Interdisciplinary Studies of Literature, Arts and Humanities

Abstract The issue of nation branding as an interdisciplinary concept has been popular in the field of marketing and international relations for several years and has attracted the attention of governments. Given the importance of nation branding in promoting and enhancing Iran's image both internationally and domestically, this article analyzes Hakim Abolghasem Ferdowsi's Shahnameh using a historical-narrative approach. It explores the concepts and themes associated with the name Iran in Ferdowsi's perspective, and examines the meanings and connotations that the audience of the Shahnameh encounters when hearing the name Iran and its derivatives. For this study, narrative analysis was conducted using content analysis tools in MAXQDA software. The findings indicate that the Iranian brand rests on five pillars: Iranian tradition; characteristics of Iran and Iranians; the constituent elements of Iran as a nation-state; the concept of Iran as a nation-state in comparison with other states—particularly Turan; and the perceived failures of Iran and Iranians, which will be elaborated on later. These results not only lay the groundwork for developing new constructions of national identity but also provide a basis for organizing media campaigns aimed at promoting Iran’s nation branding both domestically and internationally. The results of this research, while laying the groundwork for achieving new constructions in the field of national identity, can be used to organize media campaigns in the field of nation branding of Iran inside and outside the country.

Abstract Since classical times, philosophy has maintained an inseparable connection with literature. This relationship is not confined to the application of philosophical theories in interpreting literary works. Numerous philosophers have argued that literature can serve as a medium for philosophization and the conveyance of knowledge. However, within many university curricula, literature is often regarded merely as a form of art, the primary function of which is the creation of beauty or the expression of emotions. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, employing the method of conceptual analysis, and drawing upon the theory of Peter Lamarque and Stein Haugom Olsen, two contemporary analytic philosophers, the present qualitative, library-based study investigates whether knowledge can be conveyed through literary discourse. The study contends that serious literary works, by concretizing abstract philosophical concepts, offer readers a distinctive perspective through which to view the world and its problems in a new and different light. In doing so, literature provides a particular kind of insight or understanding that can be regarded as a form of knowledge/cognition. After the theoretical discussion, Anton Chekhov’s short story “Misery” is analyzed as an example to illustrate the potentials of literary works for philsophization and the quality of philosophical thoughts in literature. According to the findings of the present inquiry, since literary discourse possesses significant cognitive and ethical value, it ought to receive greater attention in discussions concerning the transformation and indigenization of the humanities in Iran.

Abstract This study employs an interdisciplinary approach and an analytical-comparative methodology to examine shared psychological characteristics in the poetry of Forough Farrokhzad and the paintings of Vincent van Gogh. The primary objective is to determine points of convergence and divergence between these two artists' works in their expression of emotions, their use of symbols, and cultural influences. Utilizing van Gogh's paintings as tangible manifestations of inner turmoil, the research investigates how both artists articulate universal human experiences, such as love, solitude, and the search for meaning, through distinct artistic media (poetry and painting). The findings reveal that Farrokhzad's psychological impulses, which evolve from personal anguish to existential suffering, find visual representation in van Gogh's works. By establishing a dialogue between literary and visual texts, this study uncovers latent psychological dimensions in both artists' oeuvres, proposing an innovative interdisciplinary framework for art and literary studies. Furthermore, the analysis of shared symbols (night, trees, wind, and stars) demonstrates their aligned perspectives on modernity's defining themes: alienation, suffering, and the quest for transcendence.

Abstract The short story "The Pear Tree" by Goli Taraghi (1996) and its film adaptation directed by Dariush Mehrjui (1997) have been examined through various interdisciplinary approaches. Most analyses emphasize the presence of semantic oppositions, particularly the binary of fertility/infertility. The core argument of the present research is that the short and its film adaptations cannot be interpreted solely by drawing on conceptual binaries, as the complex and dynamic structures of meaning emerge through narrative movement between opposing and contradictory categories. Therefore, this descriptive analytical study adopts the analytical model of the Semantic Square developed by Algirdas Julien Greimas within a structuralist semantics, which demonstrates how discourse generates meaning through dynamic oppositions. The findings show that both the literary and cinematic discourses demonstrate the struggle of a symbolic character (the tree) to escape a state of suspension. At first glance, this seems to be a conflict between concepts of fertility and infertility, but a deeper semantic analysis reveals a movement among the four concepts of fertility, sterility, non-fertility, and non-sterility. In Taraghi’s story, meaning is shaped through literary and linguistic techniques, while in Mehrjui’s film, it is conveyed through cinematic codes and signs.

Abstract "Varagheh and Golshah" is an oldstory, written by a poet named Ayouqi.The origin of the story, as the poet says, is one of the Arab stories that happened in the past of the Arab tribes, and it is the story of two cousins (son and daughter of two brothers) named "Varagheh and Golshah" who grew up together in theirown tribe and the family. And they became interested in and fell in love with each other. The general similarities between this story and the story of "Orwa and Afra", which is also the love story of two lovers in Arabic literature and has its roots in Arabic sources, leaves no doubt that the story of "Varagheh and Golshah" is taken from the story of "Orwa and Afra". It is obvious that this romance, like the "Orwa and Afra" romance, has its roots in Arabic sources, but it is necessary to research from which source or sources this story is taken and which are its most important sources. The results of the researches done on the sources of the story of "Varagheh and Golshah" by Ayouqi and the accuracy in the era of composing of this romance show that Ayouqi could have used Al-Aghani by Isfahani and "Al-Sher va al-Shoara" by Ibn Qutaybah and "Muruj Al-Dhahab" by Masoudi.

Abstract Today, geographical criticism can be used as a tool for analyzing literary texts in an interdisciplinary field. Among literary texts, novels play an important role in giving spatiality to the narrative. As one of the most prominent French writers, Albert Camus created many works in which space and time play a key role in the unfolding of historical events. In fact, the form that the fictional world takes determines the fate of the narrator and the work itself. In this research, the aim is to examine how space and time are formed in the novel The Plague. For this purpose, a descriptive-analytical method will be used in the analysis of the data, and in particular, Bertrand Westphal's theory in the field of geographical criticism will be used. He considers three hypotheses for space: space and time, transgression and referentiality. Furthermore, the use of the three main axes of geographical criticism according to him, which include tangible space, perceived space and imaginative-imaginary space, allows us to analyze multiple aspects of spatial representation in the novel and understand its role in the construction of key themes. This research shows that space, as a fundamental element in the construction of meaning, is not a neutral place in the novel The Plague, but rather a place of encounter with new phenomena and becomes a full-fledged actor in history, where the fears, concerns and hopes of the city's inhabitants are shaped.

Abstract This study explores the representation of intergenerational silence of women within contemporary Iranian crime literature, a silence viewed as a symbolic act embodying collective psychic continuity and functioning as a cultural mechanism of survival. Grounded in trauma and intergenerational memory theories, and emphasizing the concepts advanced by Caruth, Hirsch, and LaCapra, silence is portrayed not as absence but as a complex narrative articulation of pain and re-enactment of suppressed memory. The research aims to investigate processes through which remembrance and the transmission of wounds redefine feminine identity against patriarchal and cultural hierarchies of power. Using a descriptive–analytical approach and an interdisciplinary method, the study examines the correlation between crime fiction and trauma psychology through feminist and generational lenses in the Iranian novels, The Young Skull and Jordan's Crime. Findings indicate that silence functions not as narrative closure but as a platform for the repetition of the unsaid and gradual recovery of wounded memory, an unseen language acting as resistance and reconstruction of collective identity. Ultimately, trauma, intersecting with silence and transgenerational transmission, opens the possibility of restoring feminine discourse and reconstituting fractured subjectivity, enabling repetition rather than cessation.

Abstract This study aims to explore the connection between meaning and form in the context of Iranian art, investigating the relationship between the structures of Persian literature and the principles of geometry and aesthetics in traditional Iranian architecture. In this approach, art is considered as the manifestation of unity in multiplicity, and the pattern of form emerging from meaning within the Iranian‑Islamic intellectual system is contemplated. This approach demonstrates that interdisciplinary studies are an effective tool for uncovering the hidden layers of connection between poetic language and the spatial organization of architecture, and can provide a new framework for a comprehensive understanding of Iranian art. The research method is qualitative‑analytical and based on the comparison between poetic texts and architectural spatial structures. Accordingly, five prominent examples of traditional Iranian architecture have been selected, along with poetic samples from Rumi, Hafez, Saadi, and Nezami as comparative exemplars. The analyses reveal that the pattern of geometric proportions present in the mentioned architectural works correlates semantically with key concepts of Persian poetry, such as unity and love (in Rumi’s Masnavi), balance and moderation (in Hafez’s ghazals), ascent and perfection (in Nezami’s Khamsa), as well as moral order (in Saadi’s Golestan). The findings emphasize the coexistence of meaning and form systems and the symbolic function of geometry in conveying philosophical and mystical concepts; thus, Iranian art can be regarded as a reflection of the interaction between intellect and intuition, and a blend of poetic language and geometric logic. In addition to explaining the theoretical foundations of the connection between meaning and form, the research outcome paves the way for quantitative‑conceptual analyses in interdisciplinary studies of Iranian art and architecture.

Abstract The purpose of this study is to analyze Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go (2005) under Cyborgian concepts of decentered – nomadic bio-subjects, trans-genetic organisms, and trans-humans that create metaphorically the biomedical characters undertaking the human cloning in the theoretical framework of cyborg biotechnology. The method is an interdisciplinary study between science and literature. Ishiguro shows the process of forming the human clones through tracing the main character’s memories, Kathy. The cyborgian theories of Donna Haraway, Paul Virilio and Rosi Braidotti are employed to study the genetic organs of the selected novel in bio-medical discourse. The study reveals that politicians make the bio-medical subjects dehumanize in biotechnology, using them as the bio-commodities. In Neo-capitalism, the cyborgian biomedical character is the platonic copy of the real human due to three reasons: first, it does not have any human subjectivity; second, it has possibly lost its human identity; and, third, its gene has been changed. However, the importance of this study portrays that cyborg bio-literature makes the biomedical subjects more re-humanized to claim agency over them in bio-narratives. Cyborg disappears the conventional borderlines and depoliticizes them, creating the transgressed boundaries.

Abstract This interdisciplinary study in the field of the sociology of literature aims to analyze the functions of "false consciousness" in Persian proverbs based on Jean Bachelard's theoretical framework. Using a descriptive-analytical method and a case study of several commonly used Persian proverbs, the research demonstrates how these aphorisms, under the guise of apparent wisdom and neutrality, contribute to the reproduction of dominant relations. They operate through five main functions: alignment, justification, concealment, positioning, and simplification. The results of this analysis indicate that these five functions, interacting with one another, form an ideological network that makes it difficult for members of society to understand and reflect on power structures. On one hand, proverbs compel the subordinated to submit by justifying the status quo and naturalizing inequalities. On the other hand, by simplifying complex realities, they prevent radical critique and social transformation. As a pioneering study in the systematic application of Bachelard's theory in the domain of folk literature, this article takes a step toward revealing the ideological role of culture in perpetuating unjust structures and emphasizes the necessity of a critical reading of seemingly harmless elements of everyday culture.

Abstract This study aims to investigate the complex dialectic between art and society through a critical comparison of the perspectives of Theodor Adorno and Pierre Bourdieu, two thinkers who, from distinct intellectual traditions, have each addressed the social origins of art and its relations to power. Methodologically, the research employs a documentary and comparative‑critical approach, drawing on Adorno’s theoretical critique and Bourdieu’s empirical analyses to explore the social and cultural forces shaping artistic production and perception. Within the framework of the Frankfurt School, Adorno conceives of art as a domain of resistance to the logic of the market and ideological domination, emphasizing its relative autonomy as a liberating force. In contrast, Bourdieu, through the concepts of field, cultural capital, and habitus, demonstrates that aesthetic taste and artistic production are reproduced within class structures and unequal power relations. The findings indicate that contemporary art possesses a dual and paradoxical nature: it can both reproduce mechanisms of domination and embody capacities for critique and resistance. The study concludes that a comprehensive understanding of the sociology of contemporary art requires the integration of Adorno’s critical approach with Bourdieu’s field‑based analysis.

Abstract This article examines the dramatic dimension of reciting the Persian qasida and its relationship to Aristotelian poetics. The discussion proceeds from two main premises: (1) Recitation—understood as an artistic mode of delivering poetry, particularly the laudatory qasida—emerges from the intersection of literature and drama; (2) A comprehensive understanding of recitation can only be achieved through an interdisciplinary perspective that combines literary and artistic analysis. From this vantage point, the laudatory qasida should not be confined to its textual content. It is not merely a vehicle for praise, but also a masterwork of artistic form. The term “form” here refers not only to the linguistic, rhetorical, and aesthetic structures of the qasida, but also to the performative qualities inherent in its recitation. Historically, the delivery of a laudatory qasida constituted a form of staged performance—where the poet or narrator stood in a designated place, positioned at the center of the audience’s attention, conveying meaning through intonation, presence, and gesture. Understanding this performative aspect is inseparable from the classical concept of akhz bil-wujuh found in early Arabic and Persian treatises on poetics—a notion that encapsulates the very essence of performance in tragedy, oratory, laudatory qasida, and satire.

Abstract Due to the dynamic essence of comparative literature there are many debates about the definition of this field of study among academia. Adrijana Marcetic, a professor of comparative literature in Belgrad University, in her book "After the Comparative Literature" (1961), tries to solve some of these misunderstandings by writing about the history of comparative literature theories. She wrote the book on Serbian language and then after Greta Goetz translated it into English and then Masoud Farahmand and Pegah Farhangmehr retranslated from English to Persian. The Persian translation of the text is good, but there are some mistakes. For example, they altered the translation of some words like "hybridization" and " divergence." If we consider the problems of translating the pretranslated texts, it is apparent that translators faced a plethora of obstacles and there is insufficient time and ability to cover this area in its entirety. The researcher will analyse the book in this review.

Abstract The book Comparative Literature in Fluctuation, written by Roya Latafati and Bita Moazami Farahani, (Samt, 2019) is one of the analytical and theoretical works in Persian in explaining and introducing new aspects of comparative literature. This educational work, which is written in five chapters, has been compiled as one of the main and specialized resources for students of French language and literature (Comparative Literature course) at both master’s and doctoral levels. The findings of this critical research in explaining the merits and shortcomings of this work are as follows; This concise educational work has introduced and analyzed up-to-date topics and areas in comparative literature that have been less addressed by other Iranian researchers. On the other hand; Utilizing new research, proposing new issues in the field of comparative literature, scientific consultation with Enrô Eloïe Bonrou (Professor of Comparative Literature at the Sorbonne), using some examples and cultural-literary evidence from Iran in explaining topics, mentioning necessary footnotes, etc. are some of its other merits. However, the lack of questions and teaching guides, the lack of explanation of the educational goals expected of learners, the lack of attention to punctuation marks and some structures of the Persian language, the obscurity and ambiguity in the expression of some issues, as well as the use of English words and expressions that have equivalents in the Persian language, etc. are among its shortcomings.                                                                                                        

Abstract  
Comparative literature, which developed in late nineteenth-century France, emerged to cross the geographic, linguistic, and political boundaries of European national literatures. The discipline's rise coincided with the growth of national identities across Western Europe. During this period, widespread nationalist ideologies fueled a fierce competition for cultural supremacy among European nations, including France. There, the emerging field of comparative literature developed as an extension of traditional literary history, greatly dominated by the era's positivistic philosophy. Influence studies were the dominant rhetoric of the French school of comparative literature, emphasizing multilingualism and historical documents. The research methodology was rigorously demanding. In essence, the French school was interested in what European literature had learned from others and had, thus, enriched their respective cultural heritage. However, this benign goal deviated from its original path and became Eurocentric. In the second half of the 20^th century, opposition arose on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. René Wellek criticized the French school for its historical approach and offered a new theory that emphasized literariness. To him, literature was a totality which included all national literatures, embracing the whole of humanity.

Abstract This interdisciplinary study examines the role of literary translation in responding to socio-political reforms in Iran during the Second Pahlavi era, particularly after the White Revolution. Three English novels, translated into Persian within five years following the White Revolution, were analyzed to explore references to women’s rights, employing Marshall’s model of citizenship rights. The examination of Persian translations revealed that all instances of women’s civil, social, and political rights were preserved, with a majority remaining unaltered and a minority altered for further endorsement. Translators intervened to oppose women’s rights in only 3% of cases. While policies aimed at enhancing Iranian women’s quality of life, particularly concerning health and family rights, garnered support in these translations, those geared towards aligning women’s social roles and lives with Western modernization standards, rather than societal cultural norms, encountered resistance and changed. These findings underscore the impact of the White Revolution on societal attitudes in Iran and highlight the role of literary translation as a potential platform for reacting to socio-political developments, shedding light on the complexities of modernization in Iran during this period.

Abstract The relationship between the text and the reader has been greatly influenced by the emergence of new forms of narration. These new forms are created by adding interaction to the text. By adding interaction to a narrative, these new forms create more opportunities for readers to control and shape the narration, resulting in a heightened level of immersion. Moreover, this type of narration opens up new possibilities for developing narratives that can serve various purposes beyond entertainment. This study aims to compare interactive forms of narration, such as FMV (Full Motion Video), ARG (Alternate Reality Games), escape rooms, interactive books, and plays, while examining the relationship between immersion and interactivity in these formats. While the reader will be a crucial point of focus, we will employ a qualitative method alongside quantitative measures to illustrate how variations in interactivity within a narrative can alter the readers’ immersive experiences across different modes of interactive narration.

Abstract This article explores the complicated interaction of artistic expression with cultural identity through two novels by Orhan Pamuk: My Name is Red and The White Castle. The analysis will lean upon an interdisciplinary theoretical framework that brings together Stuart Hall’s view on cultural identity as a fluid entity, Homi Bhabha’s theory of cultural hybridity, and Arjun Appadurai’s work on global cultural flows. This research demonstrates how Pamuk’s narratives contest given binary oppositions between East and West, and also tradition and modernity, through close textual investigation, reflecting upon questions regarding cultural change within the Ottoman framework. The study shall show how Pamuk’s characters negotiate the multiplicities of cultural influence through artistic utterance and personal metamorphosis with a view to creating new identities beyond borders. While tension in My Name is Red between Ottoman miniature traditions and Western portraiture is in itself a vehicle toward cultural adaptation, The White Castle presents an identity exchange between an Italian scholar and his Ottoman captor, which shows, through time and interaction, the permeable nature of such a boundary. This study focuses on how globalization equally amplifies traditional binaries and creates opportunities for their transcendence, enriching our understanding of Turkish literary modernism. It holds the view that cultural identity can be jointly created not simply by negating or fully accepting foreign influxes but by being in creative interaction with both the traditional and the new, and thus provides an important insight into the understanding of cultural change in societies experiencing rapid globalization and modernization.

Abstract The present interdisciplinary qualitative study aims to analyze James Joyce’s “Araby” based on Hegelian dialectic. This seminal story from Dubliners has received immense critical reception over the years and has been studied through various critical frameworks. However, its potential for analysis based on Hegelian dialectic has been largely overlooked. Considering the last episode of the story as a moment of epiphany and self-realization, the study seeks to discuss how the protagonist’s development of consciousness can be interpreted based on the three stages of Hegelian dialectic: Understanding (Idealization of Mangan's sister and the bazaar), Dialectical (faced with contradiction at the bazaar), and Speculative (the final epiphany). The analysis demonstrates how the narrator’s initially fixed determinations and alienated consciousness in the understanding stage face their contradiction at the dialectical moment, resulting in the final epiphany, which mirrors the last stage of the dialectic where contradictions are resolved and self-realization is achieved. Further, based on the principles of Hegelian dialectic rooted in philosophical idealism, the study not only asserts that the narrator’s consciousness evolves through a process driven by contradiction, but it also interprets the narrator’s journey from naïve idealization to self-realization as a universal process of maturation. To avoid a mechanical and rigid application of the dialectical method, the analysis relies on close textual reading to identify the elements that contribute to each moment of the dialectic and deeply contextualizes the argument to deviate from oversimplification of the text.

Abstract Children and adolescent literature in Iran is still a developing field. Studies in the field of children's literature are interdisciplinary and include fields of psychology, social sciences, Persian literature, and educational sciences. Limited studies exist on the challenges of children's literature in Iran. The aim of this study is to extract the components of "content challenges in children and adolescents’ fiction" considering the current situation.The current study was conducted using qualitative content analysis. The study is an applied research and adopts an inductive approach and employed the interview method for data collection. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 people who were subject experts, authors, and key informants. After documenting the interviews, semantic units were extracted as codes, then were grouped and categorized. Initially, 186 codes were collected. After removing duplicates, the total number of codes decreased to 117. Finally, by merging and combining the codes, the final number reached 48. These 48 codes were classified into five main components and 24 sub-components The content analysis of the interview texts showed the challenges of children's fiction in five main components, these components are 1- translated stories; 2- content production; 3- Author or Authorship; 4- The role of governance; 5- social and cultural conditions of society. Analysis and review of the opinions of experts in the field of children and adolescents’ literature showed that, despite the fact that the number of copies of books published in the field of children and adolescents in the country is increasing, and there are numerous challenges in the field of children and adolescents’ fiction. The challenges in various areas such as the content of works, the role of governance, writing, and translated works require attention, planning, and policy-making of the major authorities. Given the intergenerational role adolescents play in both receiving and transmitting social and cultural concepts, any indifference in this process can lead to numerous future cultural and social challenges. Therefore, knowing that the youth fiction in Iran is evolving, there is a need to pay more attention to the challenges found out in the research.

Abstract This article examines how identity, nostalgia, and belonging impact Nicolas Urfe in John Fowles’s The Magus (1965). Drawing upon Homi Bhabha’s “Hybridity”, Stuart Hall’s “Cultural Identity”, and William Safran’s “Myth of Homeland”, the objective of this article is to recognize the futility underlying Nicolas’s relentless endeavors to establish a sense of belonging and reconcile with his inner turmoil and inherent desire in order to reveal the origins of his internal conflicts, such as anxiety, restlessness, and rootlessness. The significance of this article lies in its endeavor to analyze the diasporic experience on an individual ground that does not align with the typical paradigms of Nicolas’s relocation. This article also explores whether Nicolas feels a sense of belonging to a particular place that he can consider as home. We try to respond to two fundamental questions, namely what influences exist behind the adoption or rejection of a new self-identity by Nicolas in Fowles’s The Magus?, and does Nicolas with multi-layered identity associate with both native land and hostland, namely England and Greece, respectively in Fowles’s The Magus? In order to fill the existing gap, we explore how Nicolas’s identity oscillates between pre-immigration and post-immigration spaces, namely England and Greece, respectively.

Abstract Pirzad's novel A Day Before before Easter, delves into the evolving identity of Iranian Armenians, highlighting their diasporic and transnational identities, despite acknowledging historical roots. Based on the ideas of “hybridity” and “translation sites” as the framework, this study explores at how translation sites as symbolic spaces influenced the development of multiple and hybrid identities of Armenian and Muslim characters as well as the possibility of linguistic and cultural interactions between them. Three distinct translation sites, the church, the school, and the graveyard, were identified in this study. These sites revealed how the characters' identities were developed based on their interactions with Muslim Iranians, affecting their language, religion, and society. The school functioned as zones of connection and communication between Muslims and Armenians where some Armenians display hybrid, multiplied identities while the church functioned as a site of “counter-translation,” where Armenians maintained a solidified and diasporic identity, enclosed by their religious and ethnic boundaries. The study suggests that identity conflicts at the translation sites in the story created a space for negotiation, fostering reconciliation and the blending of national and Armenian heritages among the characters.

Abstract This essay discusses the political dimensions of Omar El Akkad's American War and Kim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the Future, exploring their distinct yet interconnected critiques of governance, authoritarianism, and global cooperation in times of existential crisis. Drawing upon diverse political theories, such as Hobbesian social contracts, Arendtian distinctions between power and violence, and Marxist critiques of systemic inequality, the analysis situates these novels within the broader context of speculative fiction’s role in reimagining political systems. By examining themes of climate change, radicalization, systemic reform, and international diplomacy, this study illuminates the enduring relevance of speculative narratives as blueprints for understanding and addressing contemporary global challenges. These narratives not only critique existing power structures but also offer innovative perspectives on the possibilities of systemic reform. Ultimately, the essay positions speculative fiction as a vital tool for envisioning alternative trajectories for a just, inclusive, and sustainable future, emphasizing its transformative potential in shaping political and ecological discourse.

Abstract Masculinity, unlike femininity, have long been left understudied by the scholars. This originated from the essentialist idea that men and masculinity are natural, and subsequently had been taken for granted. They were, not required to be studied. Men, were deemed as the agents who gazed and studied. However with the advent of structuralist and poststructuralist ideas in humanities and specially in social theory, masculinity attracted attentions. No longer was masculinity considered natural, God-given. Now the new theories regarded masculinity as a constructed phenomenon subject to cultural, structural, discursive, and material forces. Therefore it was inevitably subject to change, It was no longer seen as an essential entity. These theoretical inventions spread, though belatedly, into the realm of literary studies. Literary works, especially fiction, provides a very rich material to explore the dynamics and nuances of theory. The present article sets to apply the theories in the field of masculinity studies from social theory to a novel by the British-Syrian writer Robin Yassin Kassab. The Road from Damascus could be useful text to investigate how masculinity produced and reproduced, how it constructed and changed as men experience different social structures. The novel, successfully, takes masculinity as a sign whose significance alters as it moves from one structure to another. A significant aspect of the novel is its focus on immigrant people in the cultural space of England. The article would investigate how the two “modalities” masculinity and immigration would invite new meanings into the previous studies done on the work.

Abstract In Bird Cottage by Eva Meijer, the main character blurs the dualistic dichotomies between humans and animals by applying ethical practices, morality, and emotion. Ecofeminists stand against the Western reason/emotion dichotomy, and they mutilate human/animal dichotomies by cherishing ethics and morality. In literature and environmental concerns the traces of Ethics and Ecofeminism should be followed. Hence, in this article, by referring to theoreticians like Carolyn Merchant, Gwen Hunnicutt, Lori Gruen, and other eminent critics, Bird Cottage by Eva Meijer is analyzed through an ethical-ecofeminist perspective, not only to show the influence of ethics on deforming dualisms between humans and nonhumans, which is a purpose of ecofeminism, but also to show the social influence of dualistic and non-dualistic relations on humans by following and not following ethics. Considering ecofeminism and its scope in this analysis, it is concluded that Meijer in Bird Cottage emphasizes utilizing ethics and environmental justice in seeking non-dualistic coexistence with nonhumans and, in the interim, she deforms Western human/animal dualism by referring to Len’s attitude and her actions toward wild birds.