Semiotics of Power and Knowledge in Nasir Khusrow's Travelogue

Document Type : Research Papers

Authors

1 Hormozgan University

2 zand institute of higher education

Abstract

Nasir Khosrow embarks upon a seven year journey in order to come to terms with his spiritual crisis. The quest was the inevitable outcome of the tensions and conflicts between Nasir and the institutionalized forms of power and knowledge. The tensions lead to the formation of a series of binary oppositions—verbal and nonverbal—within the text of his travelogue. The researchers have analyzed the text of Nasir's travelogue with a semiotic approach and have unearthed the binarized structure that underlies Nasir's report. The objective world around him is in contrast with the world he idealizes in his subjective mind, he draws a boundary line between the transient nature of his journey and the timeless journey he would undertake after death, the civilized cityscapes mark a sharp contrast with the savagery of the desert in which he has to reside temporarily. Another binary is formed when Nasir distinguishes his dietary habits from those of bedouins. The pictorial appeal of Nasir's painting comes to be contrasted with the authority of his words. These binary oppositions are directly related to Nasir's preoccupation with the concept of power (the kingdom and the court) and knowledge (institutionalized schooling and hypocritical erudition). He wishes to leave behind the present forms of power and knowledge in favor of an idealized version of the two. Separation from the familiar, adventure, and return form a circular structure. Power and knowledge are sometimes combined and sometimes function as separate motifs. On his return journey, Nasir, in order to survive, has to take refuge in the very institutions and the very bureaucratic system that he initially left behind.

Keywords

References

Anderson, Eugene. N. (2005). Everyone Eats: Understanding Food and Culture. New York and London: New York University Press.
Barcan, Ruth. (2004). Nudity: A Cultural Anatomy. New York: Berg.
Brewer, John. D. (2000).Ethnography. Bukingham:Open University Press.
Bronwen, Martin and Felizitaz Ringham. (2000). Dictionary of Semiotics. Cassell: London and New York.
Cobley, Paul. (2010). The Routledge Companion to Semiotics. London and New York : Routledge, Taylor and Francis.
Euben, Roxanne l.(2006). Journeys to the Other Shore: Muslim and Western Travelers in Search of Knowledge. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Firouzeh, Peyvand. "Narratives of Nasir Khusraw: On the History of the Built Environment in Early Medieval Cities on the Edge." St Andrews Journal of Art History and Museum Studies. 15(2011): 89-98.
Gellens, Sam I. "The Search for Knowledge in Medieval Muslim Societies: A Comparative Approach." In  Muslim Travellers : Pilgrimage, Migration, and the Religious Imagination Comparative Studies On Muslim Societies.  Dale F. Eickelman and  James Piscatori.eds. California: University of California Press.1990
Hansberger, Alice C.(2003). Nasir Khusraw, the Ruby of Badakhshan: A Portrait of the Persian Poet, Traveler and Philosopher. London and New York: I. B. Tauris.
Ivanow, Wladimir. (1948). Nāṣir-i Khusraw and Ismailism. Bombay: Thacker & Co., Ltd. 
Leach, Edmund (1970): Lévi-Strauss (Fontana Modern Masters). London: Fontana.
 Lechte, John (1994): Fifty Key Contemporary Thinkers: From Structuralism to Postmodernity. London: Routledge
Mahallati, Amineh. " Women as Pilgrims: Memoirs of Iranian Women Travelers to Mecca." Iranian Studies. 44:6 ( 2011):  831-849.
Muhammad ibn Hindūshah Nakhchivani. (1964). Dastoor al Katib fi ta'yeen al Maratib. Vol. 1. Abdulkarim Ali oughli Alizadeh. Ed. Moscow: Soviet Union science Academy[i].
Nasir Khusraw al-Qubadiani. 1994. Safarnama. Muhammad Dabir Siaqi. Ed. Tehran: Zavar[ii]
Nizami Aruzi Samarqandī .  1995. Chahar Maqale. (Four Articles). Muhammad Qazvini. Ed. Tehran: Jami[iii]
Ostovar, Mosayeb. (1391). The Color. Tehran: Raznama Publications.
Paikar, Nasruddin Shah.(2013). " Nasir Khusraw’s Philosophical And intellectual tradition." Shughnan.  31 March 200713. Web. 22 July 2014. ‹ http://www.shughnan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Nasir-Khusraw-Philosophica-paikar.pdf ›.
Ravandi, Morteza. Tarikh Ejtema'I Iran. (Social History of Iran). Vol.4.  Tehran: Amirkabir. 1988.
Siegel, Kristi. (2002). "Travel Writing and Travel Theory". Issues in Travel Writing: Empire, Spectacle, and displacement. Peter Lang: New York. 1-8.
Sojoodi, Farzan. Neshane Shenasi: Nazarie va Amal (Semiotics: Theory and Practice). Tehran: Elm. 2009.
Thompson, Carl. (2011). Travel Writing. NewYork: Routeledge.
Welch, Stuart Cary, Marie Lukens Swietochowski, Marilyn Jenkins, Manuel Keene. (1979 - 1980). "Islamic Art." Notable Acquisitions (Metropolitan Museum of Art), No. 1979/1980. 16-19.
Woolf, Virginia (1977) Orlando. Frogmore, Htds: Granada.
[i] محمد بن هندوشاه نخجوانی. 1964. دستورالکتاب فی تعیین المراتب، جزء اول از جلد یکم، تصحیح عبدالکریم علی اوغلی علی زاده. مسکو: آکادمی علوم اتحاد شوروی
[ii] ناصر خسرو قبادیانی . 1373. سفرنامه. به تصحیح محمد دبیر سیاقی. تهران:زوار
[iii] نظامی عروضی سمرقندی. 1374. چهار مقاله. به تصحیح محمد قزوینی. تهران: جامی

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics