interested in the Islamic art field while it indicates the values and deficiencies of the book. The current work which is a booklet about the reflection of constellations in Islamic artworks has a valuable and significant title that is a very important subject in the studies of Islamic art. A subject that became artists’ concerns in the middle centuries of Islam and had allocated a huge mass of artistic motifs to itself. This book emphasizes the science of astronomy or astrology and in line with this so-called scientific process, has considered and analyzed motifs of twenty artistic objects that are kept in the Metropolitan Museum of New York. In this paper, to evaluate, approve, and correct the author's viewpoints, other researchers’ writings have been mentioned and used to supplement another point of view. Although the book has concept deficiencies and shortcomings, it has a novel and interesting subject and will be useful and desirable for researchers in the field of Islamic art.

The fantasy genre is of the most problematic genres in cinema and has been neglected by cinema adherents for decades. Although the first so-called fantasy works date back to the early years of cinema and the works of George Millis, by the late 1970s, for many reasons, including the relatively high cost of producing such works and the lack of progress in cinematic technology, fewer fantasy works appeared in cinema. One of the important theoretical issues about fantasy works is the confusion of such films with other works of cinema such as horror and science fiction. An accurate definition of the concept of fantasy is problematic; Therefore, considering the creation of brilliant works that carry the attribute of fantasy after the 21st century, and the audience's interest in these works in recent times, as well as the growth of cinematic technology, find specific frameworks to determine the characteristics of fantasy works and distinguish them from other similar works such as science-fiction and horror seem necessary. The Importance of “The Fantasy Film” book by” “Katherine A. Fowkes”, the translation of “Ali Zafar Ghahremani Nejad” is due to the attempt to find answers to these questions and ambiguities that this kind of works have created among cinema people and therefore it is necessary to examine how the author explains the concept of fantasy. This book was published in 2016 by Nashrbidgol in 324 pages.

“Mystical Music” is a term that can include a wide range of meanings and many examples of music were defined as mystical in the Islamic period of Iran’s history and some still live on. This research is to define mystical music based on its significance in culture and its examples, rather than via studying semantics or the etymology of the words. This study will then introduce the semantic horizon of mystical music instead of one single sense of the term. To do so, first, the significance spectrum of the terms music and mysticism is studied, and then examples are sorted into four categories: the relationship between music and mystical ontology, the relationship of music and intrinsic aspects of culture, music with a mystical influence and its different types in mystical literature, and music in Sufists rituals. In general, twenty-one examples of mystical music will be briefly introduced. Each of these examples represents other instances, making up the spectrum across which the horizon of the meaning of mystical music is displayed.

While the study of Islamic art is not very rich in the study of the human image, Eva Beer’s book "The Human Body in the Islamic Art of the Past Heritage and Post-Islamic Developments" is one of the only books in this field. In this book, the author examines the human image in the art of Arabs, Iranians, Gurkhas, and Ottomans. He has been a lecturer at the Museum of Islamic Art for many years and wrote the book in 2004. Although the author's efforts to collect research data are commendable, there are criticisms of the way research and methodological issues in the book are handled. Deficiencies in book methodology have led to the breakdown of communication between the book and the reader, despite the novelty of the research. The present article attempts to examine and explain the shortcomings of the methodology of the book and provide suggestions for their solution.

The Sassanid era is one of the most important periods in Iranian history, with remarkable works of art from this period. The decorative elements in the artworks of this period indicate the connection of beliefs and beliefs in human thought. The book “Investigation of Sassanid Steel Utensils from a Symbolic Viewpoint” was published by Neda Akhavan Aghdam in 1396 in the Academy of Art Publications. Besides the lack of a coherent order for the analysis of motifs, this book has also some form and content shortcomings. The present study, based on the library method, has critically criticized the book and evaluated its form and scientific content. In this regard, the deficiencies and critical comments of each of the topics are expressed below. Referring to the shortcomings aims to understand the concepts and to explain the symbolic aspects of motifs in Sasanian metal containers which are the results of this paper.

In the field of criticism of art, Gilbert Durand has invented five methods, and in this case, he has been directly influenced by Iranian Islam. Despite this, we do not know him fundamentally, we have not translated his works into our language, and we have not addressed them as we should. According to experts, one of his works which represents his intellectual system and consequently the substructure of his innovative methods, is a book that, according to him, is in fact an expanded version of a not so voluminous treatise entitled “Journey and Room in Xavier de Maistre’s Work”, the one which its analysis is the main subject of this article: this treatise seeks to explain the new system of thought, conceiving the invention of a new method of critique, mythocritic. In this treatise, based on the system and the method in question, a work by the French novelist de maistre is analyzed. This analysis had three main pillars: literary, psychological, and mythological. There are some criticisms of these pillars which were taken into account in this article. On the contrary, it should not be overlooked that the system in question, analytical mythology, is one of the most applied artistic mythologies, just as the method in question, mythocritic, which is one of the most practical methods of artistic criticism.

From ancient times to the present, the concept of Representation is one of the intrinsic components of Art, and it is considered as an essential element in human definition and perception of Art. Generally, Representation is embodied as the idea of Similarity of artwork, with the real world, which ultimately becomes a transcript of nature. According to Eva Baer, author of the book The Human Figure in Islamic Art, the concept of Representation in different Islamic periods was not the same as what would be meant today. In this book, the author sets different criteria in the Visual Representation of human, and considers their sources in the cultural and indigenous characteristics of original societies. While she has benefited from ethnic-national classification and the diachronic approach, in order to present the process of Visual Representation of Human in Islamic Art. As in this article, after the formal and methodological review of the book, it will be tried to analyze the concept of Visual Representation of Human in Islamic Art based on the chapters of the present book. Also, according to the appropriate cases, the author’s point of view in this context will be criticized and reviewed by referring to the examples and stories of other Islamic literary and artistic treatise.

The history of Persian art is replete with many unique artworks and fine artifacts today reserved inside and outside Iran. Enjoying certain historical and cultural features, such works of art and other traditional handicrafts could be categorized in different groups. Despite large-scale production and vast artistic movements, Persian art had not been recorded in an academic, scholarly manner just until the Qajar period. Before this event, the accounts and records left from art of Persia were just limited to artists, not artworks and the related categories. With regard to this shortage, Persian Art would be considered as the first independent research done by a Scot named Sir Robert Murdoch Smith in a period when there was rarely, if any recognition of art and artworks. This book was composed in the Qajar period for the purpose of introducing Persian arts to the South Kensington (now Victoria & Albert) Museum, England. Although some sections and subjects of the book seems quite evident today, or may need revision, it contains some invaluable ideas and information from that time. Furthermore, the book could be regarded as a pioneer in the study of Orientalism which forms the basis of a more extended field, i.e. Islamic art.

A Study of Geometry in Islamic Architecture by Professor Golroo Najibaaghlou is a valuable work in the field of Islamic architecture.  This book has a detailed preface, a brief introduction, and five main sections. As it is known from the introduction of the book, this book was originally written for a non-Iranian audience.  The first purpose of writing this book is to try to moderate public belief about geometry and the stages of compilation and discussion in Islamic architecture.  Another purpose is to correct the negative view of the geometric documentation of Islamic architecture in the West, because such a view has created a kind of reluctance to equate the works of Islamic architecture with the great works of classical Western architecture.  In addition, Najibaaghlou wants to reject and respond to Western criticism that reduces Islamic architecture to the level of an unedited work.  In the final chapter of the book, Najibaaghlou looks at the compiled documents of Islamic architecture from a Western perspective and highlights some of the missed points of geometric sciences, including clarifying conceptualization, recording, and transferring architectural design in the Islamic world.

It is about a half-century since the intellectual foundations of the concept of Islamic art have been dramatically challenged. This new trend has been culminated after the end of the colonial era, setting the stage for the spread of Islamic thought, the consequent establishment of Islamic Art museums in the West, and later, through the September 11 attacks. Simultaneously, the museology became a beneficial approach towards the study of the arts of Islamic regions through which the museum plays a crucial role in creating the knowledge of Islamic Art. Published in 2012, “Islamic Art and the Museum; Approaches to Art and Archeology of the Muslim World in the Twenty-First Century” was the first in this area. Using content analysis and taking a muselogical view, the current study recognizes the main approaches towards the representation of Islamic Art in American and European museums. The results show that although it is a worthwhile source with main challenges included, it can be criticized in terms of its fundamental approach towards the museum, the hegemony of historiographical point of view, the problematic relationship between some articles and titles, and its emphasis on one or two geographical areas.

With the development of visual communication in the present age, the analysis and reading of visual texts in order to decipher the meanings and express their meanings is of particular importance.Critical discourse analysis, as one of the approaches that considers both the context of the text and the social context of the text, has made it possible to study discourses in works of art. The purpose of this paper is to introduce visual discourse or visuality as a way to analyze images, and its theoretical framework is dedicated to reviewing the critical visual methodology, which is an integrated model of Rose and Fairclough methodology. In the process of analysis, the Mellat Bank's advertising campaign has been visually criticized in order to elucidate its visual discourse based on the textual components of the images and the fields of its representation. The structure of technology, the configuration of images, and the social effects of visual components are discussed in the sites of the text, discourse action, and social action. The findings of the research indicate that the discourse function of this campaign is to highlight the value of money as national and cultural capital and to promote empathy and patriotism in the audience, during which the Mellat Bank changes its identity from a financial institution to a cultural institution.

Relation between Architecture and Religion is a known discourse in Iran. Considering this relation in the context of Islamic Art, City and/or architecture, it is rooted in Oriental and Historic studies inherited among generations of researchers during the past years. The timeline view shows critical points upon which the discourse and its context has been shaped, modified, and developed evolutionarily. These critical points could be brought in four main categories which “corrects”, “transforms”, “methodologically” proposes or even totally “rejects” the background studies and/or established approaches in it. Exploring these critics considering their basics and criteria would help an inducing pathology of the field, among which diverse viewpoints, deductive and/or disciplinary approaches, theoretical ambiguity, inappropriate methodology, etc. could be mentioned. This critical and pathological review may help to analyze and then organize the status quo of the literature although in a passive a priori approach. It seems that an active and a posteriori approach would lead to a better methodology in research. Considering the “Relation” and the multidisciplinary nature of its components as in Art, City, Architecture & Religion (here Islam), an interdisciplinary approach in research is inevitable. The interdisciplinary approach not only hands over criteria for better criticizing the background of the field but also would shed light over the onward march of the research.

Reviewing the Persian translation of Umberto Eco’s  “Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages” (translated by Faride Mahdavi Damghani), is the subject of this article. The article does not concentrate on evaluating the original book, which is widely acknowledged by those who are involved in this field, and just outlines its subjects, chapters, and also its importance. In order to review the translation, the first 25 pages of the Persian text have been checked against the English one, which is introduced as the source of translation, and the errors have been divided into four categories and in each case, in addition to an explanation, the suggested translation is provided, too. The large quantity of errors is eloquent of the necessity for a serious revision to the translation of such an important book, which is usually used as a source by students and those who are interested in art and aesthetic studies.

This article takes a critical look at Alan Merriam's book Anthropology (1923-1980), while the history of ethnomusicology considers this work as one of the foundations of the field. The knowledge of musicology and its relation to anthropology after the second half of the twentieth century is somehow gradually tied to the connection between music and Human. This article intends to examine this work in contemporary theories by considering the basic and fundamental axes of “Human Musical”. Probably, the design of some of Merriam’s principles in this book, if he were alive today, would face challenges. The process of this critique will have comparisons in the methods and ideas of comparative musicology that have been revived in the last decade or two with international music associations. But the main focus of this article is the interdisciplinary critique within the field of Ethnomusicology, which believes in the use of theories and methods more independent of the humanities or social sciences

In this article, the most important books on modern and contemporary art in Islamic lands were examined; these studies were divided into five categories: first, the books that studied the art of this region under the concept of “modern / contemporary Islamic art”, second, the books that studied under the title of “Middle Eastern Art”. Third, books that have followed Islamic art under the title “Arab Art”. Fourth, books that studied the Islamic art under nationalist narratives such as Iran, Arab, or Turkey art, and fifth, books under more general headings such as “Islamic Visual Culture” or Image Policy in Islamic Countries have been studied. Examining these resources is for three reasons: First, it enables researchers to compare approaches and methods in regional studies of Islamic art. Second, unfortunately, in Iran, there is not enough knowledge of the art of neighbors and other Islamic countries; therefore, reviewing the sources of regional art studies enables researchers to get acquainted with the most important sources and researchers in regional studies of art in Islamic countries. Third, by critically evaluating sixty important books in the study of modern and contemporary art in Islamic lands, we do emphasize the aspects that studies less than other aspects in this field were studied, and show the contribution of Iranian researchers in the regional studies of Islamic art.

Content critique of scientific texts and structural analysis of available resources in the field of humanities is as complex as the main nature of this concept. This factor, along with unfamiliarity with the basics of critique and the culture of critically in society, has made the critique of published books and texts of philosophy of art and theoretical foundations less done and not accepted. However, criticism in all its structures and types is the most important and effective method for the growth and promotion of human knowledge and today in the most prestigious scientific, academic, and research circles in the world and developed countries to the extent that criticism and its principles are considered maybe they don't care about producing new sciences. The book “Interaction of Language and Art”, which is the result of symposiums of a number of experts in the field of culture, art, literature, and philosophy of the country, was published in 2000 by the Research Institute of Islamic Culture and Art. The book is available to readers with thematic content in the fields of art, literature, and architecture, including fourteen articles. In this article, while introducing the book, reviewing the motivation for holding this symposium and its content structure, an attempt is made to take a critical look at the thematic content of each article.