Culture Awarness for Iran - Research Paper Example

 Culture Awareness - Iran 1. Introduction In order to understand the culture awareness in a particular country it is necessary to be aware of the characteristics of culture in the context of the international community; at a next level, it is crucial to identify the relationship between the local culture and the international one. Usually, two are the most important factors influencing the culture awareness in a country worldwide: a) the country’s history and ethics and b) the culture and the ethics of minorities living in the particular country. Current paper focuses on the identification of the factors that influence the culture awareness in Iran; the following factors of this type have been identified: a) the country’s culture. At this point, it was necessary to focus on the historical development of Iranian culture since the establishment of the country, b) the characteristics of Iranian culture as they reflect also the culture of minorities living across the country, c) the common characteristics of culture internationally and d) the regional characteristics of Iran. The examination of the above factors showed that culture awareness in Iran is high. However, it is clear that Iranian culture is not independent from foreign cultures. In fact, it seems that foreign cultures have played a key role in the development of the Iranian culture through the decades. 2. Culture in Iran Iranian culture has a long history. In any case, the historical development in the country’s social trends and ethics shows the interaction between the Persian culture and the foreign cultures. It is clear that Iranian art reflects the characteristics of art introduced by Persians since their entrance in Iran – in 1300 (B.C.). Of course, Persians have supported their traditional ethics and culture. However, foreign cultures and especially the Arab culture have influenced all aspects of Persian culture. The Arab Art has influenced the Iranian art and this influence is clear in the works of Art developed in the period 1979 onwards. In 1979 the Islamic Revolution in Iran led to the establishment of the Islamic way of life and the Islamic traditions across the country. Iranian Art indicates the country’s identity, as this term has been explained by De Groot (2007, p.13) ‘identity is formed at the unstable point where the ‘unspeakable stories’ of subjectivity meet the narratives of history, of a culture’. Moreover, Iranian art shows the development of the country’s culture. In other words, the Iranian Art indicates the changes on all forms of Iranian culture. Despite the strong influences of Persian Art from foreign cultures it seems that Iranian art has unique characteristics. In accordance with Semati (2008) ‘Iranian art is far more concerned with covering and concealing things than revealing them’ (Dabashi, 2001, p.88 in Semati, 2008, p.199). In the case of Persian language, the influences of foreign languages are also strong. The most common language in Iran is Persian, also known as Farsi. The development of Persian in Iran began in 1300 B.C. - entrance of the Persians in the above country. Today, half of the country’s population spokes the Persian language. Persian language is taught in schools and is used as the official language in activities across the country. Arabic is another language spoken in Iran. The entrance and the development of Islam in Iran helped the expansion of Arabic in the particular country. The influence of Arabic on Persian language has been such that ‘the scripts of the latter are based on Perso-Arabic characters’ (Richter, 2005, p.26). People living in Iran use a series of additional languages in accordance with their origin and their cultural background. Most indicative examples of this type are the Kurdish and Turkic languages (Azari and the Qashqai languages). Despite the existence of many languages in Iran still the Persian language is considered to be the country’s main language. However, Persian culture keeps being open to foreign cultural elements like the language, the written word and the art. 3. Characteristics of culture in Iran The history of Iranian culture is quite long. One of the most important characteristics of the Iranian culture is its elasticity, in other words its ability to incorporate elements of foreign cultures. These cultures have affected Iranian culture but they have not changed its main characteristics and forms. The elasticity of Iranian culture has been the reason for the survival of the Iranian culture’s main elements through the centuries. Elasticity in Iranian culture has also helped to the gradual incorporation of foreign social trends and cultures in the Iranian culture – referring especially to communities of different cultural background i.e. minorities (Oorschot et al., 2008, p.15). The openness of the Iranian culture is highlighted in the study of Jahanbegloo (2004). The above researcher notes that ‘Iranian culture has absorbed elements of Aryan, Greek, Indian, Arab, Turkik, Mongolian and western languages, literature, mythodologies and beliefs without losing its own unique identity’ (Jahanbegloo, 2004, p. 188). On the other hand, Iranian culture has a long existence. In fact, the roots of this culture can be identified in 2500 (B.C.). It is assumed that Iranian culture has played an important role in the development of the country’s political and social framework. However, it seems that that role of the Iranian culture in the development of the Iranian society has not been adequately appreciated (Semati, 2008, p.8). The long existence of the Iranian culture leads to the following assumptions: a) the country’s culture is strong enough to keep its position in the international community, b) the Persian culture is unique despite the intervention of foreign cultures in a series of Persian social activities and c) the foreign cultures helped the Persian culture to update its elements in order to meet current social trends and needs. 4. Common culture characteristics The characteristics of culture in countries of different history and ethics cannot remain the same through the decades. However, there are certain characteristics of culture that are likely to be common in most societies worldwide. One of these characteristics is the transfer of culture from one generation to another. Indeed, the succession of culture along generations is one of the key criteria for the existence of culture. A social trend developed in the context of a specific generation can be hardly considered as culture. Instead, in order to characterize an event or social trend as culture historians use to refer to its period of life (Salcedo, 1999, p.48). In this context, it is also expected that events or social trends that cannot be transmitted from one generation to another they cannot become culture. Another important characteristic of culture is its uniqueness. More specifically, the cultural characteristics of each nation cannot be the same. Different history, language, ethics and social norms lead to the development of different forms of culture. Under these terms, it is possible that certain forms of culture, like the written word or the music, are more developed in one nation and less to another. It is also possible that certain forms of culture exist only in certain countries. An example is the Japanese theatre, which is a unique form of culture and cannot be identified in other countries. In the case of Iran, uniqueness is not a crucial characteristic of the country’s culture. In fact, the influence of foreign cultures on the Persian culture is important. In this context, the ability of the Persian culture to absorb foreign cultural elements without losing its identity can be considered as its key characteristic. 5. Regional characteristics of Iran Iran is a country with a high diversification in regard to its population. Most of its citizens are Persians. However, the number of minorities is high. In fact, the existing languages across the country are about 69. The diversification in the origin and the cultural background of its citizens has not affected the integration of the country. Instead, the changes in the social and political trends of the country have influenced the perceptions of the population on certain critical issues. The expansion of the Western beliefs and trends on culture has been partially responsible for the above outcome. This fact is highlighted in the study of Jahanbegloo (2004) who noted that ‘new political values – including respect for democracy, civil society, and women’s rights – have been developed in Iran’ (Jahanbegloo, 2004, p. 8) Persian language has been another important regional characteristic of Iran. However, Persian language is not the only language spoken across the country. In fact, there are about 69 languages spoken in Iran. As noted above, a high part of the population in Iran spokes the Arab language and Turkic languages. Because of the co-existence of foreign cultures, the evaluation of the level of integration of the Iranian culture is difficult. For this reason, Jahanbegloo (2004) mentions that ‘there is no purity of race, religion, language or culture in Iran’ (Jahanbegloo, 2004, p. 188). 6. Conclusion The examination of the cultural characteristics of Iran has led to the assumption that there are many factors influencing the culture awareness in the particular country. The awareness of the country’s history is a prerequisite in order to understand the current cultural characteristics of Iran (Spencer, 2004, p.13). In any case, the culture and the social ethics of the minorities established across the country have strongly influenced Iranian culture. However, this influence has not led to the elimination of the pre-existent characteristics and forms of Iranian culture (Daniel, 2001, p.28). Instead, the Iranian culture has adopted the foreign cultural ethics and forms without losing its uniqueness. Under these terms, in order to understand the culture awareness in Iran it is necessary to understand the region’s history. It is also necessary to identify the role of the minorities’ culture in the development of Persian culture. The examination of the interaction between the Persian culture and the foreign cultures led to the assumption that through the centuries Iranian culture has kept its integrity and uniqueness. Works Cited Ansari, Sarah, Martin, Vanessa, 2002. Women, religion and culture in Iran. Routledge Daniel, Elton, 2001. The history of Iran. Greenwood Publishing Group Joanna De Groot, 2007. Religion, culture and politics in Iran: from the Qajars to Khomeini. I.B.Tauris Ramin Jahanbegloo, 2004. Iran: between tradition and modernity. Lexington Books Richter, Joanne, 2005. Iran: The Culture. Crabtree Publishing Company Salcedo, Lucila, 1999. Social issues. Goodwill Trading Co. Semati, Mehdi, 2008. Media, culture and society in Iran: living with globalization and the Islamic state. Routledge Spencer, Lauren, 2004. Iran: a primary source cultural guide. The Rosen Publishing Group Suad Joseph, Afsaneh Najmabadi, 2003. Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures: Family, law, and politics. BRILL Wim van Oorschot, Michael Opielka, Birgit Pfau-Effinger, 2008. Culture and welfare state: values and social policy in comparative perspective. Edward Elgar Publishing Online resources Council on Foreign Relations, 2010, Iran’s Ethnic Groups, online, available at http://www.cfr.org/publication/12118/ 4. Formal Sentence outline Thesis: Culture Awareness in Iran I. Culture in Iran a. Art Art is one of the most important aspects of culture in Iran; the history of Art in Iran is quite long indicating the cultural development of the country through the centuries. b. Language The language used currently in Iran has its roots in the ancient Persian language; through the years the country’s language has been alternated always in the context of the local ethics and traditions. II. Characteristics of culture in Iran a. Elasticity One of the most important characteristics of culture in Iran has been its ability to incorporate elements of foreign cultures at the level that these elements could be adapted to the existed culture of Iran without changing its scope. b. Long existence Iran is a nation with a long history; its culture has been formulated through the centuries under the influence of the cultures of foreigners who have lived in the country for a short or a long period. III. Common culture characteristics a. It is transmittable Culture is inherited from each generation to the next one; in this context, culture can be characterized as transmittable – the loss of certain elements of culture during the above process is quite possible. b. It is unique in each nation Each nation has its own culture being developed under the influence of the local history, the language, the political preferences and the social trends and ethics. IV. Regional characteristics of Iran a. Ethnicity Iran is a nation characterized by a high diversification of population; the high percentage of the country’s population is Persian; however, there are many minority groups, like Azeris, Kurds, Arabs and Baluchis; the people belonging in these groups have political and social rights at the same level with Persians1. b. Language The Persian language is the main language in Iran; minorities across the country have their own language, a fact that leads to the development of differences on the cultural characteristics of Iran. Conclusion: Iran is a country with a significant culture; art and language are the most important parts of culture in Iran; the culture of the specific country has been affected by the foreign cultures but also by the culture of minority groups living in various regions of the country. In any case, the culture of Iran remains unique despite its elasticity, i.e. its trend to be alternated under the influence of foreign cultures. 5. Mind Mapping 6. Grouping Thesis: Culture Awareness in Iran I. Culture in Iran a. Art b. Language II. Characteristics of culture in Iran a. Elasticity b. Long existence III. Common culture characteristics a. It is transmittable b. It is unique in each nation IV. Regional characteristics of Iran a. Ethnicity b. Language Read More