Iranian Journal of Sociology

Abstract The present paper attempted to measure the sense of belonging to the Iranian society and studied its influential factors. The social belonging variable was defined in two dimensions: emotional belonging and practical belonging. For this purpose, we selected 1016 people from the 22 regions of Tehran as our sample and distributed the researcher-made questionnaire to them. The research findings revealed that belongingness in Iranian society is at an average level and the variables of religious belonging, social trust, rationality, and socio-economic status have associations with the belongingness. They also demonstrated that the background variables such as educational level, age, and marital status are related to the dependent variable explained 0/325 changes in emotional belonging and 0/321 in practical belonging. We also realized that rationality and religious belongings had influenced social belonging differently.

Abstract The study examines the relationship between social class and university entrance exams at the Bu-Ali Sina University of Hamedan, using Bourdieu's theory of cultural reproduction. We did a survey and employed a questionnaire. In addition, we used a  stratified random sampling method and chose 370 students as a sample from the research population which consisted of 12500 students. Bivariate analyses showed that there was no meaningful relationship between social class, work ethic, hope, and food security and the rank of the entrance exam, but there was a meaningful relationship between social capital network, and IQ and the rank of entrance exam. The findings also demonstrated that there was a meaningful difference between IQ and performance in the examination in popular and less popular fields, i.e. the students of popular fields answered the IQ questions quickly. But both groups of students had no difference in hope. And there was no difference between social class and performance in popular and less popular fields. Furthermore, we found an inverse relationship between food security and IQ rate.

Abstract This interdisciplinary and analytical article attempted to provide an interpretation for Ahmad Shamlou’s poems from a sociological point of view. For this purpose, we used two different fields: sociology and Persian literature. The theoretical framework was a combination of various approaches to structuralism. In addition, we employed  Foucault's discourse analysis and Laclau's critical discourse analysis as our research method. The findings revealed that Shamlou’s works have an ideological, semantic and linear determination. As a result, his works are structuralistic and therefore, it is impossible to read them differently. The results also showed that Persian literature has a high capacity to address and interpret human and social issues. Plus, the present paper underlines the importance of interdisciplinary studies.

Abstract Using Karl Popper's critique of positivism and inductivism, we attempted to criticize the main bases of grounded theory. According to grounded theory, social reality can be understood by emptying our mind from any prejudgements and ethical valuation in the research process, but emphasizing on observation, paying attention to the differences and similarities of data, and dedcting abstract concepts. We argue that, in practice, this claim is not true and it leads to a distorted social reality. Following these principles makes social researchers become an information worker and not a critic of social reality. Therefore, not only the science of sociology loses its critical aspect but also justifies the status quo.
 
 

Abstract Assistant Professor at Science and Culture University of Tehran Discursive contexts of modern state emergence in Iran dates back to the years 1851-1887. During this period, some major events helped to form the common political history in Iran and the idea of the modern state and national identity become problematic. The purpose of the present research is to encounter with the current trends of theorizing the history of the state in Iran and, on the other hand, put the idea of a modern state and a nation-building project in the context of real and forgotten events. Referring to cholera and famine as two major events in Iran's contemporary history (but forgotten under the prevailing narrations), we examined the relationship between the Iranian regulation discourse and the emergence of a modern state. Governmentality is the central concept of the theoretical perspective in this article. Using this perspective, we attempted to explain the formation of Iranian regulation. In other words, we focused on the governing poverty, which is the result of cholera, and governing the wealth as well. In addition, these two governing trends and their relationship with the idea of the modern state.
 

Abstract The study of the effect of fertility and female labor force participation on economic growth is of particular significance. Thus in this paper, we examined the relationship between fertility, female labor force participation and economic growth using a comparative study between Iran and the G7 countries. For this purpose, we used the data from the overall fertility rate, the female labor force participation rate and the economic growth rate of the World Bank for the period 1990-2015. We employed the ARDL Bounds method and the panel constant effect method to estimate the Iran model and the model of G7 countries respectively.The results showed that with a one-percent increase in fertility, economic growth in Iran in the short and long term reduces by 0.177% and 0.166% respectively and in G7 countries it decreases by 0.012 %. The findings also indicated that a one-percent increase in the female labor force participation rate in Iran would increase 0.036% in the short run and 0.635% in the long run in economic growth. And such a change in economic growth in the G7 countries will affect 0.059% in a positive direction.