The International Journal of Humanities
Volume:32 Issue: 4, Autumn 2025

This article investigates the origins and functions of violence in Proto historic Iran, focusing on Mid fourth-millennium BCE figural seal imagery from the sites of Susa and Chogha Mish. The principal aim is to analyze violence not as an exceptional act or an immediate reaction, but as a hegemonic mechanism in the formation of power and social order. The theoretical framework integrates Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, Michel Foucault’s power/knowledge paradigm, and Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic violence, synthesized here under the rubric of “the hegemony of violence”. Methodologically, the study employs a descriptive–analytical approach informed by semiotics, treating five selected cylinder-seal motifs as visual texts of power. The findings indicate that the examined motifs represent a coherent cycle of hegemonic violence comprising four interlinked phases: the pre-configuration of violence through bodily discipline and collective organization; the enactment of violence via physical elimination and military confrontation; the legitimation of violence through its alignment with sacred spaces and cosmic order; and, finally, the stabilization of violence through the disciplinary control of captives and the management of bodies. This cycle suggests that, in early historic Iranian societies, violence was a structural, generative force that simultaneously contributed to the production of political authority, social order, and ideological legitimacy. The article concludes that, in the absence of writing, the seals of Susa and Chogha Mish functioned as the earliest political media, not merely depicting scenes of warfare, but disclosing the internal logic of power. Thus, in these images, violence emerges as the shared language of power and the foundational semantic apparatus of domination in proto historic Iran.

The northern margin of the Iranian Central Desert (NICD) is a hypothesized Pleistocene dispersal corridor and habitable zone. However, research remains fragmentary compared to the Zagros Mountains. This study synthesizes Paleolithic data in the NICD up to 2025, focusing on Middle Paleolithic occupations to determine if the region was a transient corridor or a sustained landscape. Analyzing stratified sites (e.g., Mirak, Sorheh) and surface scatters, the study integrates techno-typological and geomorphological evidence. Results indicate that while assemblages share recurrent traits like Levallois reduction and light retouch, they differ significantly from Zagros Mousterian industries. Marked intra-regional variability reflects adaptations to diverse ecotones. Stratified sequences at Mirak and Sorheh confirm repeated occupations during MIS 3, supporting the interpretation of the NICD as a region of sustained hominin presence rather than merely a passage. These findings suggest adaptable populations exploiting arid environments with distinct lithic traditions. Future research requires targeted excavations and high-resolution analyses to refine technological and population models in this underexplored region.

'Othering' leads to polarization and creating the "self" and "others" based on wealth, power, and competition. In many media productions and particularly television series, 'othering' becomes integrated with race and culture. 'Othering' is a prominent component in Westworld (2016-) and Squid Game (2021-), two internationally popular TV series produced by American companies in America and South Korea. The primary objective of this paper is to explain and compare the various forms of 'othering' in these television series. The semiotics approach was used in the three-level model of explicit, implicit, and ideological implications to reach this goal. According to the results, while Westworld portrays othering as a continuum that allows moments of reversal and self-expression, Squid Game reveals a rigid center–periphery division that results in the continued passivity and exclusion of the Others. In the Westworld, 'others' with an anti-authoritarian agenda, organize an 'anti-power' led by white, black, and native americans heroes/elites, and the white hero maintains the most significant role in uniting 'others' against 'self'. In the Squid Game, on the contrary, due to the passive characters of the 'others', no rebellion or 'anti-power' community is represented against the whites. In both series, stereotyping is a central strategy to marginalize 'others'.

In light of critical discourse analysis, the current study examines ideological representations of women in Nazzar Al-Qabbani's Arabic poetry.  Its aim is to expose and analyze the forms in which his poetry discriminates against women and represents them ideologically. The main hypothesis holds that Al-Qabbani, who dedicated his poetry to the defense of women's rights, often tends to portray women—especially Arabic women—in a derogatory light. To examine and explicate implicit ideologies, and to provide psychological and analytical justification for their interpretation, an eclectic model is developed that incorporates both VanDijk's (2006) model of the ideological square and Glick and Fiske’s (1996) the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory. Another hypothesis is that it is the benevolent perception of women not the hostile (being the two divisions of the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory) which can justify Al-Qabbani’s discriminatory stance. Benevolent sexism explains discrimination against women by demonstrating how apparently favorable attitudes, such idealization, protection, and adoration, serve to limit women's social roles and legitimize their subordination.  As for the problem of this study, there is currently no critical study that is based on academic theory that studies Al-Qabbani’s ideological representations of women. It is concluded that Al-Qabbani discriminates against women in his poetry despite his claim that he is a feminist and this can be traced to the fact that the society he is raised in left its traces on him. Another important remark is that Al-Qabbani objectifies female’s body as an appeal to market his poetry. As for the problem of this study, there is currently no critical study that is based on academic theory that studies Al-Qabbani’s ideological representations of women. It is concluded that Al-Qabbani discriminates against women in his poetry despite his claim that he is a feminist and this can be traced to the fact that the society he is raised in left its traces on him. Another important remark is that Al-Qabbani objectifies female’s body as an appeal to market his poetry.

This qualitative study employs multimodal critical discourse analysis to examine how power is represented in Abbas Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry. Integrating Michel Foucault's conception of power relations, Norman Fairclough's (1995) model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), and Peircean-Barthesian semiotics, the research investigates how speech, silence, and the body function as discursive and visual-semiotic elements within the film's narrative structure. Through close analysis of six key scenes selected for their semantic density and discursive tension, the study interprets the body as a signifier of ideological struggle and silence as a mechanism of resistance embedded in power relations. The findings reveal that Kiarostami constructs a decentralized configuration of power: the omission of dialogue and the visual presence of the body actively destabilize conventional models of domination. Moreover, ambiguity and narrative suspension function not merely as stylistic devices but as discursive strategies that foreground agency, exclusion, and biopolitical tension within Iranian art cinema. Ultimately, this research demonstrates how cinematic form itself becomes a site of discursive struggle and a means of reconfiguring hegemonic power

The garden–castle or Qal’eh Ja’farabad in Ashtian is a prominent example of the integration of defensive, residential, and cultural landscape architecture within rural contexts in Iran. Historically, this aristocratic complex functioned not only as a protective and administrative center but also as a component of the village’s agricultural system and economic life. In addition to this castle, other structures, including the peasant castle and the historical bathhouse, collectively reflect the spatial organization and hierarchical arrangement of residences and services during pre-modern periods. This study aims to examine and analyze the spatial and physical structure of the garden-castle of Ja’farabad from a conservation-oriented perspective. Data were collected through field surveys and historical documents, and data were analyzed using documentary content analysis, spatial analysis, and comparative analysis methods. The findings indicate that, due to its strategic location, vernacular architectural structure, and connection with the historical socio-economic system, the complex embodies multi-layered cultural, historical, and landscape values. At the same time, natural erosion, functional changes, and the absence of protective programs have led to its gradual deterioration. Accordingly, this paper proposes conservation strategies, including complementary studies based on damage assessment and structural analyses, as well as interventions guided by an integrated approach grounded in architectural conservation principles and sustainable development. These strategies are organized along three axes: physical (structural) interventions, participatory management, and compatible, meaningful reuse. Finally, monitoring of the Ja’farabad garden-castle should involve continuous long-term surveillance, with simultaneous maintenance of all elements, including structures and vegetation. Professional management and the training of local specialists are also essential to ensure the long-term sustainability and preservation of the complex.