Shiraz UniversityPersian Literary Studies Journal2322-255757.820161101Editor's Note11445810.22099/jps.2016.4458ENJournal Article20171210This issue comes with changes in our web page and the addition of a group of scholars who have graciously accepted to be our advisory board members. PLSJ was a challenge in Persian studies in Iran and was faced with quite a few obstacles in these five volumes. The ministry of higher education still does not consider PLSJ as an academic journal and does not list in its approved list of journals! However, Shiraz University has been supportive from day one. and Dr Saadat, the vice-Chancellors for Research, was very helpful and instrumental in funding the journal and supporting it wholeheartedly in the ministry. The journal was not appreciated much by the Persian departments at the beginning but we have received encouragement and appreciation recently. Interestingly enough Iranian English literature scholars and students have shown much interest in writing about Persian literature. Lack of enough high quality submission, in general, is another malady of many newly founded journals which we still suffer from.<br /> We hope with a new advisory board and new aspirations to face the challenges and with the help of our readers and contributors improve the situation. Our new mission is to comparatively explore and examine literary, artistic and cultural issues, and welcome contributions with a cross-cultural, trans-national and trans-regional perspective.<br /> I would like to thank my colleagues Dr Omid Azadi who revamped the page and added the necessary information and Dr Amir Vafa who has made a popular Facebook page for the journal. I would also like to thank my other colleague, Dr Laleh Atashi as well as Dr Mostafa Abedini, who as the editors are helping me running the journal.<br /> I also appreciate Dr Massih Zekavat's help in running the review section. He has been invaluable in listing the journal in MLA Directory of Periodicals, Index Islamicus, Ulrich, JGate and WorldCat (OCLC) and a few others he is still pursuing.<br /> We are going to have a few special issues in near future, the first one being a special issue on Iranian children and young adult literature. Please submit you papers for the general issues or specific issues as they are announced.<br /> <br /> The editor-in-chief<br /> Farideh Pourgiv<br /> Shiraz UniversityPersian Literary Studies Journal2322-255757.820161022The Tenets of Early Critical Writings on Fiction in Iranبررسی و تحلیل نخستین نقد و نظریههای داستان و رمان در ایران(1300_1250)116394810.22099/jps.2016.3948ENYaserFarashahinejadHormozgan UniversityFaramarzKhojastehHormozgan UniversityMajidPuyanYazd UniversityJournal Article20160627From the first commentaries of Akhundzadeh to Jamalzadeh’s introduction to Yeki Bud YekiNabud, i.e., over a period of almost fifty years, we can see a collection of a few scattered commentaries on story and novel which are rarely noticed by researchers. These scattered commentaries can be regarded as the first literary manifests of story and novel. These critiques and commentaries include subject matters that can be regarded as commonalities of writers and critics of the contemporary era. Moralism, realism and usefulness of novels are three common features of such commentaries. Historical conditions and social developments in the constitutional era provided an atmosphere that only allowed committed literature to survive. The first novels as well as theories and critiques associated with them were written in such circumstances and purposefulness of stories and novels was inevitably prioritized. Thus, in the present study, attempts are made to investigate the theoretical foundations of the first story and novel critiques in Iran from the historical point of view and show how these critiques paved the path for development of realism and realist literature in Iran.Therefore, the points addressed in this study can be regarded as an introduction to committed fiction in Iran.Keywords: story, novel, critique, theory, realismhttps://plsj.shirazu.ac.ir/article_3948_89329df5726c322990afd8eb4d334c7d.pdfShiraz UniversityPersian Literary Studies Journal2322-255757.820161022Revisiting the Past: Contribution of Counter-narratives in Liminal Formation of Identity in Yasmin Crowther's The Saffron KitchenRevisiting the Past: Contribution of Counter-narratives in Liminal Formation of Identity in Yasmin Crowther's The Saffron Kitchen1736400010.22099/jps.2016.4000ENSeyed RezaEbrahimiUniversity of Tehran , Alborz CampusMaryamBeyadAssociate Professor of English Literature, Faculty of Literature and Foreign Languages, University of Tehran , Tehran, IranJournal Article20160905In diasporic literature the question of identity is tangled with the question of history. This study aims at discussing how Yasmin Crowther reviews the Persian tradition in The Saffron Kitchen, her autobiographical novel which is mainly set-in early 60s, Iran. The novel focuses on evoking and rewriting history by using different types of counter narratives that contrast with Iranian hegemonic discourse in the field of tradition and culture. It could be said that Crowther underlines Iran’s history during the pre-Revolutionary period and during the 1953 coup d'état and its immediate aftermaths rewrites the exclusiveness of the Persian traditional culture by focusing on the fissure and blank spots in formal representation of history. Within the gaps she re-experiences a history of confrontation and resistance against the dominant patriarchal hegemony, as well as the dominant discourse of power firmed in traditional culture. Her recalled history comprises not only Iranian cultural traditions but also the fear of oppression of people, particularly women, under the sovereignty of traditional cultural discourse. The study applies Homi K. Bhabah theories, as well as Michael Foucault's discourse and power. Thus, this paper aims to examine how Crowther has used counter narrative to distance her narrative from Islamic and political discourse, depict the image of a strong woman and to show historical changes in span of time. The outcomes indicate how the history is redefined under the light of cultural hegemony and the liminal formation of identity is shaped for women in diaspora narratives.https://plsj.shirazu.ac.ir/article_4000_79e4c44a5559ba62e4882a4ae4ae0401.pdfShiraz UniversityPersian Literary Studies Journal2322-255757.820161022Epic Heroes in Ossian by Macpherson and Shahnameh by Firdausiقهرمانان حماسی در اوسیان اثر مکفرسن و شاهنامه اثر فردوسی3753406710.22099/jps.2016.4067ENMohsenHanifKharazmi UniversityTaherehRezaeiAllameh Tabataba'i UniversityJournal Article20151227<strong>Nationalist sentiments characterize the Scotish James Macpherson’s Ossianic tales and the Persian Abul-Ghasim Ferdausi’s <em>Shahnameh</em>. Macpherson is remembered for his role in the nationalist Gaelic revival against the cultural dominance of Great Britain and Ferdausi is credited for enlivening Persian language and culture at the time of Arab dominance. However, Macpherson’s dual position, both as a member of the aristocracy that seeks alliance with Great Britain and also as an individual with nationalistic sentiments, informs his work. On the one hand, his work quenches the thirst of common people for a national narrative and helps revive the Gaelic tradition. On the other, it abounds with the ideology of the Scottish metropolis, which seeks alliance with Great Britain and endeavors to keep at bay the threats of mounting nationalism in Scotland. Thus his work suffers a dilemma, while Ferdausi’s work is thoroughly given to nationalistic sentiments. In this article we intend to focus on the way heroes are portrayed in their relations with the Royal classes in the two works, to show the traces of two ideologically loaded concepts, namely nation and nation-state, in the formation of both works. The paper thus carries a typological comparative study of the heroes and concludes that Macpherson’s work is the product of nation-states and therefore legitimization of the status quo is an undistinguishable aspect of it. Ferdausi, on the other hand, shows consistency in his nationalistic feelings as depicted in his Pahlavans due to the fact that he lives in a time when nation is defined purely in ethnic and racial terms, allowing him to distance himself from the perspective of the status quo.</strong>https://plsj.shirazu.ac.ir/article_4067_11ca26302716dd282b0fefd71be3d07d.pdfShiraz UniversityPersian Literary Studies Journal2322-255757.820161022Asgari Hasankloo, Asgar. Time and Its Men: A Critique of Ebrahim Golestan's Stories5558394910.22099/jps.2016.3949ENMostafaHosseiniAssistant professor of English Literature,
Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, IranJournal Article20170123https://plsj.shirazu.ac.ir/article_3949_259b2eb203480912f5dc9175db3610d8.pdfShiraz UniversityPersian Literary Studies Journal2322-255757.820161022Yaghoobi, Claudia. Subjectivity in ʿAttar, Persian Sufism, and European Mysticism5963416610.22099/jps.2016.4166ENBaheeHadaeghAssistant professor
English Literature, Shiraz University, IranJournal Article20170902https://plsj.shirazu.ac.ir/article_4166_ff446e3ba4b6a0f0dc7b8ca3c3d88228.pdfShiraz UniversityPersian Literary Studies Journal2322-255757.820161101Rhetoric, Comedy, or Shock? Bruce Gilley’s Case of Anachronism6570445710.22099/jps.2016.4457ENLalehAtashiAssistant Professor
English Literature
Shiraz University, IranJournal Article20171210https://plsj.shirazu.ac.ir/article_4457_e41f77a810353a92eb9e6b47e2aafb23.pdf