Effects of Cultural Globalization in Iran
Inaugural-Dissertation
Zur
Erlangung der Doktorwürde
der Philosophischen Fakultät
der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität
Freiburg i. Br.
vorgelegt von
Mohammad Najjarzadeh
aus Shoshtar, Iran
SS 2011
Erstgutachter: Prof. Dr. Boike Rehbein
Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Hermann Schwengel
Vorsitzender des Promotionsausschussess
der Gemeinsamen Kommision der
Philologischen, Philosophischen und Wirtschaftsund Verhaltenwissenschaftlichen Fakultät: Prof. Dr. Hans-Helmuth Gander
Datum der Fachprüfung im Promotionsfach: 04.07.2011
ii
Auswirkungen der kulturellen Globalisierung im Iran
Zusammenfassung
Diese wissenschaftliche Arbeit untersucht die Auswirkungen kultureller Globalisierung auf
Lebensstile im Iran. Kernthema ist dabei ein Vergleich zwischen einer städtischen und
ländlichen Region, die jeweils Ursachen, Technologien und Strömen der Globalisierung in
unterschiedlicher Intensität ausgesetzt sind.
Ausgehend von der Lehre Bourdieus wird zunächst angenommen, dass sich städtische und
ländliche Lebensstile voneinander unterscheiden.
Anschließend werden die Auswirkungen verschiedener Aspekte der Globalisierung auf die
unterschiedlichen Lebensstile festgestellt und miteinander in Beziehung gesetzt. Schließlich
konzentriert sich die Arbeit auf die Beziehungen zwischen kultureller Globalisierung und den
sich unterscheidenden Lebensstilen. Die Untersuchung wählt die Stadt Isfahan und ihre
ländliche Umgebung als Fallstudie und basiert auf eigener empirischer Forschung.
Globalisierung wird in dieser Studie als die Ausbreitung, Vertiefung und Beschleunigung des
zeitgenössischen gesellschaftlichen Lebens verstanden. Einsetzend mit dem Ende des Zweiten
Weltkriegs entwickelte sich die Globalisierung als ein Komplex von Veränderungen, die mehr
Intensität und Tiefe mit sich brachten. Dieser Prozess wurde in der Vergangenheit unter
verschiedenen Gesichtspunkten betrachtet. Einige Theoretiker glauben, dass dieser Prozess
eine „Amerikanisierung“ oder „Homogenisierung“ der Welt bewirken. Dem entgegengesetzt
wird behauptet, dass Globalisierung eine „Lokalisierung“ mit sich bringt. Eine dritte Gruppe
von Forschern spricht von „Glokalisierung“. Diese Arbeit wird argumentieren, dass all diese
Theorien in Betracht zu ziehen sind, dass sie dabei jedoch jeweils nur unterschiedlichen
Tendenzen
von
Globalisierung
und
unterschiedlichen
entsprechen.
Schlüsselwörter: Globalisierung, Kultur, Land, Stadt, Isfahan
iii
gesellschaftlichen
Gruppen
Effects of Cultural Globalization in Iran
Abstract
This thesis examines the effects of cultural globalization on people lifestyle in Isfahan city
and its rural areas around it as the case study.
Globalization and media technologies like internet, satellite, television, video, cinema and
radio as well as new forms of consumption have created new conditions in Iran during the
past two decades that the central government cannot control. Along with these new
conditions, global cultures and new glocalized subcultures emerged. According to Nederveen
Pieterse’ theory of cultural globalization we will find out the current situation in Iranian
society. Also we use the culture industry form Horkheimer and Adorno has been used for the
analyzing part.
The research method is qualitative with interview and observation in both areas. The lifestyle
indices which are used in the interviews and observation are followed by the examples of
French scholar Pierre Bourdieu and his major work distinction.
The number of interviews in this research was one hundred and also fifty observations have
been done by the researcher during four months fieldwork in region of study.
The result shows the most important elements of cultural globalization which has affected
people lives is media and the front line of social groups who are more affected are students,
young people and who have the ability of speaking English. And also the glocalization and
hybridization theories with a strong combination of culture industry theory can explain and is
fit with region of study in particular and Iran country in general.
Keywords: globalization, culture, rural and urban area, Isfahan
iv
Dedication
This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, who have dedicated their lives to their family.
v
Acknowledgements
I would like to greatly appreciate and thank my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Boike Rehbein who
guided me throughout the entire research process, helped to conceptualize the topic of this
dissertation, assisted me in all areas from methodology to editing, and was my mentor and
supporter, since I have entered Germany and joined the Doctoral program at the University of
Freiburg. My doctoral studies and research would not have been possible without his endless
support, understanding, and confidence in me which helped me not to lose my hope despite
all challenges and difficulties and gave me the courage to persist with this work.
I also thank my second advisor Prof. Dr. Hermann Schwengel for his help during thesis
process.
Sincere thanks go to my parents, Mrs. Masoumeh Momenzadeh and Mr. Mohammad Reza
Najjarzadeh who always encourage and inspire me in learning and self-education and support
me in all aspects of my life.
I also very appreciate constant support of my good friends both in Iran and Germany who
expressed their interest in my research and followed all the stages of its progress.
vi
Table of contents
German abstract……………….……………………………………...……………………….iii
English abstract……………….……………..………………………………………………...iv
Dedication…………………………………………………….………………………………..v
Acknowledgment………………………………………………………….………………..…vi
Table of contents…………………...……………………………………….……………..….vii
List of tables………………………………………………………………………………...…ix
1. Introduction………………………………………………………………..………………...1
1.1 Overview…………………………………………………………………………………...2
1.2 Problem description………………………………………………………………………..7
1.3 Theoretical framework……….……………………………………………….…………..10
1.4 Lifestyle as an index of cultural globalization…………………………………………....13
1.5 Thesis structure………………………………………………………………………...…16
2. Definitions and theories……….………………………………………………………...…18
2.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….19
2.2 Definition of globalization…………………………………….………………………….19
2.3 Theoretical frameworks…….…………………………………………………………….32
3. Methodology…………………………………………………………………………….…50
3.1 Research method………………………………………………………………………….51
3.2 Methods of collecting data...……………………….……………………………………..65
3.3 Ethnographic and sociological Analysis……………………………………………….…69
3.4 Analysis method…………………………………………………………………………..77
vii
4. Isfahan city and its rural area………………………………………………………………79
4.1 Overview……………………………………………………………………………….…80
4.2 Location and area………………………………………………………………………....86
4.3 Demography of the region………………………………………………………………..89
5. Lifestyle indices and differences amongst target groups…………………………………100
5.1 Overview………………………………………………………………………………...101
5.2 Food as a main cultural indicator………………………………………………………..103
5.3 Industrial revolution and media in globalization era……………..……………………...107
5.4 Globalization and the clothing industry…..………………......…………………………112
5.5 Religions in globalized world………………………………………………………...…116
5.6 Leisure change after World War II……………………………………………………...120
6. Theories of cultural globalization and discourse on Iranian society …………………….126
6.1 Are there any differences in lifestyle indices?……..……………………………………127
6.2 Adjusting cultural globalization theory to the case study region………………………..131
6.3 Iran, globalization and modernity……………………………………………………….139
6.4 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………....143
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………....146
Appendix 1………………………………………………………………………………..…160
Appendix 2…………………………………………………………………………………..198
Appendix 3…………………………………………………………………………………..201
viii
List of table
4-1 Population...........................................................................................................................90
4-2 Population growth...............................................................................................................90
4-3 Age construction.................................................................................................................91
4-4 Family size..........................................................................................................................93
4-5 Relative population density................................................................................................94
4-6 Bio density..........................................................................................................................95
4-7 Labor density......................................................................................................................95
4-8 Active population................................................................................................................98
4-9 Employee distribution.........................................................................................................99
4-10 Unemployed numbers.......................................................................................................99
ix
Chapter 1
Introduction
2
Introduction
1.1 Overview
Globalization is a phrase used to explain the multifaceted and interconnected nature of today’s
world. This includes the shifting nature of social relationships as affected by changes in the
world’s social, cultural, economic, and technological forces. Scholars in a diversity of fields have
surveyed the effects of globalization on societies, groups and individuals to provide insight into
the effects of these shifting global forces.
By considering the significance of region and nationhood or the local is essential in
understanding the role of globalization and the global in the lives of individuals. Globalization
has local and global demonstration and has resulted in the expansion of global forms of effect and
power on the one hand, and the simultaneous strengthening of bonds to local sites and groups.
Globalism and localism need not be mutually exclusive to each other and the simultaneous
expansion of the global and the local is important to understand when discoursing the topic of
globalization (Roberts, 2008, 1).1
Globalization has indubitably caused local, national, and international sections to meet and
intertwine in ways that have historically been unimaginable. The discourse of globalization has
become widespread around the world with ongoing discussions surrounding its economic,
cultural, technological, and political aspects and implications (Marginson, 1999; Singh, 2004). As
1
For get more information on the relation between the Global,Local see Stuart Hall, “The Local and the Global:
Globalization and Ethnicity” in Culture, Globalization and the World-System: Contemporary Conditions for the
Representation of Identity, ed. Anthony D. King (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997): 19-39; Rob
Wilson and Wimal Dissanayake, “Introduction: Tracking the Global,Local” in Global,Local: Cultural Production and
the Transnational Imaginary, ed. Rob Wilson and Wimal Dissanayake (Durham: Duke University Press, 1996): 1-18;
and Arif Dirlik “The Global in the Local” in Global/Local: Cultural Production and the Transnational Imaginary, ed.
Rob Wilson and Wimal Dissanayake (Durham: Duke University Press, 1996): 21-45.
3
Introduction
such, globalization has been seen through the assortment lenses of finance and trade;
communications and information technologies; international movements of people; the structure
of global societies; linguistic, cultural, and ideological convergence; and world systems of signs
and images (Monkman and Baird, 2002; Marginson, 1999).
As massive as the discourses have been, the term globalization itself has been contested, creating
difficulty to define the terminology in the first place (Salt et al., 2000). Whereas some have
described globalization as standardizing production and consumption leading to efficiency and
wealth for all, others have emphasized on the declining nation-state, the rise of supranational
organizations, homogenization of cultures, intensification global trade and finance, international
social networks, and the growth of communications and transportation athwart time and space
(Kim, 2007, 1).
Many of the scholars claim that globalization is a mere progressive stage in capitalism that began
with the early creation and expansion of nation-states. The traits of global interaction may have
changed, but the general notion of universal communication has remained unaffected. Elements
such as world-wide markets, the banking system, and the spread of monocultural systems have
much earlier roots that date back at least to nineteenth century imperialism (Salt et al., 2000;
Currie and Subotzky, 2000; Marginson, 1999). Contrariwise, others see it as a completely new
phenomenon where the uses of the term, its ideological foundations, and the intensified
compression of space and time have brought dramatic changes to contemporary society (Kim,
2007, 2).
4
Introduction
Carnoy and Rhoten (2000) have defined and illustrated globalization as a multi-dimensional,
multidirectional, and multi-level process. It has a strong base in economics, influenced by
multinational organizations and transnational capitalists (TNCs). Thus, individuals experience
globalization in multifaceted and uneven ways (Singh, 2004). Increasing information and
technology networks, transnational capital, high group interactions and migration, and an
interconnected, competitive international economy are some of the ways individuals encounter
globalization (Hoppers, 2000; Blackmore, 2000; Carnoy,2000).2
Confronting with globalization and its characteristics does not come without further cautions.
Monkman and Baird (2002) have claimed that while we have focused on what globalization is,
we have failed to explain, in detail, how it works. Except that we make clear connections between
globalization and the trends it creates, we run the risk of misapplying the very concept of
globalization. Globalization should not be explained as an isolated independent force. Instead, the
aim and focus should be on the interpenetration and mediating influence of the global and the
local forces (Kim, 2007, 2).
An important issue that is often raised in globalization debates derives from its perceived impact
on local culture. It is feared that as globalization spreads, it will obliterate local cultures
everywhere by homogenizing societies across the world. Actually, this is maybe the only point on
which most countries, except United State, agree. The French, the Germans, even the British, also
2
Some believe such changes have damaged the world’s prospects by colliding with commitment to international
peace and promotion of international standards and norms. The wide gap between democracy and individualistic
capitalism has caused concerns about the application of democratic principles and practices on both international and
local levels (Jones, 2000). 2 People may now entrust globalization and transnational capital to bring peace where
nation-sates have failed (Hoppers, 2000).
5
Introduction
have many problems to admit American cultural penetration that globalization demands. The
loyal international customers, cutting across fragments of class, society and population, of big
American multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola and McDonalds is evidence of the
immense power of corporations to distribute a global consumer culture (Tandon, 2004).
Another issue is about globalization and culture in local level; how we can define global culture
in the local level? It is a way of life - an indigenous way of life - that includes clothing, media
usage, religion, language, social activity, family behaviors, eating habits, and so on. There is
authentic concern that globalization of culture, with its equally huge advertising and massive
force, is able to affects almost anywhere of the world, even small villages, and exert strong
influence on local character and lifestyles.
Therefore, this thesis is going to investigate effects of cultural globalization on lifestyles in Iran.
The core issue will be a comparison of urban and rural settings that have differing exposure to
technologies, agents and flows of globalization. Urban and rural lifestyles will be socially
differentiated following the example of Pierre Bourdieu (1984). After this, the impact of different
aspects of globalization will be defined and linked to changes in people’s lifestyles. Finally, the
investigation will focus on the relation of cultural globalization and socially differentiated
lifestyles. The investigation includes original empirical research choosing Isfahan and the
surrounding rural areas as a case-study. This region is a cultural zone in center of Iran.
Globalization is defined here as the widening, deepening and speeding up of worldwide
interconnectedness in all aspects of contemporary social life (Held and McGrew, 1999, 2). In the
1980s, globalization has been recognized as a complex of changes that has more intensity and
6
Introduction
depth than before and was considered from several points of view. Some theorists believe that
these changes will propel world to the Americanization or equalization (Ritzer, 2004). On the
other hand the others believe that globalization rather entails localization (Watson, 1997), while
yet others speak of glocalization (Robertson 1995). The thesis will argue that all of these
processes can be observed but that they correspond to different tendencies of globalization and to
different regions. In addition, Boike Rehbein (2007) discusses this argument in his book
Globalization, culture, and society in Laos, he emphasizes that the debate on globalization
became serious after the collapse of the Soviet Union and has spread into all disciplines and
majors in the social sciences. It has elevated many questions. Is the world becoming more
homogeneous or more heterogeneous “McDonaldization versus glocalization”? Is globalization
driven by economic forces “economism versus culturalism”? Does globalization mean
Americanization and neoliberalism “empire versus multiple centers”? Is there just one
globalization or are there various tendencies at work? Will there be a ‘clash of civilizations’?
When did globalization start? These questions have led to the formulation of more specific and
differentiated discussions. Positions have had to give up their claim to universal truth and specify
their field of reference. This process has yielded a number of new theoretical notions and a
multifarious image of globalization(s).
Then Rehbein continues his arguments in importance of globalization in plural and specific case
studies; he mentions that while the concept of globalization is problematic, the debates around it
seem to have reached a certain level of consensus. First, there cannot be any doubt that the world
is growing closer in many aspects: financial markets, international institutions, trade, media and
7
Introduction
telecommunication and have rapidly increased to a so far unknown degree. Second, different
flows and tendencies that might be labeled ‘globalization’ have existed for centuries or even
millennia. The third reason is that the discussions on globalization are themselves a part of
globalization, including an increasing number of voices from all parts of the world. Fourth, there
are different kinds and tendencies of contemporary globalization, from globalization to
localization, from cultural to economic globalization, from Americanization to intensifying
South– South relations. For this reason, it makes sense to speak of globalizations in the plural or
to define exactly what type of globalization is meant in a particular case (Rehbein, 2007, 2).
1.2 Problem description
Nederveen Pieterse (2004) has explained the relation between globalization and culture, he
demonstrates that globalization and culture is a live-wire theme in continuous fluctuation —in
lifestyles, cross-cultural encounters, migration, global-local relations, music, media, movies,
marketing, fashion, cuisine, and so forth. As the dynamics of globalization change—and in the
twenty-first century they are changing significantly, even dramatically—so do not just the tides
but the shorelines of culture.
These trends show us that we are facing massive flows of cultural globalization in the world;
which could have consequences on the whole world in general and on Iran in specific.
In general because of cultural globalization people all around the world are going to be more
linked during the time, even that they do not want to be connected. The speed of flowing
information and money is more quickly than ever because of same trend which is globalization.
Everyone can easily find information on all topics and issues. The goods and services which are
8
Introduction
available one part of the world then increasingly available all over the world. International travel
is happening more frequently and International communication is rapidly increasing. Technology
in all aspects has now created the possibility and even the probability of a global culture.
Satellites, TV, Internet, fax machines, are removing cultural boundaries. Global entertainment
corporations are forming the opinions, pictures and even dreams of ordinary people, wherever
they live in the world. This intensification of values, norms, and culture tends to promote
Western ideals of capitalism, the questions that come up after this trend are: Will local cultures
unavoidably fall victim to this global “consumer” culture? Will global language which is English
wipe out all other languages? Will consumer values overcome peoples’ thought of
communication and social solidarity? And will a common culture lead the way to greater shared
values and cultural unity? (Global Policy Forum, 2005).
In this thesis, I will explore these questions with regard to a specific case, which is Iran. I will
analyze what is happening to Iranian society and people especially after the Islamic revolution in
1979, because globalization and media technologies like internet, satellite, television, video,
cinema and radio as well as new forms of consumption have created new conditions in Iran
during the past two decades that nobody even the central government can control these trends and
conditions. Along with these new conditions, global cultures and new glocalized subcultures
emerged. This leads to the precise thesis questions: What is happening with glocalized
subcultures, local cultures and established identities in the process of contemporary
globalization? Does this process tend to unify local, national and global cultures, or does it revive
local and national cultures in resistance to global culture(s)? This is one main question that has
9
Introduction
raised in globalization discourses during decades, another question that has emerged here is the
differences of cultural globalization effects on the social groups with different encountering of
globalization, because each social group can have different exposure of globalization and been
affected differently by these trends, in addition, we want to understand that if there is there any
different on this aspect in rural and urban areas or not? These questions in cultural globalization
discourses lead us to the hypotheses of this dissertation.
By following the thesis questions and look at the problem description two hypothetical questions
could be emerge. After doing the fieldwork and analyzing we examine them and understand if
they can be confirm or reject.
The guiding hypothesis is that the relation of local, national and global cultures depends on the
contact with global flows on the one hand and on social positions on the other hand.
The second hypothesis is that seems there are differences between rural and urban areas in trends
of cultural globalization in lifestyle indices.
Complex of globalization changes occurs in the entire world and affects all aspects of life.
Although intensity and depth of these changes is not the same, there is nowhere out of these
effects and results. The main points, objectives and arguments for this thesis have divided in two
main and secondary objectives.
Isfahan and its villages as a cultural region encounter globalization. This region is in the center of
Iran; Isfahan city is the third big city in Iran and is one of the most important cities in Iran. The
region also includes rural areas which I used them as my case study region; this case study is
completely introduced in the fourth chapter. Main goal in this thesis is to survey differences of
10
Introduction
cultural globalization via lifestyle indices on people in Isfahan city and the villages around it; and
understanding that which kind of cultural globalization theories is fit with the region of study and
can explain the differences in rural and urban areas and also among different social groups in the
region. These goals help us to reach also secondary objectives for this research. The thesis
demonstrates a description of socio-cultural condition in Isfahan city and its rural area and also
surveys effects of globalization on people culture and its reflection. This research also
concentrate on comparing effects of cultural globalization among people in Isfahan and its rural
areas inhabitants according to the gender, marital status, profession and language ability.
1.3 Theoretical framework:
As Jan Nederveen Pieterse demonstrates on his book Globalization and culture, there are three
different perspectives on cultural differentialism. In this thesis we will examine these theories and
will find out which one can illustrate our study region, we will also use other theories such as
culture industry from Horkheimer and Adorno when it is necessary and combine them with this
theoretical framework to get better results for the explanation of case study region and its current
situation. The combination of these theories is used to reach to the final point of the thesis in the
sixth chapter.
The main frame of theoretical part of the thesis is based on these three theories. According to
these theories and Pierre Bourdieu’s work – Distinction (1984) – we arrange the interview
questions and observation sheet, the second step is going to the fieldwork and doing the research,
then we analyze the data and will understand which type of these theories is fit to the region of
study.
11
Introduction
In this part we take a brief look to these theories and most famous theorists and their important
work, in chapter two and theoretical framework we will explain them completely.
1.3.1 Cultural differentialism or lasting difference
Clash of civilization:
In 1993 Samuel Huntington, as director of the institute for strategic studies at Harvard University,
published a controversial article in which he argued that “a crucial, indeed a central, aspect of
what global politic is likely to be in the coming years…will be the clash of civilizations…With
the end of cold war, international politics moves out of its Western phase, and its centerpiece
becomes the interaction between the West and none-Western civilization and among noneWestern civilization.”(Nederveen Pieterse, 2004, 44).
Later on Huntington in 1996 expanded his thesis in a book the clash of civilization and remarking
of the world order. The central theme of this book is that culture and cultural identities, which at
the broadest level are civilization identities, are shaping the patterns of cohesion, disintegration,
and conflict in the post-Cold War world (Huntington, 1996, 20).
1.3.2 Cultural convergence or growing sameness
McDonaldization:
The McDonaldization thesis is a version of the recent idea of the world wide homogenization of
societies through the influence of multinational corporations. McDonaldization, according to the
sociologist George Ritzer, is “the process whereby the principles of the fast-food restaurant are
coming to dominate more and more of American society as well as the rest of the world”.
12
Introduction
Ritzer has a book titled The McDonaldization of Society. In chapter 8 of the book, writer
discusses how McDonaldization and the broader process of globalization are spreading more
massively and more intensely than before into assorted social institutions such as education,
medicine, the criminal justice system and more.
While McDonaldization is, in itself, an important type of social change, he considers its
relationship to what many observers consider to be the most important and far-reaching change of
our time- globalization (Ritzer, 2004, 159).
These are variations on the theme of cultural imperialism, in the form of consumerist
universalism or global media influence. This line of thinking has been well-known in media
studies according to which effect of American media makes for global cultural synchronization
(Nederveen Pieterse, 2004, 51).
1.3.3 Cultural hybridization or ongoing mixing
Hybridization: the Rhizome of Culture:
Jan Nederveen Pieterse in the book titled Globalization and Culture argues that Mixing has been
perennial as a process but new as an imaginary. As a perspective, it has differences basically
from the preceding two paradigms. It does not build on an older theorem but it could theoretically
open new windows. It is profoundly excluded from the other two paradigms.
Hybridization is a solution to the cultural differentialism of racial and nationalism thesis, because
it takes as its point of departure precisely those experiences that have been evicted, marginalized,
tabooed in cultural differentialism. It overthrows nationalism because its privileges border
crossing. It overthrows identity politics such as ethnic or other claims to purity and authenticity
13
Introduction
because it starts from fuzziness of boundaries. If modernity stands from an ethos of order and
neat separation by night boundaries, hybridization reflects a postmodern sensibility of cut
‘N’mix, transgression subversion.
Then he continues his argue also not only about urban regions but also in rural areas as well:
Is the hybridization of cultural styles then typically an urban phenomenon, a consequence of
urbanization and industrialization? If we look into the rural area and countryside almost
anywhere in the world, we find tracks of cultural mixing: the corps planted, planting methods and
agricultural techniques, implements and inputs used (seeds, fertilizer, irrigation methods, credit)
are usually of translocal origin. The ecologies of agriculture might be local, but the cultural
resources are now translocal. Agriculture is a premier side of globalization (Nederveen Pieterse,
2004, 55).
1.4 lifestyle as an index of cultural globalization
Since method is a basic step for reaching objectives, suitable methods must be used in each case.
Because of vastness in culture and its ambiguity and as lifestyle is detectable, in this thesis we
will use lifestyle instead of culture. Indeed, lifestyle indicates culture in an illustrative way. On
the other hand, analysis of lifestyle is a way for examining globalization especially in cultural
dimension (Fazeli, 2003, 154).
The project proposed here will draw on Bourdieu’s study of lifestyles in France. Bourdieu (1984)
established certain indicators like food, music, film, cloth and house decoration that expressed
class differences and active distinctions between people in a nation state. He explained the
differences and distinctions on the basis of “habitus” – stable bundles of dispositions to act in a
14
Introduction
certain way – that are formed according to social origin and the life course. Bourdieu found that
people have rather clear class habitus that correspond to rather clear class positions which in turn
rather clearly correspond to the social origin. These clear correspondences disintegrate with
globalization. First, people can choose lifestyle elements that originate outside the nation state.
Second, people’s habitus is not only and always formed within a nation state. Third, not all
elements of a lifestyle relate to the national arena and to distinction within the nation state.
For these reasons, the thesis first has to establish indicators for lifestyles within the more
traditional rural society, within the Iranian national context and within more globalized contexts.
It also has to establish indicators for the impact of cultural globalization. These indicators will be
established by a combination of observation, qualitative interviews and available statistics.
After the establishment of indicators, a survey will be carried out that serves as a test. After the
evaluation of the test, a combination of survey, observation and short interviews will be chosen
closely following the example of Bourdieu (1984).
1.4.1 Lifestyle indices
Forasmuch as culture has ambiguity and enfolds many aspects, we will try to use lifestyle instead
of culture. As is said before, lifestyle shows culture in an illustrative way. Therefore, with finding
suitable indices for this concept we can examine cultural situation in Isfahan city and rural areas
around it and survey effects of cultural globalization on it. The possible indicators are:
-
Cultural consumption: reason for choosing this index is the less cost and the ability to
select them. Some of the cultural consumptions are watching movie, television, listening
music, internet etc.
15
Introduction
-
Food: all people eat food but the kind of food, kind of eating and place where they eat are
different and they depend on local, national and global culture.
-
Clothing: people through clothes show skeleton of their culture and indicate their
dependency to local, national or global culture (Fakohi, 2002, 136).
-
Free times: these index of lifestyle shows people activities in their time. The way of
spending these times is a symbol of culture.
-
House decoration: house decoration is private area and people imply their culture through
decoration.
-
Familial behaviors (marriage, choosing spouse, naming children): globalization can affect
this index and shows people culture.
1.4.2 Data collection
In this thesis we use qualitative research method with interview and observation.
Interview: one of the most important instruments for collecting data in qualitative research
method is interview and with its helping, we can find the concept of behaviors of people. One of
the clearest samples of using this instrument is Douglas Holt’s interview with American and his
effort to find cultural products usage as their lifestyle (Holt, 1997).
The target groups in this thesis are the people in active age between 20 to 40 years old and also
with the education level between high school Diploma and Master. Their monthly income is
approximately 400 to 700 Euros per months.
Observation: another method that helps to describe specific community’s lifestyle is
observation. This description need to have compatibility with the view of target group from their
16
Introduction
own life (McNill, 1997, 136). This technique needs systematic attention and recording the events,
demeanor and subjects that exist in social place in research area (Marshal and Rasmussen, 2002,
111). By using this technique we can see visible patterns in house decoration, marriage and other
visible socio-cultural characteristics of people in the study area.
Observation will be held in houses in both rural area and urban area of the field-work. It yields
for investigating house decorations and people’s class. Also participant observation from
matchmaking ceremony in both rural and urban areas is planned.
1.5 Thesis structure
According to our data and demands this thesis includes 6 chapters:
1- Introduction the first chapter of the thesis is introduction that includes Problem
description, hypotheses, objectives, literature review and theoretical Framework, lifestyle
indices and Structure of thesis.
2- Definitions and Theories, second chapter belongs to the definitions and theories. We
explain globalization in three economical, political and cultural dimensions and then
illustrate the theoretical framework of the thesis.
3- Research method is chapter three that we take a look to the research method and the way
that we use to collect data and analyze them. This part are included in the chapters:
research method, qualitative research, participant observation and interview methods,
biases and issues, data collection methods, observation and interview number, contact,
connection, interviews locations, interview techniques, analysis of the sociological,
17
Introduction
ethnographic relationship, interviews’ interaction, relationship with the interviewees,
participant observation account, difficulties and obstacles, analysis method.
4- Isfahan city and its rural area, in chapter four we describe the fieldwork region in both
rural and urban area. At the outset, we explain the Isfahan city with an overview to the
region, furthermore we precise the economical, and socio-cultural structure of the region
to get an outline to the region. In this part we use the statistical information from public
census in Iran and use the table and map to clarify the information.
5- Lifestyle indices and differences amongst target groups, this chapter includes the final
analyzing; In this part we will describe the indices and their relation to globalization and
then will find the differences in the target groups –which are: gender, marital status,
profession and English language speakers- these differences will be shown amongst these
groups in particular and rural and urban areas dwellers in general.
6- Cultural globalization theories and Iranian society discourse; in final chapter we will
examine hypothesizes that are used in the thesis and find out which kind of cultural
globalization theory can be fit and explain the region of study; the final point of the thesis
is also explained in this chapter. Then we will illustrate the relation between Iran as a
traditional country and globalization- localization modern-tradition process in the last
hundred years. At the end of this chapter also conclusion part is written.
Chapter 2
Definitions and Theories
19
Definitions and Theories
In this chapter I would like to explain my theoretical framework which is used in this thesis, but
before going through the framework, I will describe the globalization theories itself and the
dimensions of globalization which are economic, political and cultural globalization, and among
them I choose cultural globalization and cultural differentialism theories for the theoretical
framework as Jan Nederveen Pieterse has explained them in his book Globalization and Culture:
Global Mélange.
2.1 Introduction
Globalization is a contested phrase that suggests a range of picture and responses depending on
the context in which it is used and who is using it. By the Googling the definition of
“globalization” we can see About 18,300,000 hits. That result alone signals the difficulty of
trying to define a phrase that has multiple explanations and interpretations, is used in a massive
of ways by different people for different purposes and the history, existence and influence of
which is fiercely debated. While it is impossible to find a single definition that encompasses all
the interests encapsulated in the phrase, multiple common threads--economic integration,
technology, socio-cultural exchange, and political shifts- are woven into the fabric of most
definitions. These common ideas offer a structure for deconstructing the term and coming to a
more immoderate understanding of the implications and potential impacts of globalization (Millar
Wood, 2008, 13).
2.2 Definition of globalization
The phrase globalization has been used since the early 1960s. Academic use of the word only
began in the early 1980s, but has become increasingly prevalent in a number of disciplines.
20
Definitions and Theories
Publications on the issue of globalization started to appear in the first half of the 1908s, at a rate
of one to three per year (Busch, 2000). The term began taking part regularly in the mainstream
press in the late 1980s, beginning primarily as a reference for the expanding free market but more
recently including more political and cultural references and, more specifically, has begun
appearing in reference to specific events, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) protests
in Seattle and the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Although it appears that the use of the phrase has intensified constantly in recent decades,
globalization remains what would be called a shifting notion in that there is not a universally
accepted definition of the term (Busch, 2000). Not only has globalization been considered “the
concept of the 1990s, a key idea by which we realize the transition of the human society into the
third millennium” (Waters, 1995, 1), it has also been criticized as “largely a myth” (Hirst and
Thompson, 1996, 2). Some definitions that illustrate the huge diversity of understandings of
globalization, ranging from strictly economical to relatively all encompassing, include:
Globalization refers to a world in which, after allowing for exchange rate and default
risk, there is a single international rate of interest (Brittan, 1996).
…globalization means the partial erasure of the distinctions separating nation currency
areas and national systems of financial regulation (Strange, 1995, 294).
Globalization refers to the multiplicity of linkages and interconnections between the
states and societies which make up the modern world system. It describes the process
by which events, decisions, and activities in one part of the world can come to have
significant consequences for individuals and communities in quite distant parts of the
globe (McGrew, 1992, 23).
A social process in which the constraints of geography on social and cultural
arrangements recede and in which people become increasingly aware that they are
receding (Waters, 1995, 3).
21
Definitions and Theories
…a series of national and supranational organisms united under a single logic of rule
(Hardt and Negri, 2000, xii).
Globalization is “action at distance” (Giddens, 1994, 4).
In addition, there are some globalization definitions that I have found them in several
scientific websites:
Development of extensive worldwide patterns of economic relationships between
nations (www.investorwiz.com/glossary.htm).
The movement toward markets or policies that transcend national borders
(www.wcit.org/tradeis/glossary.htm).
The trend away from distinct national economic units and toward one huge global
market (enbv.narod.ru/text/Econom/ib/str/261.html).
The increasing economic, cultural, demographic, political, and environmental
interdependence
of
different
hhhknights.com/geo/4/agterms.htm)
places
around
the
world
(formerly
at
.
A process by which nationality becomes increasingly irrelevant in global production
and consumption (formerly at www.agtrade.org/glossary_search.cfm)
.
The inexorable integration of markets, transportation systems, and communication
systems to a degree never witnessed before—in a way that is enabling corporations,
countries, and individuals to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper
than ever before.
(http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/longitudesprologue.htm).
The worldwide integration of humanity and the compression of both the temporal and
spatial dimensions of planet wide human interaction… It has aggravated many of the
region’s most chronic problems—such as the pronounced degree of economic
exploitation and social inequality that have characterized Latin America since it came
under European colonial domination in the sixteenth century (Richard L. Harris, 1995).
The freedom for my group of companies to invest where it wants when it wants, to
produce what it wants, to buy and sell where it wants, and support the fewest
restrictions possible coming from labor laws and social conventions (Percy Barnevik,
2004).
22
Definitions and Theories
Globalization is many things, and much has been written about it and said. But throw
all the tomes and studies and placards into a giant try works, and you’ll render two
simple arguments:
Globalization is good because it spreads what is good in America, such as a liberal
approach to business, and McDonald’s.
Globalization is bad because it spreads what is worst about America, such as a liberal
approach to business, and McDonald’s (Barry Lynn, 2002).
This list of definitions is by no means inclusive, but it obviously determines that globalization
means different things to different people. Some consider it a predominantly economics-based
phenomenon while others suggest that it is a worldwide system of hegemony. Many suggest that
it is misunderstood and ill defined. Despite such cynicism regarding the nature of globalization
rhetoric, it abounds and, as such, begs for both important and critical analysis in order to better
understand the contexts in which it is discussed and the major themes in those discussions
(Teubner, 2004, 8).
As we can see globalization offers different definitions which instantly surface the tensions in
describing a “process” that is so multifaceted. “Nevertheless, most definitions of globalization
address at least three common elements of globalization (Burbules and Torres, 2000; Mebrahtu
et. al., 2000; Stromquist and Monkman, 2000; Carnoy and Rhoten, 2002; Held and McGrew,
2003; Lauder et. al., 2006; Nissanke and Thorbecke, 2007)” (Milar Wood, 2008, 13). This three
elements or dimensions are economic, political and cultural globalization that each of them has
different meaning and immense scope; also Rehbein and Schwengel (2008) in their book
Theorien der Globalisierung have discussed different dimensions of globalization.
For getting better result of each dimension we need to explain and define them according to two
contradiction scholars who are globalists and skeptics. Hytrek and Zentgraf (2008) define
23
Definitions and Theories
globalist and skeptics in this way: globalists as those who consider contemporary globalization a
real and significant historical development, while the skeptics are those who understand
‘globalization’ as primarily an ideological or mythical construction that has marginal explanatory
value (Hytrek and Zentgraf, 2008, 35). In this thesis globalist is someone who has this opinion
that the world is already globalized and has a positive opinion about globalization vis-à-vis
skeptic is someone who is taking a critical position in globalization discourses and has a negative
attitude on globalization in all the dimensions. Hence we explain both attitudes in economic,
political and cultural globalization.
2.2.1 Economic Globalization
The commencement for most definitions of globalization is economic globalization. Viewed
through this prism, globalization is understood as a creation of a globally integrated economy
(world market system) characterized by increased openness to, and interconnectedness of,
international trade, capital, and labor movements operating in “real time” and integrated on a
global level. Globalization is reflected in the magnitude of foreign direct investment and global
trade, foreign capital exchange, exploratory capital trends, and the reach of multinational
corporations plus a new dependency on technology and information, i.e., the Knowledge
Economy. While these factors of the global economy have come together at other times in
history, the rapidity and intensity of the changes and the new linkages between so many countries
make this period somewhat different. Burbules and Torres (2000) describe globalization in
economic notion as: a transition from Fordist to post-Fordist forms of workplace organization; a
rise in internationalized advertising and consumption patterns; a decrease in barriers to the free
24
Definitions and Theories
flow of goods, workers and investments across national borders, and, congruently, new pressures
on the roles of worker and consumer in society.
The existence of a global economy is the most obvious and touchable concept of globalization. It
would not exist, or exist so strongly, without the advances in information and communication
technologies that speed transactions around the world. Yet, not all understand the alleged
advantages of economic globalization (Millar Wood, 2008, 24).
Globalization scholars recognize the swift development of the global economy and its foundation
in the principles of neoliberal economics protected in the Washington Consensus, which have
established a framework for a broad range of policy decisions that fostered the development of a
global economy.1 The key tenets of neoliberalism are trade and financial liberalization,
deregulation and competition, elimination of barriers to direct foreign investment (minimal
government interference with the economy), decreases in public spending, promotion of
privatization and decentralization. These actions came to be the hegemonic policy discourse in
the 1980s and 1990s at the same time the Internet was coming on stream and making it possible
to handle and take on many of these economic policies rapidly and in coincidence with other
entities and countries around the world (Millar Wood, 2008, 25).
(Friedman, 2005; Held and McGrew, 2003; Monkman and Baird, 2002; Morrow and Torres in
Burbules and Torres, 2000; Rizvi and Lingard 2000; Welmond, 2002) “Neoliberal policies
1
John Williamson has summarized the Washington Consensus in 1990. It consists of 10 economic policies or
principles that should be adopted for major economic reforms especially in poor countries. These included fiscal
discipline, public- expenditure priorities in education and health, tax reform to broaden the tax base and cut marginal
tax rates, positive but moderate market-determined interest rates, a competitive exchange rate, trade liberalization,
openness to foreign direct investment, promotion of privatization, deregulation, and protection of property rights.
(Fischer, 2003, p. 6; Lauder et. al., 2006)
25
Definitions and Theories
simplified the globalization of nation-states’ policies by creating forms necessary for state
restructuring” (Astiz, 2002, 69).
Globalists in economic globalization discuss that globalization is the central power shaping the
contemporary world instruction. (Castells, 2000; Held and McGrew, 2003) They point to the
expansion of multinational corporations and changes in the global division of labor. Globalists
also note the achievement of new players (e.g. India, China, and Brazil) in the global marketplace
whose entry has been facilitated by the globalization. They acknowledge that states that are, or
can become, well integrated into the global economy, will benefit from globalization. Weaker
states (e.g. most of Africa), however, that cannot adjust their economy and whose population
does not have the technological, scientific, or management skills to jump onto the knowledge,
information-based economy train will be left behind. (Friedman, 2005; Held and McGrew, 2003)
Globalists also acknowledge that globalization constrains government economic policy options.
However, not all globalists have acknowledged the Washington Consensus. There is a division
between those who see the neoliberal policy set as natural, benign, and essential for development
and those who critique neoliberal policies as destructive and inherently unequal. The second
group understands the existence of economic globalization but believes integration should
influence more to development. This is a debate about who benefits from globalization and how
(Millar Wood, 2008, 26).
Skeptics on the issue of economic globalization, on the other hand, look at globalization
somehow differently. They see the world as less economically integrated and ascribe whatever
economic expansion has occurred to regionalization (e.g. regional trade agreements) and the
26
Definitions and Theories
domination of a few regional economic units namely the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Pacific.
Skeptics persist to believe that nation-states are the central regulators of the global economy and
those MNCs, while playing a central role, are not as powerful as globalists make them out to be.
Moreover, they reinforce the long-standing primary commodity-manufacturing relationship
between the south and the north. Skeptics discus on the Marxist debate that present trading
relationships are really a new phase of capitalist imperialism and that only marginal and tiny
changes have occurred in the international division of labor. (Held and McGrew, 2003)
All sides acknowledge that the benefits of an expanding global economy whether called
globalization or regionalization are likely disproportionately circulated. Poor countries
(particularly such as India and the Asian tigers) have gained some benefits from globalization but
“structural factors and policies within the world economy and national economies have impeded
the full transmission of the benefits…of globalization for poverty reduction” (Nissanke and
Thorbecke, 2007, 1).
In order to magnetize investments and participate in the global economy, massive number
developing countries tossed aside their “welfare state” approach and undertook structural
adjustment programs (SAP) on the advice of the World Bank and other international financial
institutions. The purpose of the SAPs was to improve the economic and investment environment
making their economies, allegedly, more well-organized and productive. These amendments
included reductions in government expenditures – for instance in education to reduce budget
deficits and achieve macroeconomic stabilization, decentralization of central government
functions, and the privatization of state industries and some public sector services such as health
27
Definitions and Theories
and education. These kinds of policies have usually had serious consequences, especially for the
poor who relied on the state to provide free services. For instance, the privatization of public
services and particularly the imposition of user fees often increase the cost of providing services
previously provided by the government (Millar Wood, 2008, 27).
Trade liberalization (advocated by supranational financial organizations) is another essential
component of SAPs. It can be beneficial and help to deepen a country’s integration into the world
economy if a country has valuable products (natural or manufactured) to sell and a regulatory
environment that effectively governs foreign investment (Millar Wood, 2008, 27).
Uncontrolled market-opening policies might let foreign investment to take advantage of local
businesses, workers, and farmers. Trade liberalization can also be harmful to a country’s
economy, especially for the poor. The removal of trade barriers can decrease tariff revenues that,
in turn, reduce funds which could be available for development. It can also lead to a rise in the
cost of manufactured imports (Millar Wood, 2008, 28). A study of value chains that linked to
global markets for three products (horticulture, garments, and textiles) in four developing
countries (Bangladesh, Kenya, South Africa, and Vietnam) provided “evidence of the impact of
globalization on employment and economic opportunities for poor people.” While unskilled labor
benefited significantly from increased exports in Vietnam and Bangladesh, in Kenya and South
Africa the “skilled workers (as provide by education levels) benefited from globalization while
unskilled workers were adversely affected” (Nissanke and Thorbecke, 2006, 4).
At the end, the technology divide has a profound influence on how globalization affects the
economic well-being of different nation-states. Because new technology is heavily biased in
28
Definitions and Theories
favor of skilled and educated labor and often substitutes for unskilled labor that is in great
abundance in developing countries, it may exacerbate existing inequalities both between and
within countries as those without access or the skills to use technology effectively lose out.
“Nations and regions that do not have advanced and developed ICT infrastructures and a wide
increase of usage are likely to be disadvantaged economically because they do not have access to
the vast pool of knowledge and information or enjoy the speed of communication and knowledge
transfer that more fortuitous nations have” (Lauder et. al., 2006, 32).
2.2.2 Political globalization
Political globalization reflects the variety of changes in the political situation resulting from the
emergence of supranational governance via regional (e.g. European Union) and global (e.g.
United Nations, World Bank) organizations that exercise economic and/or political power
directly or indirectly. They do this by prioritizing major forms of development assistance and/or
through international agreements and conventions (e.g. Education for All and Millennium
Development Goal declarations, environmental treaties, Doha round, human rights instruments,
etc.). An array of financial mechanisms (including the existence of global networks of
companies) and benefit groups whose legitimacy may not be universally acknowledged, but
whose existence invites collective action or at least a structure for it, also exert influence beyond
their geographical base (Millar Wood, 2008, 16).
This has changed the power forces both between and within so-called “developed” (largely
northern hemisphere, industrial-based countries) and “developing” (largely southern hemisphere,
agrarian-based) countries. The developed countries and their surrogates, the multinational firms
29
Definitions and Theories
and corporations, have largely set the terms of engagement and parameters of discourse with
many of the developing countries via the supranational institutions and the economic mechanisms
(e.g. terms of trade, development loans, foreign aid) which they control. In this sense,
globalization is often viewed as a process that has shrunk the role of the nation-state, though this
point is contested. The phrase institutional globalization is depleted to acquire the convergence of
policies and structures that are mediated by this new group of supranational actors.
“Globalization pushes toward institutional uniformity, but considerable local adjustment and
modification of overall trends mark the actual processes of globalization” (Astiz, 2002, 68).
Globalization’s impact in the political realm is also contested. Globalists in the discourses of
political globalization watch globalization as promoting liberal democratic political models and
schemas that are consonant with the “West” and view the expansion of supranational institutions
of governance as a positive force. They would discuss that the rise of so-called “global
governance” arrangements (international organizations, intergovernmental organizations and
international NGOs), their collaboration on “global issues” (e.g. environment, HIV/AIDS) and
the growth of economic, communication and knowledge networks has weakened the power of the
nation-state. Why the situation is like that; because the expectations, as well as requirements, of
different international organizations and conventions constrain (or maybe, depending on one’s
point of view) the policy options of nation-states (Millar Wood, 2008, 29).
“Not that current nation-states will disappear in their institutional existence but their existence as
power apparatuses is profoundly transformed as they are either bypassed or rearranged in
networks of shared sovereignty formed by national governments, supranational institutions, co-
30
Definitions and Theories
national institutions (such as the European Union, NATO, or NAFTA), regional governments,
local governments, and NGOs, all interacting in a negotiated process of decision making”
(Castells, 2000, 694).
In most important feature, global interconnectedness trumps the individual decision-making
processes for many nation-states, especially those that lack the economic or political power to
configure new relationships on their own (Millar Wood, 2008, 29).
Skeptics on political globalization, on the other hand, do not have these beliefs that globalization
is weakening the power of the nation-state. Rather, they view this era as a time when nationstates are exerting their independence in many locations. Mann argues, for example, that while
international financial institutions may exert some influence over economic decision-making at
the national level, in other arenas such as the environment, nation states “are the only agencies
with dependable regulatory powers over zone, air and space” (Mann, 2001, 8).
2.2.3 Cultural globalization
Cultural and social globalization characterizes a third paradigm through which to view this
“force” in our global society. Advances in transportation, information and communication
technology (mass media, satellite and the Internet) have simplified development of a global
consciousness and informal collective consensus in some areas of culture and society. These
variety of changes have led to major movements of peoples and the fast dispersion of
information, correspondingly, and to convergence of cultural, linguistic, and ideological template
and patterns around the world (i.e. English language dominance, music, fashion styles and
clothing, leisure etc.). Giddens describe globalization as “the intensification of worldwide social
31
Definitions and Theories
relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events
occurring many miles away and vice versa” (Giddens, 2003, 60).
Held and McGrew (2003) discuss on this:
globalization denotes the expanding scale, growing magnitude, speeding up and
deepening impact of interregional flows and patterns of social interaction. It refers to a
shift of transformation in the scale of human social organization that links distant
communities and expands the reach of power relations across the world’s major
regions and continents.
Globalization has had profound effects on social organization and cultural life as well. From a
globalists’ point of view, globalization via the Internet, mass media, ease of travel, supranational
organizations (e.g. NGOs) and conventions, have facilitated the spread of liberal democratic
values and human rights and nurtured the growth of global civil society. “Improvements in
communications and the spread of information were critical to the collapse of the Iron Curtain.
People learned what was happening in other countries and understood that they did not have to
live the way they were living, and the Iron Curtain fell” (Fischer, 2003, 4). They see “cultural
flows as transforming the politics of national identity and the politics of identity more generally”
(Held and McGrew, 2003, 18).
Globalization has increased interactions one-on-one and also via ICT which, in turn, has
intensified opportunities and chances for learning from diverse sources and with diverse content
outside of traditional education programs. (Stromquist and Monkman, 2000; McGinn, 1996)
Cultural globalization has also fostered a certain standardization of cultural practices and
promoted what some call the “McDonaldization” of the world wherein cultural trends and styles,
an almost-common language (English) and consumerism have come to define a sort of global
32
Definitions and Theories
cultural milieu (Rizvi, 2000). On the other side, the market-dominated culture has excluded or
marginalized certain groups and, in this way, cultural globalization has had a negative effect
(Millar Wood, 2008, 30).
Followers of this paradigm argue that globalization has been correlated with the devastation of
cultural identities and “disrupting many local norms and rituals governing such important social
spheres as marriage practices, parent-child relations and the submission of women” (Mann, 2001,
9). Reactions to this range from anger and discontent (e.g. conservative Islamic groups that
eschew the “Western” influences) to those who find ways to resist globalization by promoting
and preserving cultural traditions. Burbules and Torres (2000) use the term “counter
globalization” to explain these movements. They argue that “while globalization is obviously
happening, its form and shape are being determined by patterns of resistance, some with more
progressive intentions than others.” On this topic, skeptics see the world fragmenting into cultural
or ethnic enclaves rather than integrating into a global culture. They assert nationalism and
national identity as the key cultural form that anchors states and their culture and serves as a
safeguard against the attack of global culture (Millar Wood, 2008, 31).
2.3 Theoretical frameworks
Among all of dimensions of globalization I choose cultural globalization. The framework of the
theories will be Jan Nederveen Pieterse category of cultural differentialism.
Pieterse explains that the process of globalization, or the tendency of global interconnectedness,
has developed assorted perceptions and understandings of cultural differences. In response to the
awareness of a shortening global community and cultural diversity there has been a mounting
33
Definitions and Theories
“sensitivity to cultural difference.” Within general global culture there is a mounting salience of
cultural difference that has brought on a self-reflexivity of modernity, which is undertaken by
those that concede the fact that their traditions and culture are at threat or are eroding away. The
advancement of modernity has brought noticeable modifications, wiping out cultural and
biological diversity, causing some to develop feelings of alienation and disenchantment or
physical displacement. Anthony Giddens claims that of self-reflexivity in modernity, which goes
hand-in-hand with globalization, is due to the:
Emergence of new mechanisms of self-identity which are shaped by – yet also shape –
the institutions of modernity. The self is not a passive entity, determined by external
influences; in forging their self-identities, no matter how local their specific contexts of
action, individuals contribute to and directly promote social influences that are global
in their consequences and implications.
Today the notion of cultural identity has changed from the traditional national differences to
alternative forms of identification, for instance gender, ethnic and religious movements, minority
rights, indigenous movements. Nederveen Pieterse explains that there are three paradigms to
“globalization and culture” where cultural differences are recognized within a “self-reflexivity of
modernity”: “clash of civilizations”, “McDonaldization”, “Glocalization and Hybridization”.
Nederveen Pieterse illustrates this category in his book Globalization and culture, Global
mélange:
There are three, and only three, perspectives on cultural difference: cultural
differentialism or lasting difference, cultural convergence or growing sameness, and
cultural hybridization or ongoing mixing. Each of these positions involves particular
theoretical precepts and as such they are paradigms. Each represents a particular
politics of difference—as lasting and immutable, as erasable and being erased, and as
mixing and in the process generating new translocal forms of difference. Each involves
34
Definitions and Theories
different subjectivities and larger perspectives. The first view, according to which
cultural difference is immutable, may be the oldest perspective on cultural difference.
The second, the thesis of cultural convergence, is as old as the earliest forms of
universalism, as in the world religions. Both have been revived and renewed as
varieties of modernism, respectively in its romantic and Enlightenment versions, while
the third perspective, hybridization, refers to a postmodern sensibility of traveling
culture (Pieterse, 2004, 44).
In this part we discuss the claims of these perspectives, and explain them according to their major
theories and theoreticians.
2.3.1 Cultural differentialism or lasting difference
2.3.1.1 Clash of civilization
In 1993 Samuel Huntington, as director of the institute for strategic studies at Harvard University,
published a controversial text in which he argued that “a crucial, indeed a central, aspect of what
global politic is likely to be in the coming years…will be the clash of civilizations…With the end
of cold war, international politics moves out of its Western phase, and its centerpiece becomes
the interaction between the West and none-Western civilization and among none-Western
civilization.”(Nederveen Pieterse, 2004).
Later on Huntington in 1996 expanded his thesis in a book the clash of civilization and remarking
of the world order. The central theme of this book is that culture and cultural identities, which at
the broadest level are civilization identities, are shaping the patterns of cohesion, disintegration,
and conflict in the post-Cold War world (Huntington, 1996).
The major idea is that culture and cultural identities, which at the most comprehensive and
broadest layer are civilization identities, are shaping the samples of unity, disintegration, and
35
Definitions and Theories
conflict in the post-Cold War world. Then Huntington demonstrates five parts of the book which
elaborate corollaries to this main proposition.
Part I: For the first time in history global politics is both multi-polar and multicivilizational; modernization is distinct from Westernization and is producing neither a
universal civilization in any meaningful sense nor the Westernization of non-Western
societies.
Part II: The balance of power among civilizations is shifting: the West is declining in
relative influence; Asian civilizations are expanding their economic, military, and
political strength; Islam is exploding demographically with destabilizing consequences
for Muslim countries and their neighbors; and non-Western civilizations generally are
reaffirming the value of their own cultures.
Part III: A civilization-based world order is emerging: societies sharing cultural affinities
cooperate with each other; efforts to shift societies from one civilization to another are
unsuccessful; and countries group themselves around the lead or core states of their
civilization.
Part IV: The West’s universalist pretensions increasingly bring it into conflict with other
civilizations, most seriously with Islam and China; at the local level fault line wars,
largely between Muslims and non-Muslims, generate “kin-country rallying,” the threat of
broader escalation, and hence efforts by core states to halt these wars.
Part V: The survival of the West depends on Americans reaffirming their Western
identity and Westerners accepting their civilization as unique not. Universal and uniting
to renew and preserve it against challenges from non-Western societies. Avoidance of a
global war of civilizations depends on world leaders accepting and cooperating to
maintain the multi-civilizational character of global politics.
Advance societies thus have much in corporate. But do they necessarily blend into homogeneity?
The discussion that they do rests on the assumption that modern society must approximate a
single type, the Western type, that modern civilization is Western civilization and that Western
civilization is modern civilization. This, nonetheless, is a totally incorrect identification. Western
36
Definitions and Theories
civilization emerged in the eighth and ninth centuries and developed its unique characteristics in
the following centuries. The modernization was not begun until the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries. The West itself was the West long before it was modern. The major characteristics of
the West, those which distinguish it from other civilizations, predate the modernization of the
West (Huntington, 1996).
Then Huntington in his book explains three responses to the Westernization and Modernization
flows:
The expansion of the West has promoted both the modernization and the
Westernization of non-Western societies. The political and intellectual leaders of these
societies have responded to the Western impact in one or more of three ways: rejecting
both modernization and Westernization; embracing both; embracing the first and
rejecting the second (Huntington, 1996, 35).
Rejectionism
Huntington starts the Rejectionism with the examples of Japan and China then he continues with
Islamic societies.
Japan followed an essentially rejectionist course from its first connections with the West in 1542
until the mid-nineteenth century. Only limited types of modernization were permitted, for
instance, the acquisition of firearms, and the import of Western culture and identity, including
most notably Christianity, was highly restricted. Westerners were totally banished in the midseventeenth century. This rejectionist stance came to an end with the persuasive opening of Japan
by Commodore Perry in 1854 and the dramatic efforts to learn from the West following the Meiji
Restoration in 1868. For many centuries China also tried to impede any significant modernization
or Westernization. Notwithstanding that Christian emissaries were allowed into China in 1601
37
Definitions and Theories
they were then effectively excluded in 1722. Unlike Japan, China’s rejectionist policy was in
large part rooted in the Chinese image of itself as the Middle Kingdom and the firm belief in the
superiority of Chinese culture to those of all other peoples. Chinese isolation, like Japanese
isolation, was brought to an end by Western arms, applied to China by the British in the Opium
War of 1839-1842. As these cases suggest, during the nineteenth century Western power made it
more and harder and finally impossible for non-Western societies to adhere to purely exclusionist
strategies.
In the twentieth century intensifications in communication and transportation and global
interdependence increased extremely the costs of exclusion. Except for small, isolated, rural
communities willing to exist at a subsistence level, the total rejection of modernization as well as
Westernization is barely possible in a world becoming overwhelmingly modern and highly
interconnected. “Only the very most hard fundamentalists,” Daniel Pipes writes concerning
Islam, “reject modernization as well as Westernization. They throw television sets into rivers, ban
wrist watches, and reject the internal combustion engine. The inconvenience of their program
severely limits the appeal of such groups, however; and in several cases—such as the Yen Izala
of Kano, Sadat’s assassins, the Mecca mosque attackers, and some Malaysian dakwah groups—
their defeats in violent encounters with the authorities caused them then to disappear with few
traces.” Disappearance with few traces summarizes normally the fate of purely rejectionist
policies by the end of the twentieth century. Zealotry, to use Toynbee’s phrase, is simply not a
obvious option.
38
Definitions and Theories
Kemalism
The next probable retort to the West is Toynbee’s Herodianism, to embrace both modernization
and Westernization trends. This response is based on the suppositions that modernization is
desirable and necessary, that the indigenous culture is incompatible with modernization and must
be abandoned or abolished, and that society must fully Westernize in order to effectively
modernize. Modernization and Westernization strengthen each other and have to go together.
This attitude was exemplified in the arguments of some late nineteenth century Japanese and
Chinese scholars that in order to modernize, their societies should discard their historic languages
and approve English as their national language. This view, not amazingly, has been even more
popular among Westerners than among non-Western elites. Its message is: “To be successful, you
must be like us; our way is the only way.” The discussion is that “the religious values, moral
assumptions, and social structures of these [non-Western] societies are at best alien, and
sometime hostile, to the values and practices of industrialism.” Therefore economic development
will “require a radical and destructive remaking of life and society, and, often, a reinterpretation
of the meaning of existence itself as it has been understood by the people who live in these
civilizations.” A pipe makes the same point with explicit reference to Islam:
To escape anomie, Muslims have but one choice, for modernization requires Westernization. . . .
Islam does not offer an alternative path to modernize. . . . Secularism cannot be avoided. Modern
science and technology need a preoccupation of the thought processes which company them; so
too with political organizations. Because matter must be emulated no less than form, the
predominance of Western civilization must be acknowledged so as to be able to learn from it.
39
Definitions and Theories
European languages and Western educational organizations cannot be eluded, even if the latter do
inspire freethinking and easy living. Only when Muslims openly accept the Western model will
they be in a position to technicalize and then to develop. Then Huntington explains why he has
named this process “Kemalism”.
Sixty years before these words were written Mustafa Kemal Ataturk had come to similar
conclusions, had created a new Turkey out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, and had
launched a massive effort both to Westernize it and to modernize it. In embarking on this
course, and rejecting the Islamic past, Ataturk made Turkey a “torn country,” a society
which was Muslim in its religion, heritage, customs, and institutions but with a ruling
elite determined to make it modern, Western, and at one with the West. In the late
twentieth century several countries are pursuing the Kemalist option and trying to
substitute a Western for a non-Western identity (Huntington, 1996, 39).
Reformism
Rejection includes the desperate task of isolating a society from the shrinking modern world.
Kemalism includes the difficult and shocking task of demolishing a culture that has existed for
centuries and putting in its place a completely new culture imported from another civilization. A
third option is to try to mix modernization with the preservation of the central values, practices,
and institutions of the society’s indigenous culture. This option has reasonably been the most
popular one among non-Western elites. In China in the last stages of the Ch’ing era, the slogan
was Ti-Yong, “Chinese learning for the fundamental roles, Western learning for practical use.” In
Japan it was Wakon, Yosei, “Japanese spirit, Western technique.” In Egypt in the 1830s
Muhammad Ali “tried technical modernization without extreme cultural Westernization.” This
effort failed, but on the other hand, when the British forced him to abandon most of his
modernizing reforms. As a result, Ali Mazrui observes, “Egypt’s destiny was not a Japanese fate
40
Definitions and Theories
of technical modernization without cultural Westernization, nor was it an Ataturk fate of
technical modernization through cultural Westernization.”In the later part of the nineteenth
century, however, Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Muhammad ‘Abduh, and other reformers endeavored
a new understanding of Islam and modernity, discussing “the compatibility of Islam with modern
science and the best of Western thought” and providing an “Islamic rationale for accepting
modern ideas and organizations, whether scientific, technological, or political (constitutionalism
and representative government).”This was a broad-gauged reformism, tending toward Kemalism,
which accepted not only modernity but also some Western institutions. Reformism of this type
was the dominant response to the West on the part of Muslim elites for fifty years from the 1870s
to the 1920s, when it was challenged by the rise first of Kemalism and then of a much purer
reformism in the shape of fundamentalism (Huntington, 1996, 40).
Huntington then concludes these three theories according to possibility and desirability of each of
them.
Rejectionism, Kemalism, and reformism are based on different assumptions as to what is
possible and what is desirable. For rejectionism both modernization and Westernization
are undesirable and it is possible to reject both. For Kemalism both modernization and
Westernization are desirable, the latter because it is indispensable to achieving the
former, and both are possible. For reformism, modernization is desirable and possible
without substantial Westernization, which is undesirable. Conflicts thus exist between
rejectionism and Kemalism on the desirability of modernization and Westernization and
between Kemalism and reformism as to whether modernization can occur without
Westernization (Huntington, 1996, 41).
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Definitions and Theories
2.3.2 Cultural convergence or growing sameness:
The second paradigm that Pieterse has mentioned in his book is cultural convergence or growing
sameness. He quotes George Ritzer’s theory who is a scholar in Globalization from University of
Maryland:
The McDonaldization thesis is a version of the recent idea of the worldwide
homogenization of societies through the impact of multinational corporations.
McDonaldization, according to the sociologist George Ritzer, is “the process whereby
the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more
sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world” (Ritzer, 1993, 19). The
expression “the rest of the world” bears contemplating. The process through which this
takes place is rationalization in Weber’s sense, that is, through formal rationality laid
down in rules and regulations. McDonald’s formula is successful because it is efficient
(rapid service), calculable (fast and inexpensive), predictable (no surprises), and
controls labor and customers. (Nederveen Pieterse, 2004, 51).
2.3.2.1 McDonaldization:
We are far from an agreement on what globalization is and the kinds of effects it has had on
society. In some attitude, consensus is neither possible nor desirable. However, one concern that
occurs from the discussions on globalization is the tendency for giant industrial powers to
monopolize the transactions and outcomes of the economy. In spite of the plurality of ideals,
people, and culture that has complemented globalization; globalization may result in a new form
of colonialism dominated by Western hegemony (Hoppers, 2000).2
Many of these critical attitudes derive from the notion that the Western ideology has been
adopted as the global standard. Standing on the militant, technological, and economic authority of
2
Many part of this criticism of globalization representing imperialism of the North has particularly been made from
the political left (Monkman and Baird, 2002).
42
Definitions and Theories
the Western influence, this ideology views all other social systems as deviant (Hoppers, 2000). It
operates along the lines of the international controlling processes, such as the World Bank, who
selectively disseminate statistical evidence of its successes and failures to further advance their
own ideology (Loxley and Seddon, 1995).
These institutions continue to support for structural adjustments as the means to solve global
poverty and inequality. They obstinately push for transparency, cost effectiveness, efficient
administration, and information management without consulting the target countries during the
procedure (Blackmore, 2000; Hoppers, 2000). Major industrial and developed powers have
pressed weaker economies to readapt their policies to be more compatible with their own
economic design and have instituted the world economy with their own ideas of wealth and
power. In the meantime, the South has been subject to the second-class status in the process of
preserving the standards of the powerful (The South Commission, 1990).
The domination of the Western ideology can also be seen in the culture of consumption where
globalization has become associated to the export of American ideology and what Ritzer (1993)
refers to as the McDonalidzation of society. According to his claim, the global society is
increasingly leaning towards the Western economic models of efficiency, calculability,
predictability, and control through technology.
This is evidenced by McDonald chains worldwide which centrally conceived business principles
have permeated through international boundaries (Ritzer, 1993).
Ritzer (2004) explains there is nothing new about globalization. Globalization is merely a
complex of ideas and practices that have been confined to the Western ideology and
43
Definitions and Theories
homogeneity. As a result, local culture is disappearing and being replaced by Northern ideas and
principles. More than before, the global culture is moving toward the homogeneity packaged by
the dominant models of consumption. The world has become more and more standardizes and
has eventually led to the globalization of nothing.
McDonaldization is a variation on a theme: on the classical theme of universalism and its modern
forms of modernization and the global spread of capitalist relations. Diffusionism, if cultural
diffusion is taken as emanating from a single center (e.g., Egypt), has been a general form of this
line of thinking. From the 1950s, this has been held to take the form of Americanization. Since
the 1960s, multinational corporations have been viewed as harbingers of American
modernization. In Latin America in the 1970s, this effect was known as Coca-colonization.
These are variations on the theme of cultural imperialism, in the form of consumerist
universalism or global media influence. This line of thinking has been well-known in media
studies according to which the influence of American media makes for global cultural
synchronization (e.g., Schiller 1989, Hamelink 1983; a critical view is Morley 1994).
“Modernization and Americanization are the newest forms of westernization. If colonialism
delivered Europeanization, neocolonialism under U.S. hegemony delivers Americanization.
Common to both is the modernization thesis, of which Marx and Weber have been the most
influential proponents. Marx’s thesis was the worldwide spread of capitalism. World-system
theory is a current type of this perspective. With Weber, the stress is on rationalization, in the
form of bureaucratization and other rational social technologies. Both perspectives fall within the
general framework of evolutionism, a single track universal process of progress through which all
44
Definitions and Theories
societies, some faster than others, are progressing—a vision of universal progress such as befits
an imperial world. A twentieth-century version of this line of thinking is Teilhard de Chardin’s
evolutionary convergence towards the noosphere” (Nederveen Pieterse, 2004, 51).
2.3.3 Cultural hybridization or ongoing mixing
The third paradigm of Pieterse’s category is cultural hybridization or ongoing mixing. Pieterse in
his book explains hybridization theory as a response to two other theses. I have also added
another theory which it has some theoretical overlap with hybridization. The theory is
glocalization from Roland Robertson who is a professor in University of Aberdeen. He was the
first scholar that developed this concept in Globalization discourses.
The Wikipedia encyclopedia defines the glocalization in this way:
“Glocalization is a portmanteau word of globalization and localization. By definition, the term
“glocal” refers to the individual, group, division, unit, organization, and community which are
willing and able to “think globally and act locally” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glocalisation).
In this part I explain both hybridization and glocalization theories.
2.3.3.1 Hybridization: the Rhizome of Culture
Mixing has been perennial as a process but new as an imaginary. As a perspective, it has
differences fundamentally from the previous two theses. It does not build on an older theorem but
open theoretically new windows. It is profoundly excluded from the other two paradigms.
Hybridization is a solution to the cultural differentialism of racial and nationalism thesis, because
it takes as its point of departure precisely those experiences that have been evicted, marginalized,
tabooed in cultural differentialism. It overthrows nationalism because its privileges border
45
Definitions and Theories
crossing. It overthrows identity politics such as ethnic or other claims to purity and authenticity
because it starts from fuzziness of boundaries. If modernity stands from an ethos of order and
neat separation by night boundaries, hybridization reflects a postmodern sensibility of cut
‘N’mix, transgression subversion.
“Then he continues his argue also not only about urban regions but also in rural areas as well:
Is the hybridization of cultural styles then typically an urban phenomenon, a consequence of
urbanization and industrialization? If we look into the rural area and countryside almost
anywhere in the world, we find tracks of cultural mixing: the corps planted, planting methods and
agricultural techniques, implements and inputs used (seeds, fertilizer, irrigation methods, credit)
are usually of translocal origin. The ecologies of agriculture maybe local, but the cultural
resources are translocal. Agriculture is a prime side of globalization” (Nederveen Pieterse, 2004,
55).
“An exciting objection to the hybridization argument is that what are actually being mixed are
cultural languages rather than grammars. The distinction runs between surface and deep-seated
features of culture. It is, then, the folkloric, superficial elements of culture—foods, costumes,
fashions, consumption habits, arts and crafts, entertainments, healing methods—that travel, while
deeper attitudes and values, the way elements hang together, the structural ensemble of culture,
remain contextually bound. There are several implications to this argument. It would imply that
contemporary “planetarization” is a surface phenomenon only because “deep down” humanity
remains divided in historically formed cultural clusters. Does this also imply that the new social
technologies of telecommunication—from jet aircraft to electronic media— are surface
46
Definitions and Theories
phenomena only that don’t affect deep-seated opinions? If so, the implications would be
profoundly conservative. A midway position is that the new technologies are profound in
themselves while each historically framed culture develops its own takes on the new spaces of
commonality” (Nederveen Pieterse, 2004, 56).
Cultural hybridization refers to the blending of Asian, African, American, European culture:
hybridization is the making of global culture as a global mélange. As a category, hybridity serves
a purpose based on the assumption of difference between the categories, forms, beliefs that go
into the mixture. Yet the very process of hybridization presents the difference to be relative and,
with a slight shift of perspective, the relationship can also be described in terms of an affirmation
of similarity. “Thus, the Catholic saints can be taken as icons of Christianity but can also be
viewed as holdovers of pre-Christian paganism inscribed in the Christian canon. In that light,
their use as masks for non-Christian gods is less quaint and rather intimates transcultural pagan
affinities” (Nederveen Pieterse, 2004, 83).
2.3.3.2 Glocalization
According to the oxford dictionary meaning, the term “glocal” and the process noun
“glocalization” are “formed by telescoping global and local to make a blend” (The Oxford
Dictionary of New Words, 1991). The word was modeled on Japanese word dochakuka, which
originally meant adapting farming technique to one’s own local condition. In the business world
the idea was adopted to refer to global localization. The word as well as the idea came from Japan
(Robertson, 1995). According to the sociologist Roland Robertson, glocalization describes the
tempering effects of local conditions on global pressures. At a 1997 conference on “Globalization
47
Definitions and Theories
and Indigenous Culture,” Robertson said that glocalization means the simultaneity (co-presence)
of both universalizing and particularizing tendencies (Raimi, 2003).
Glocalization is a concept that explains the interactions between global and local dimensions in
any strategy i.e. political governance strategies, business marketing strategies, media and
communication strategies etc. This notion also elucidates the failure of some strong strategies, as
they do not consider the effect of cultural diversity and strength of local dimensions. It is
considered as creation or circulation of products or services intended for a global or transregional market, but customized to suit local laws or culture.
The concept of glocalization is used to analyze the ways in which social actors construct
meanings, identities and institutional forms within the sociological context of globalization,
conceived in multidimensional terms.
Glocalization processes have significant implications for consideration of ‘the local’. We assume
that local cultures do not simply mark themselves off from each other. Rather, glocalization also
includes the construction or the invention of local traditions or forms of particularity (Robertson,
1995, 29). We consider that this process is analogous to such conceptions as the ‘invention of
culture’, the ‘invention of tradition’ or the creation of ‘imagined communities’ (Wagner, 1975;
Hobsbawm and Ranger, 1983; Anderson, 1983; cf. Robertson, 1995, 35).
In cross-cultural terms, glocalization does not simply produce or reproduce random forms of
cultural heterogeneity. It also registers the ‘standardization of locality’ so that various localities
may possess very similar structures, reference points, symbolic textures or contents (Robertson,
1995, 30–1). The local is globally institutionalized (Robertson, 2003c).
48
Definitions and Theories
Glocalization explains the parallel shifts towards global and local scales of political relationship,
such as in the rising influence of the EC and the G8, on the one hand, and the proliferation of
local economic initiatives and partnerships, on the other.
The urban anthropologist García Canclini (2000, 58) discusses glocalization in relation to the
‘constant interaction’ of the agricultural, industrial and service sectors; and to the role of large
metropolises and world entrepreneurs in connecting the local, the national and the international.
Thus, for both analysts, glocalization is marked by social actors’ fluid and critical engagement
with, and reconstruction of, local and global phenomena. The collection by Howes (1996)
contains this kind of approach as demonstrated through studies of cross-cultural consumption.
In glocalization some connection with other concepts are visible such as ‘indigenization’
(Friedman, 1999: 391), ‘creolization’ (Hannerz, 1992: 264–6), ‘vernacularization’ (Appadurai,
1996) and ‘hybridization’ (Nederveen Pieterse, 1995).
One of the earliest but continuing discussions regarding glocalization discourses the
homogenization–heterogenization problem. Homogenization arguments crystallize, somewhat
ironically, in a variety of theories such as those relating to cultural imperialism, synchronization
and Americanization (Schiller, 1969; Tomlinson, 1991; Hamelink, 1983; Robertson, 2003b;
Ritzer, 2004).
In conclusion, we consider glocalization to be a highly fruitful concept for analyzing the socio
cultural dimensions of globalization (see Robertson and White, 2003). Also Nederveen Pieterse
has concluded these three paradigms in his book.
Each paradigm represents a different politics of multiculturalism. Cultural differentialism
translates into a policy of closure and apartheid. If outsiders are let in at all, they are
49
Definitions and Theories
preferably kept at arm’s length in ghettos, reservations, or concentration zones. Cultural
communities are best kept separate, as in colonial “plural society” in which communities
are not supposed to mix except in the marketplace, or as in gated communities that keep
themselves apart. Cultural convergence translates into a politics of assimilation with the
dominant group as the cultural center of gravity. Cultural mixing refers to a politics of
integration without the need to give up cultural identity while cohabitation is expected to
yield new cross-cultural patterns of difference. This is a future of ongoing mixing, evergenerating new commonalities and new differences (Nederveen Pieterse, 2004, 58).
According to these paradigms that we use them as theoretical framework for the thesis, we will
find out the process that is happening now in Iranian society. On the one hand, is there truly a
process of cultural differentialism and cultural convergence that is happening now in Iranian
society in general and case study region in particular; or on the other hand we are encountering
the process of cultural mixing and the fact that is visible now in Iranian society is the integration
of this society in a globalized world. In the final chapter we illustrate the point of thesis; we also
use other theories for the sake of clarification to shows current situation in Iranian society. The
most important theory that we use for the explanation our data is culture industry from
Horkheimer and Adorno (1972). And also we use some part of Schuerkens (2003 and 2004) on
relation between globalization and glocalization.
Chapter 3
Methodology
51
Methodology
3.1 Research method
In this chapter I would like to explain the states of production on my knowledge, which is, how it
was acquired, using the methods and the methodological framework in general, in which context
and situation. In addition, I will also discover how my research was received, perceived by the
population I describe. Particularly, I will describe my relationship with the interviewees, and how
I conducted my interview with them. I will give a background of my observations during
fieldwork. I will relate, as fieldworker experienced specific difficulties and biases with which I
struggled during all the process.
3.1.1 Qualitative research
There is a long tradition in the social sciences of qualitative research. This has been understood as
involving extensive participant observation fieldwork and in-depth case-oriented study of a
relatively small number of cases (Leonard, 2005, 82). I have used qualitative method in this
thesis because of its flexibility and advantages throughout the study, as Depoy and Gittin
demonstrate qualitative research method is a general phenomenon of interest is identified and
more specific questions emerge in the process of conducting research (Depoy and Gittin, 1994).
During the fieldwork qualitative research focuses on ordinary events in natural settings. I see and
interact with individuals in his or her context. Via qualitative research I learned a great deal about
people’s lives by talking to them in their home or work environment; I could not obtain this
knowledge by other research methods in my specific case study and topic which is analyzing
lifestyle indices in rural and urban areas. In the next section I explain the qualitative research,
52
Methodology
observation and interview methods and will relate them to my thesis according to the examples of
Bourdieu and other scholars that their work are connected to my thesis.
Qualitative research method looks detailed knowledge of particular cases, with the purpose of
finding out “how” things happen. Such research studies may include ethnographies of groups,
places, organizations, or activities; analyses of people’s lives and experiences; historical
comparative analysis, and case studies of an immense range of occurrences, including social
movements, revolutions, state-building and other political phenomena. Goodwin and Horowitz
(2002) demonstrate that despite the many differences in approaches, techniques, and theories in
qualitative studies, most of them are alike in their emphasis on capturing or representing in
considerable depth or detail what is or was going on in one or a few cases of something judged
socially significant. They also discuss that the most significant connection amongst qualitative
studies is their rich descriptions or narratives of cultural, emotional, and social life, sometimes in
comparative framework. In fact, most qualitative researches are generally not about attitudes,
norms, roles or other abstract concepts but more about what people actually say and do in specific
places and organizations, which are including their interactions with others over time, e.g. how
social things occur or develop in social and temporal milieu. In order to achieve this, qualitative
sociologists will attempt to remain as close as possible to the actual incidents that they are trying
to understand. Here I discuss with Goodwin and Horowitz (2002) that qualitative sociologists
believe that their cases have to be understood contextually or holistically, and with attention to
temporal ordering. Therefore, cultural and historical specificity matter massively.
53
Methodology
Finally, Marcus (1998) recommends that the benefits of qualitative research, particularly
involving fieldwork is that, even if the researcher’s question –his/her problematic- is already set
in a theoretical framework, the subject of his/her study not only reveals itself during the
fieldwork but also evolves, changes, takes new and unexpected turns, because the fieldwork itself
establishes the subject of the study “as it goes and because it goes” (Marcus, 1998). Fieldwork
not only transforms the researcher’s starting question regarding his/her subject but also
establishes new questions, new subjects that then become part of the initial question, problematic,
subject. In this thesis also a fieldwork was done to get more feedback after the qualitative
research following the works of Bourdieu1. His fieldworks played an essential role in his early
studies of both colonial Algeria and his home area of rural Béarn no less than in his mature
division of taste and in his late researches of the novel forms of social domination and desolation
wrought upon advanced society by the neoliberal revolution; that his variegated investigates into
education, art, class, language, gender, the economy, and the state are laden with close-up
observation in real time and space (not to state an exacting sociological resifting of his personal
experiences); and that an ethnographic sensibility animates even his most abstract writings on
intellectuals, reason, and justice (Wacquant, 2004, 388).
3.1.2 Observation and the methods of interview
To start the case study on which this thesis is based, I have selected two methods: participant
observation and interview.
1
See in particular Bourdieu (1977/1979, 2002) on the transformation of the peasant societies of Algeria and Béarn;
Bourdieu (1979/1984) on class and taste; Bourdieu et al. (1993/1998) on the bases and forms of social suffering in
contemporary society; Bourdieu (et al., 1965/1990 and 1992/1996) on the uses of photography and the invention of
the artistic gaze; and Bourdieu (1984/1988 and 1997/2000: esp. pp. 33–48, ‘Impersonal Confessions’) on
intellectuals.
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Methodology
Participant observation can be described as observing and participating in social life as the life is
happening (Lichterman, 1998). The phrase was created in 1924 by sociologist Lindeman who
was linked to the School of Chicago (Kirk and Miller, 1986). Commencement was in the 1930s,
participant observation becomes the idiosyncratic sign of social research in all Western academic
societies, after Bronislaw Malinowski systematized it in case of methodology in his study of the
“Argontauts of Western Pacific”. So essentially, this method includes the researcher getting to
know the people they are studying by entering their world and participating in that world. This
means you put yourself in the shoes of the people you are studying in an effort to experience life
in the way they experience them. Sociologists who use participant observation have this goal to
find out the nature of social reality by understanding the actor’s perception and understanding
clarification of the social world. While it has historically been connected with the symbolic
interactionist perspective, this is used also in other approaches. It is about “really understanding,
through personal experience, what is going on in any given situation” (Lichterman, 1998). David
Downes and Paul Rock (1998) explain participant observation in this way:
It is a theoretical commitment that drives the sociologist into participant observation. The
claim is made that social behavior cannot be understood unless it is personally experienced.
Sociologists who lean on external accounts and objective evidence can have no
appreciation of why people act. Neither can they understand environments and history as
their subjects do. Interactionists and others who elevate meaning to a central place contend
that participation is indispensable to the interpretation of human conduct.
In other definition, participant observation is a way that tries to realize the motives and meanings
of people’s behavior from the viewpoint of those engaged in the behavior being studied. While in
55
Methodology
the field, the researcher is engaged in multiple interactions at multiple layers in permanence: far
from just being a witness, he or she is immersed in verbal or non-verbal social interactions,
whether complex or simple, conversations, chats, solicitations, or presentations (Leonard, 2005,
85). Hence, in any time, throughout participant observation, “the researcher is a co-actor”. Thus,
it is not a question of going native; it is a question of living a multiplex life: sailing at once in
several seas (Geertz, 1988).
Their discussions may be of many different natures: for example, they draw up position
statements, or they argue about public issues or on what they should be discussing. According to
Lichterman (1998), the role of these arguments is to provide as strategy sessions in which
activists figure out which definition of the issue will get the broadest following or the widest
press coverage. They can also provide for activists to figure out their opinions as members of
society, as citizens. Sociologists of culture who have increasingly taken on C. Wright Mills’
perspective on studying motives by looking at treatises rather than people’s spirits. I join others
and argue with Lichterman’s (1998) claim that participant observers can discover what traditions,
symbols and stories make activism meaningful as it is happening in everyday life and also people
lifestyle.
In the case of my fieldwork, more clearly, participant observation can be considered, as J.P.
Olivier de Sardan (1995) names this method as, an “observation from inside”, at least to the
extent that I can become an insider without actually living with people. I have chosen this method
because it allows me to integrate myself in the regular, everyday life, different activities, and the
basic culture at the local level, and thus get a better sense of what the life of the chapters is about.
56
Methodology
It also helped me get familiar with people in general within each local chapter. Therefore, I could
collect my data in each house and event in both rural and urban areas; the data in this part draws
form observation notes made by researcher about aspects of location of dwelling, housing and
decoration, clothes, accent and events such as matchmaking ceremonies.
My observations were obvious; obvious participant observation involves the researcher being
open with the people they are going to study. In other words, before joining people the researcher
is likely to inform the persons about such things as the purpose of the research, its scope, how
long the research will last and so forth. In this respect, therefore, the research is done with the
permission and co-operation of the households and the fact of being open with the people being
researched carries with it certain advantages and disadvantages as far as the general conduct of
the research is concerned.
As J.P. Olivier de Sardan (1995) explains, “the researchers are voyeurs and they are also
listeners.” So, if the understanding process is connected to the observation (hence to the
description) of subjects, we should not forget about listening. Actually, the production of analysis
by sociologists based on people’s discourse remains a key tool of fieldwork research. This is so
because, Olivier de Sardan (1995) discusses, the representations of local or native social actors
are an essential element to any comprehension of the social. To be able to give an account from
the actors’ standpoint is probably the highest desire of sociologists. The interview hence remains
a privileged means to produced discursive “data”: individuals are asked for their “competency”
on their local society, community, or more straightforwardly for their personal experience as
social actors (Leonard, 2005, 87).
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For the goals of this research, I have also chosen to conduct semi-structured interview. As noted
by Fielding (1993), this type of interview implies that major questions are asked generally the
same way for each interview. Therefore, it is recommended in that case to have a questionnaire in
hand, which I did, that serves as a “canvas” or a guide: it systematizes the questions in advance
so that the significant themes of the research are kept in mind at all times. Nevertheless, this does
not mean that we are doing a police investigation: the interview in the case of fieldwork research
must be conceived as an interaction between individuals, who are partners in interaction, with
their own feeling management, cognitive resources, knowledge, etc… so in this case, the semistructured interview gives the individuals enough freedom to modify the research method to the
level of comprehension and the specific context (Fielding, 1993). This way, it allows the
researcher to respect the dynamic of the interaction itself without forgetting his or her
problematic. Hence, the interviewer and the interviewee are capable to take their own way and
rhythm within a certain guideline: for example, it is better in order to manage the fact that in
responding to a question people might provide answers to the next question; it also allows both
the interviewer and the interviewee to declare that there are deviations and digressions,
hesitations and contradictions during the time of conducting interview, and that there are part of
the dialogue. In fact, Vera Taylor (1998) for instance, has used the semi-structured interview in
social movement research because of its compatibility with her commitment, as a feminist
scholar, to allowing women to describe their experience in their own paths, to developing more
equal relationships with interviewees, and to encouraging interviewees to introduce new research
questions based on their own lived experiences. Finally, it was, for Taylor (1998) a matter of
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allowing herself to become personally involved with interviewees in several instances. It is not
only a question of making everyone feel comfortable or at ease, but it is also, for Olivier de
Sardan (1995) a question of “epistemological point of view”. Another example of using this
method which relates to my thesis is one work of Azadarmaki and Shalchi that they used semistructured interview in their work “two Iranian worlds, mosque and coffee shop” the semistructured interviews accomplished in upper class region in Tehran to find out the differences
among youth people who are going to mosque and who are going to coffee shop for spending
their free time, this scientific work was based on Bourdieu’s concept of modernism and post
modernism (Azadarmaki and Shalchi, 2005).
In the case of my fieldwork, the interviews are the central factor of the case-study, as they are the
main issue and topic in my thesis, that is, they constitute the core of my study. The interviews,
through the questions I asked to others, responded to the questions I asked myself, e.g. my
problematic and my object. They are part of the idea of immersion of the researcher in the field:
hence, by listening and also observing to the subjectivity of people, by using the form of ordinary
dialog, interviews allowed me to familiarize myself to people’s culture, people’s contrasted and
people’s lifestyles.
This position seized by fieldwork leading to an understanding is evoked by Wilhelm Dilthey
(1976) in the conception of “Verstehen in German” (to understand in English): this conception
implies an experience of empathy towards those we meet and encounter. Clifford (1988) calls this
ethnographic comprehension a “coherent position of sympathy and hermeneutic engagement.”
Furthermore, Dilthey is also among the first modern theorists to compare the understanding of
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cultural forms to the reading of “texts”. The opinion is that culture can be viewed as an
accumulation of texts to be interpreted: this is what Clifford (1988) calls the “textualization”.
Therefore, as Clifford (1988) asserts, not only description is tied to interpretation, but also
“ethnography is the interpretation of cultures”. In this sense, it becomes necessary to conceive of
ethnography as “a constructive negotiation”, as “a discursive practice” (Leonard, 2005, 92).
3.1.3 Biases and argument
The chosen research method presented several unique opportunities as well as certain restrictions.
First there is a certain concern over the matter that is called “subjective” nature of qualitative
research, particularly the fieldworks which are involving observation and interviews. In other
words, researchers who are doing observation are sometimes accused of lacking objectivity or
critical distance from the people or households in which they insert themselves. In fact, it seems
that one of the biases in the method is the circumstances of interaction itself: we can recall that it
is a face to face between a researcher and a subject. Pierre Bourdieu (1999), who used the
interview technique in his fieldwork on “the misery of the world”2, underlines the asymmetrical
character of the relationship: first of all, it is the interviewer who engages the game and makes up
the rules of the game. In fact, as stated by C. Briggs (1986), the interview is an inter-cultural
encounter more or less imposed by the interviewer. The interviewer then begins the game,
2
The Misery of the World (Bs.As., fce,1999) is a voluminous work including contributions from 18 investigators interviewers that in 564 pages reveal the different things that can be done with interviews. It is a text that is just
beginning to circulate among readers of Spanish, but because of Bourdieu’s fame and the value of the book’s
content, it is being consulted more frequently, particularly by users of qualitative methodologies. It also has value for
those interested in the application of follow-up procedures and systems, or in epistemological vigilance in research
processes whose key source of information is the face-to-face interview.
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establish its rules and assigns (unilaterally somehow, and usually without any preliminary
negotiations) the objectives and uses of the interview to the respondent (Bourdieu, 1996).
Additionally to this symbolic ‘violence’, there is what Hyman (1954) illustrates as the
“interviewer effect”, that is, the influence that age, gender, ethnicity, social status, religious or
political opinions may have on the answers of the individuals specially in my research that is
related to lifestyle and everyday life which all of these characteristics of the people can affect the
interviewees answer during the interview. At any time in the fieldwork, Laplantine (1996)
suggests, we are never objective witnesses observing objects, but subjects observing other
subjects in the context of an experience in which the observer is himself observed. It would not
be possible for a sociologist to try to escape this “circle” into which, on the contrary, he needs to
consciously enter. Following physicist Heisenberg’s principle, Laplantine (1995) reminds us that
we can never observe the social behaviors of a group as if we, researchers, weren’t here. What
the researcher experiences through the interaction with his subjects is an important part of his
research. And of course, if the observer has an effect -perhaps a ‘disturbance’- on a given
situation, or even creates a new situation, due to his presence, in return, he also is affected -or
‘disturbed’- by the situation. This could be a dialectical relationship. As Olivier de Sardan (1995)
elucidates, the social sciences have abandoned the positivist illusion that “data” or pieces of real
can be taken out of reality and preserved as they have been objectively selected by the researcher.
This “false objectivity consciousness” has also been criticized by Briggs (1986), who criticizes
the “mystification” of the interview. We do know now that observations and interactions are
constructed by what the observer is researching, by his language, by his problematic, his training
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and his personality. So, as Olivier de Sardan (1995) discusses, the researcher should take
advantage of this phenomenon: the modification process is part of the research itself, as the
researcher is one of the social actors of the field he studies. Hence, if this disturbance created by
the researcher must not be ignored, it should not be viewed either as an “epistemological
difficulty that needs to be neutralized” but as an “infinite source of knowledge” (Leonard, 2005,
96).
So maybe, the solution to this particular issue lies in the recognition that it is indeed a bias, and in
how we recognize and are aware of the distortions/disturbances: the distortions are embedded in
the very structure of the relationship; they cannot be ‘removed. In fact, Fielding (1993) argues,
ignoring the effects of the interviewer (his characteristics and behavior), and disregarding the
cultural context in which the researcher is located, would both be the exact sources of bias. The
observer and the subject both “perform” the interview with their own realization management, as
previously mentioned; they both have preconceive attitude of the interaction (what it is and
perhaps what it should be), the problematic in which the researcher is connected; and they both
have their own typecasts, sentiments, emotional sates and beliefs in mind. In other words the
researcher has to be aware of the “imposition effect” (Bourdieu, 1996). We need also, Olivier de
Sardan (1995) recommends, be more confident in the empirical process itself, in the researcher’s
desire for knowledge, his research training, with a special attention to the idea of understanding
(the concept of Verstehen as developed by Dilthey) which assumes empathy or even sympathy.
Also, one should not undervalue the responsive dimension of the interviewees, or their resources
for resistance, their possible counter-manipulations, etc…As Bourdieu (1996) underlines, the
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respondents can “play” to try to levy their own description of the situation. They could possibly
also turn to their advantage an interaction, giving an image that they both wish to give to others
and to themselves. So, there is, on the part of the subjects, a probable resistance to the
disturbances, the “imposition effect”, or the effort of objectivation. This is why, if research
interview relationships vary from most of the exchanges of existence, it is still a social relation.
Correspondingly, Olivier de Sardan (1995) describes the interview process as an “invisible
negotiation” (Leonard, 2005, 97).
Second, the interviews and their results –the interviewees’ discourse-, promote another concern
about the honesty of the interviews’ matter. This problem of lie or truth comes to the mind of
every researcher at one point in the field when they are doing interviews. Actually, Stoller (1989)
asks these questions, “who do we meet? Do they accept us? Do they tell the whole truth and
nothing but the truth? And what does truth telling (whatever that is) depends upon? Is it a matter
of personal chemistry? Is it an issue of how the sociologist fits into the always already world of
the field? Is it an issue of socioeconomic situation conditioned by world-wide socioeconomic and
political forces?” There is, a contradictory injunction that is part of the principle of the interview:
certainly, the researcher is professionally expected to give credit to the words of his subject
(however strange or suspect they might sound). This is not a “hoax” that the researcher uses: it is
the condition to access the logic and universe of those he or she interviews, and it is through this
seriousness of professionalism that the researcher can perhaps fight his own preconceive concepts
or prejudgments.
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On the one hand, Stoller (1989) warns researchers in social science, informants regularly lie to
sociologists for many numbers of reasons (we don’t know you, we know you but we don’t trust
you…). Even when a sociologist has obtained the assurance of people after several years, he or
she may still be the sufferer of misinterpretation, uncertainty or dishonesty. On the other hand,
when dealing with interviews, hence with memory, Anne Muxel (1996) explains us, that memory
is not logical or chronological: instead memory follows simultaneity, groups of ideas and jumps
from one thing to the next.
So the way the scientist can discover validity in the subjects’ discourses is through a sort of
“ethnographic agreement”, that Bellah calls “symbolic realism”: for him (as for Olivier de
Sardan, 1995), the “reality” of the subjects’ words to which the researcher gives credit can be
found in the signification that the subjects bring to their works. It is therefore up to the researcher
to create his own interview polices through a critical deciphering/interpretation that will deal with
the meanings given by the subject. So it is the interpreter’s responsibility to apprehend and
comprehend how the realities as constructed by a specific person, e.g. what supports this reality
(the cultural, social, political, geographical and historical context). At the end, the aim here isn’t
to reach a veracious version but instead to put into the light the contrast of discourses, the basic
ambiguity to make heterogeneity of discourses part of the object of study, looking for significant
differences and nuances (Leonard, 2005, 99).
Finally, there are some concerns which are raised by social scientists concerning the issue of
representativity and generalizability which are critical to qualitative sociology and to sociology in
general. Essentially, qualitative research is said to hurt from an alleged “small-N-problem”,
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failing to examine an adequate number of cases for building solid generalizations or good theory
(Goodwin and Horowitz, 2002). The concern of “small-N-problem” is considered to prevent
qualitative sociology from claiming generalizable finding. Because of this problem I just focus on
my case study region that I will explain it in next chapter and I don’t generalize the indices to
Iran as a big country with multicultural affair.
In the case of my research, I am well aware that I have a limited number of interviews, which do
not constitute a statistical sample. Therefore, I will not pretend, in a positivist illusion that I can
generalize my findings to the whole society, specially in divers society like Iran I can claim that.
However, as Kirk and Miller (1986) discuss, “qualitative research implies a commitment to field
activities. It does not imply a commitment to innumeracy.” In addition, as Olivier de Sardan
(1995) argues, fieldwork interviews “often times talk about representations or practices, not about
(their) representativity.” If basically, I had wanted to produce exhaustive data showing statistical
distribution, I would have chosen another methodology, another research method like surveying
with questionnaire. Whereas, I precisely chose another methodological process: my perspective is
more “actor oriented” (Long and Long, 1992), which implies a focus on individuals in their
discourses, concerning their lifestyle, motives, values, interests and representations. My analysis
is qualitative, synchronically and diachronically embedded, e.g. a case study that is necessarily
contextualized. Hence, the cogency of the generalization does not depend on representativity of
the case but on the analytical reasoning. As Clifford (1988) has claimed, “modern sociology does
not aspire to the study of the whole diversity or development of humanity.”
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Finally, all these concerns, however legitimate, concerning the issues of validity, representativity,
generalization and reliability of fieldwork research involving interviews must not cover the
research/quest for meaning and interpretation. This is all part of a comprehensive sociology. We
must point out that the potency of qualitative research has been to create a deeper and richer
image of what is going on in specific settings, notwithstanding that it has also been able to
employ comparisons among a relatively small number of cases to great effect (Leonard, 2005,
100).
3.2 Methods of collecting data
3.2.1 Observation and interview number
My ethnographic data, as a case study and fieldwork, is gathered from over 3 months of research
within the people in Isfahan city and its rural area around it, over the spring of 2010.
Some of the material was gathered through participant observation (attendance at several
ceremonies, visiting houses in both rural and urban areas) which offered me the chances to
interact frequently with a variety of people, some of them whom I interviewed later on, some of
them whom I just saw during these meetings. The number of my observations was fifty which
half of them took place in Isfahan city and half in rural areas around it. I also gathered the core of
my material through a series of multiple, semi structure interviews with one hundred persons in
Isfahan and different villages in South Braan rural district in Isfahan County. I have done 50
interviews in the city and 50 in rural area. These individuals are all in the age 20 to 40 that is
shown as active age. All of them had the educational level between high school diploma to
Master and the income range between 300 to 700 Euros per month.
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Eighty of the interviewees are men and twenty of them are women. There was no deliberate
decision on my part on how many women or how many men would be interviewed, or in other
words, I didn’t calculate before hand how many I wanted to interview of each gender. Although,
in previous fieldwork on other research, as a man researcher I have been accustomed to the fact
that I have had better, more direct and open contact with men than women. Indeed, as we will see
later, the relationships with the women were actually quite different from the men as far as their
attitude towards me (as a male researcher) goes, and as far as my own response to this perceived
attitude goes. Also, my first intent was to find individuals from different areas of the case study
region, both urban and rural. I will explain the difficulties of doing so and not succeeding in my
initial intention later in the chapter.
This research is thus, addressed in what J.C. Mitchell (1983) mention “situation analysis” or
“case study”: this process contains of a concentration of the “gaze” on the life of individuals or
on their lifestyle and normal everyday life.
3.2.2 Connections and contact
In order to create contact with the people in the region of study, I operated through two
approaches.
Firstly try to find people in the streets of the city and the villages that my interviews took place.
In this way I just found the interviewees coincidentally in the street and when I start talking to
them also other people came to me and asked me what is happening here? When I explained them
I am PhD student and doing my research, they became curious to know more about my work and
via that way I could do my interviews with more people than was initially expected.
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Second, as I knew some people in the region of my study then according to these sources in both
city and villages I asked them to introduce people to me; especially when I wanted to go to their
home and fill my observation sheet. With this way I also could find many people for the
interview and also get the permission to go to their home and doing my observations.
3.2.3 Locations
The interviews took place in different locations; for instance the house that I went there for the
observation I also asked from households my interview questions.
Another place was as -I explained before- in the public places that I just went there and asked the
questions, it happened mostly in rural area that I asked most of my interview questions in main
squares of the villages.
The third place that my interview occurred was an office in Isfahan which it was an educational
institute. I went there and found the people that come to the office for the educational purpose
and I asked them if possible for them to answer my questions.
3.2.4 Interview methods
While my case study has to do with people’s lifestyle and everyday life, I choose to perform
some semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions during the inter-personal
interactions. For this matter I had a questionnaire at hand that served as a guideline, going
through the different themes I wished to approach (see interview questions in appendix 2): each
interview then focused on the same themes. Besides the focus on specific themes, the interviews
also provide us information on people’s socio-economic status, which could be helpful to
understand the context of the discourses However, the interviews themselves often became
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conversational, in the form of a arguments or even sometimes discussion as I responded to the
people’s questions as well about my research, my motives, my own thoughts on the topic, and my
life generally. We can connect this procedure to the idea of interactive interviewing as developed
by Ellis, Kiesinger and Tillman-Healy (1997): the researchers define this technique as an
“interpretive practice for getting an in-depth and intimate understanding of people’s experiences
with emotionally charged and sensitive subjects” (1997, 121). The stress is then on the
communicative process: Laslett and Rapoport (1975) propose that researchers listen to their own
feelings and experiences, since both the interviewer and the interviewee are involved in a process
of making sense of the issues at hand. The advantage of this method, where the interviewer, as
well as the interviewee, is engaged, is that it helps “respondents feel more comfortable sharing
information” (Ellis, Kiesinger and Tillman-Healy, 1997, 123). Actually, through a more intimate
and trusting ‘discussion’, instead of a traditional interviewing where hierarchies are marked
(between the researcher and ‘his’/’her’ subjects), we can obtain a better understanding of
individuals’ viewpoints because each participant is able to reveal more of him/herself (Leonard,
2005, 106). For this reason, the duration of the interviews varied, as I let people freely answer in
the way and length they wanted, trying not to set limits on the interview process. The length of
the interviews hence ranged between about 15 minutes to 30 minutes, considering that the off
conversation lasted between 10 and 25 minutes.
In order to facilitate the transcription3 and then reading and interpretation of the interviews, I
used my laptop to type the answer during the interview when I was in the office, or in the street I
3
All interviews were translated from Persian to English during the interview or afterwards by me.
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just used paper and pen and then translated the interviews from Persian to English. For the
observation I also had the observation sheets in my hand and filled them during the observations.
3.3 Ethnographic and sociological Analysis
Traditionally the supposition was that the observer made little influence on the groups or
organizations are being studied. Researchers were told to maintain their opinions to themselves
while gathering the data. “Blending in” was the aim and it was frankly assumed that it did not
matter what the researcher actually did to collect data (Goodwin and Horowitz, 2002). Then, by
the 1970s, participant-observers began to understand that, who they were influenced the data they
were getting. There were public debates about whether researchers should remain adequately
autonomous to empower a critical viewpoint or try to get in far enough to know “what is really
going on” in a social surrounding (Leonard, 2005, 107).
As Deveureux (1980) has discussed, researchers cannot and probably must not try to neutralize or
refuse these epistemological worries; they should instead take account of the interruption created
by the researcher, and by the situation of interaction itself. Thus, in order to have a richer
understanding of the content of the interviews, the researcher should not only try and analyze the
subjects’ reactions to his/her presence, but also his/her own reactions to the subjects. It is a
question of finding the right epistemological distance, perhaps with the gaze of an astronomer,
close and far at the same time that is constantly zooming in and out between a big angle and a
close-up (Leonard, 2005, 108).
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Hence in this part, I will explore the relationship I experienced with the people I met in interview
situation first, and then in the participant observation context. It is essential to understand the
nature of the interaction if we wish to grasp the context of the production of people’s discourses.
3.3.1 Involvement with the interviewees
In this section of methodology, although I am not going to explain each interview in details, I will
show how the interview process itself occurred and developed, for instance, what commonplace
interview habits I experienced. Since the interview is an exchange of idea, I will also relate the
relationship the interviewees had with me, how they connected (or not) with me, how they
interacted with me. And finally, I will argue my feelings of the interview process as it unfolded,
that is, how I perceived the interviews and the interviewees. As Bourdieu (1996) elucidated, the
research interview is a social relation, therefore it has some effects on the results obtained. It is
thus important to know the conditions of production of that social relation in order to understand
the result.
The interview routines were alike in all of them: the introduction, the informal conversation, and
the formal interview. In most cases, as previously stated, I met my respondents in public places
such as squares, streets or shops and also the office. I was usually looking for the responder and
trying to find someone that can help me. As most of them didn’t know that who I am and what I
am doing, I explained them my situation and my thesis before get through the interview. Indeed,
J. Spradley (1979) persists on this type of what he calls “descriptive questions”: according to him,
it is often a good idea to start the conversation with an informal talk including “descriptive”
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questions as it appeals the respondent into a mode of discussion that is familiar to him (Leonard,
2005, 110).
During the informal conversation, before the actual interview began, the respondents were asking
me as many questions as I was asking them about their personal lives. All of them were interested
in knowing about my background, my origins, my Ph.D. and mostly my life in Germany. Almost
none of them had been to Europe, so they were genuinely curious about my life here, my
everyday life that is, the university, the people. They wanted to know where I was coming from,
in every sense of the word, e.g. what my motivations were, what my research interests were, what
I thought about the Europe, what I thought about life in Germany. These conversations helped me
a lot to ask them my questions because they were related to my work and after that asking the
questions was spirited.
3.3.2 Observation report
Since Copans (1996) asserts, despite all his or her qualities, the researcher cannot remove his or
her primary identification: he or she is and will remain a stranger to the people. acctually, people
knew I was an outsider but because I try to get familiar with them, I became a kind of familiar
stranger whom they could trust enough to have arguments, debates, and other less formal
activities in front of them. In other words, people got to know me. However, it didn’t mean that I
was invisible: I on the inverse embraced the fact that I was there as a familiar stranger or
sympathetic outsider paying attention to the perturbations I might have provoked just by my
presence, as Deveureux (1980) has suggested researchers do.
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3.3.3 Obstacles and difficulties
As Stoller (1989) notes, we must be able to confess that fieldwork is occasionally difficult: it is a
question of epistemological humility. Furthermore, the fact that researchers reveal (instead of
suppress) and describe the difficulties they went through indeed contributes to the situations of
ethnographic validity, as proposed by Sanjek (1991).
In fact, Sanjek (1991) has suggested that the reader be informed of the “sociologist’s path in
conducting fieldwork.” Specifically, the way of fieldwork is far from being linear and already
planned up: it is actually relatively unpredictable at the beginning, and then precedes through
back and forth processes between the researcher, the subjects and the information (Olivier de
Sardan, 1995). Fieldwork experience will moderate the early problematic which in turn modifies
the way the researcher is doing fieldwork, and so on and so forth. This dynamic procedure of the
fieldwork corresponds and combines to the complexity of the field studied by the researcher.
Therefore, in this part, I will argue some of the main difficulties encountered during the fieldwork
process (especially during the interviews) that are relevant to my general problematic. I will also
show how I handled with those difficulties as I confronted them along the way. I identified
several difficulties or problems as follows: the problem of double bind; the problem of
defamiliarization and estrangement; the issue of my social position and status; the gender issue;
the issue of interview location; the issue of length of time of the study (Leonard, 2005, 126).
The first difficulty resides in the dilemma of the interviewer’s position: Olivier de Sardan (1995)
explains it as a “double bind”, because the interviewer wants at the same time to have the control
of the interview (because he or she to progress in his/her fieldwork research) while letting the
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interviewee state him/herself the way he or she wants (because it is most likely a condition for the
success of the interview itself). During the interviews at the beginning, I was wondering if I have
to guide the interview more or if I should let go. It is probably, as Olivier de Sardan (1995)
discuses, a question of finding the right distance, a connection of “empathy and distance, respect
and wariness.” In fact, Bourdieu (1996) contemplates the interview process as a “spiritual
exercise.”
So my second anxiety or fear was that even though I am Iranian, people would not look at me as
just a regular Iranian student because I was actually coming from Germany, and that I had been
living in Germany for over two and half years. George Marcus (1998) refers to the notion of
“estrangement” or “defamiliarization” necessary steps to any ethnographic works. Even before
starting the fieldwork, the interviews, I have felt “defamiliarized” or “estranged” somewhat while
living my daily life back in Iran: it felt as if I had to re-enculturate, get reacquainted with my own
culture, my own roots. Back to Iran, back to thinking in Iranian way, speaking in Persian,
behaving according to Persian culture was not as “natural” as I thought it would be. It is as if I
had lost it a bit, and I had to re-learn it: how to interact, how to approach people in situations.
Therefore, when I introduced myself in the first moment of the interview and observation, I had
to make a conscious effort not just verbally but in non-verbal communication too, to be identified
and recognized as Iranian, and not as European. Therefore, I wanted to strongly declare my
citizenship, thinking it would help comfort the tension and the pressure of my presence as a
researcher among the group, as I would be considered “one of them” on the citizenship (and
hence cultural identity) level.
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Related to the citizenship matter, my third anxiety or difficulty concerned my social status, e.g. in
the case of my fieldwork, the fact that I am a Ph.D. student in Germany. In my mind, I was the
one in the field who was in a posture of learning from the people I was going to interview, and
get the right answer but as soon as they found me as a PhD student in Germany, they tried to talk
to me in highly prestigious gestures and not feel shame about their normal life and lifestyle to
compare with me as a PhD student in abroad. I had this feeling sometimes that they are
exaggerating about their normal life and lifestyle, therefore I tried to change the interview
atmosphere from officially and ceremoniously to informally and friendly environment.
The fourth difficulty was basically linked to a gender issue. From the start, as for any fieldwork, I
knew that my gender (as for my social class or race in some instances) could affect the interaction
I was going to have with people during participant observation or interviews. However, as
McCorketl and Myers (2003) have written, “in situating we as agents of knowledge, researchers
refer to abstract categories like race, class, and gender.” Thus, it is far more difficult to see the
effect of these identities at play during an interaction in which we are involved.
My work was related to the people and I had to do my interviews with both men and women, but
in a traditional and religious society like Isfahan and its rural area was really hard to ask women
to answer my questions, and also for filling my observation sheet the part that I had to look the
women hair and ask them about their hair model was really hard and sometimes impossible.
Because the women in Iran are wearing Hijab and it’s hard to find out exact haircut model,
therefore, I had to guess from their makeup or cloths and their Hijab style.
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Methodology
The fifth difficulty confronted in the field relates the location of the interviews. As I previously
mentioned, interviews occurred in public places (squares, streets) or private places (home,
office). My apprehension with public spaces, such as squares, streets is first a practical one and
has to do with the noise: indeed, the problem with public spaces, is that they are not favorable to
interpersonal interactions, particularly involving an interview; Also a public space like this does
not allow for any “intimacy”, any sense of ease for a conversation involving very personal
questions (such as their religious view). I dreaded the moment where they would stop talking
because it was too loud, or there were too many people around us, and they would either be
“distracted” or be afraid to talk in public like this.
I was the stranger, the one who did not feel at ease, out of “my” environment. Once I realized
this, I just had to adjust to the situation to be able to be in understanding with the interviewee.
The issue of private places like homes was different: the noise and distraction were not a problem
anymore. However it was a whole new sort of worry. For instance, when interviewing people in
the office, I felt concerned that the interviewees would not feel comfortable in “my” space, “my”
field, and I was self-conscious at the beginning of the interviews that there was a potential for
unease, and that it could prevent them from comfortably talking to me, as if they were in ‘my’
interrogation room. But I realized in the course of the informal chat at the beginning of the
conversation, and then during the proper interview, that I was projecting my own uncomfort, and
that they looked perfectly at ease. They were drinking their coffee, tea or water which I had
offered them, and answering my questions as they would do in a conversation, taking their time
to answer, relaxing back in their chair. So despite what might have been a strange location to
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Methodology
them, they seemed, through body language observation, perfectly fine with the process, or at least
as much as the other interviewees did in other locations. The other kind of private space was
either the home interviewees. Then the situation was reverse for me: I felt again like a stranger, a
foreigner in their space, but this time they felt right “at home” and could relax, and to some
extent be in charge of the interview process. However, despite the personal environment where
they looked in control (of the space anyway), they let me know when it was time for me to take
charge again and start the interview per formal form. In the case of the office environment, it was
a bit more knotty (or at least more problematic) than the home space for me because I felt I was
interrupting their work, as if I was not expected, or expected but as a work appointment (a client,
a customer, someone to deal with). Therefore, in these cases, it was a bit more difficult for both
of us to relax, especially considering the organization of the space: the person being on side of
the office, me being behind my desk or on a different side of the room. There was a sense of
unease on my part where I felt I was the superior person that doing the interview, even though I
was conducting the interview. I made an attempt not to let this show but it was difficult as we
were interrupted by phone calls, or people knocking at the door, but I tried to solve this problem
by not sitting behind desk than by sitting in front of them and talk to them face to face.
Lastly, the final difficulty with which I came across was the length of time spent on this
particular case study. Because of funding availability (or lack of funding thereof), as well as
personal status limitations (administrative), I could not conduct a fieldwork on more than three
consecutive months at a time, and could not do this over more than that. Therefore, I did not have
the opportunity to first, interview more people while I was in the field, and second, access more
77
Methodology
regions in Isfahan, e.g. more local and rural area. However, these were limitations beyond my
immediate control. Additionally, I still managed to get a diversity of places by going to urban
centers as well as smaller places in rural areas, so this study will still offer us with a multiplicity
of discourses on cultural globalization and lifestyle. Olivier de Sardan discusses that the
interview procedure is made of “invisible negotiations” (Leonard, 2005, 137).
3.4 Analysis method
Data analysis in qualitative research methods is an ambiguous process and needs too much time.
In this thesis according to indices and responders we use the following five steps method for
analyzing:
1- Arranging data: in this step data are noted continuously and for several time, events and
quotations are surveyed to find a way for summarizing and compacting data.
2- Classifying the data to main subjects: according to the answers, we classify data to
main subjects in a way that data which have same meaning place in same group. This
group will be made from responders’ points of view, urban and rural community will be
categorized in separated groups. The answers and the groups will demonstrate their
lifestyles.
3- Examine hypothesizes: in this step, pattern and relation will be examined and hypothesis
will be confirmed or rejected.
4- Looking for justification of this data: after defining relation among data, they will be
connected with main theory that gets from theoretical framework. In this step we look for
the justification of the data and compatibility with the theories.
78
Methodology
5- Writing the report: writing data is a part of analyzing process. In this process raw data
will be analyzed until they have clarity and meaning in main subject. In this part we look
for the main point of the thesis and try to justify and explain it.
Chapter 4
Isfahan city and its Rural area
80
Isfahan city and its Rural area
"Who can claim to have seen the most beautiful city of the world without having seen
Isfahan?" André Malraux
4.1 Overview
In this part we take o brief look to Isfahan city through the history and modern age to get the base
knowledge of Isfahan city and then explain precisely the region of study. I have chosen this
region for my case study for several reasons. First of all Isfahan is an important region in Iran
which includes the thirds biggest city in Iran with important local area around it. The region has
played an essential rule in history and now is one of the most eminent provinces in Iran than can
also represent Iranian society. Secondly as I did my Master project in the rural area around
Isfahan and also have been living in Isfahan city for many years, I am familiar with the region
and having connections in the region of study for doing research was easier for me; I also was in
contact with local administrations and offices to get the data that are needed for the case study
understanding.
Isfahan or Esfahan (Persian: ‫ ان‬Esfahān), historically also rendered in English as Ispahan or
Hispahan, is located about 340 km south of Tehran and is the capital of Isfahan Province and
Iran’s third largest city (after Tehran and Mashhad). Isfahan metropolitan area had a population
of 3,430,353 in the 2006 Census, the second most populous metropolitan area in Iran after Tehran
(Iran statistical Center, 2006).
The other cities around Isfahan are Najaf Abad, Khaneh Isfahan, Khomeini-hahr, Shahin-shahr,
Zarrinshahr, Mobarakeh, Falavarjan and Fouladshahr; they all belong to the metropolitan city of
Isfahan.
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Isfahan city and its Rural area
Isfahan is located on the main north-south and east-west routes crossing Iran, and was once one
of the largest cities in the world. It flourished from 1050 to 1722, particularly in the 16th century
under the Safavid dynasty, when it became the capital of the land of Persia for the second time in
its history. Even today, the city retains much of its past glory. This city is famous for its Islamic
architecture, with many beautiful and astonishing boulevards, covered bridges, palaces, mosques,
and minarets. This led to the Persian proverb "‘Esfahān nesf-e jahān ast" {Isfahan is half of the
world} (Saudi Aramco World, 2006).
The Naghsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan is one of the biggest city squares in the world and an
outstanding sample of Iranian and Islamic architecture. It has been designated by UNESCO as a
World Heritage Site. The city also has a wide variety of historic monuments ranging from the
Sassanid to the Safavid dynasties. Remaining Islamic architectural sites were built from 11th to
the 19th century, while older, pre-Islamic monuments date back to 1000 B.C (Wikipedia).
The history of Isfahan can be traced back to the Palaeolithic period. In recent archeological
findings, archeologists have found artifacts dating back to the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic,
Bronze and Iron ages (Iran Setareh Gasht, 2006).
Isfahan in ancient time was part of the Elamite Empire under the name of Aspandana. It later
became one of the principal towns of the Median dynasty. Afterwards the province became part
of the Achaemenid Empire. After the liberation of Iran from Macedonian occupation by the
Arsacids, it became part of Parthian Empire. Isfahan was the centre and capital city of a large
province, which was administered by Arsacid governors. In the Sassanid era, Isfahan was
governed by "Espoohrans" or the members of seven gallant Iranian families who had important
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Isfahan city and its Rural area
royal positions, and served as the residence of these gallant families as well. Moreover, in this
period Isfahan was a military centre with strong fortifications.
After Arab invasion Isfahan fell temporarily under the rule of Arabs until the Abbasid period,
only being attended to by Al-Mansur. In the 10th century, under the Buwayhid Dynasty, Isfahan
regained its importance. In the reign of Malik Shah I, of the Seljuk dynasty, Isfahan was again
selected as capital and commenced another golden age. In this period, Isfahan was one of the
most thriving and important cities of the world. The famous Persian philosopher Avicenna lived
and taught there in the 11th century (www.wegoiran.com/cities/esfahan/).
In the year of 1387, Isfahan surrendered to the Turko-Mongol warlord Timur. Initially treated
with relative mercy, the city revolted against Timur’s punitive taxes by killing the tax collectors
and some of Timur’s soldiers. In retribution, Timur ordered the massacre of the city residents and
his soldiers killed a reported 70,000 citizens. An eye-witness counted more than 28 towers, each
constructed of about 1,500 heads (Medlibrary, 2002).
As the result of its suitable geographic situation, Isfahan flourished again especially during the
Safavid dynasty.
“The Golden Age of Isfahan arrived in the 16th century when the Shah Abbas the Great (1587–
1629) was the king of Iran, he conquered it and made it the new capital of the Safavid monarchy.
During the time of Shah Abbas I, who unified and Persia and brought all the region together,
Isfahan reached its pinnacle time. Isfahan on those times had parks, libraries and mosques that
amazed Europeans, who had not seen their like on their continent.
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Isfahan city and its Rural area
The Iranians and especially people of Isfahan called Isfahan city, Nesf-e-Jahan (half of the
world), meaning that to see it was to see half the world, and also referring to it as a point where
many cultures and nationalities meet and mingled. In its prime, Isfahan was one of the largest
cities, with a population of over half a million; 163 mosques, 48 religious schools, 1801 shops
and 263 public baths” (Ibid).
“In the year 1722, following the defeat of the Safavids in the war of Gulnabad, Afghans raided
Isfahan after a long siege, which left much of the city in ruins. Although the Afghans were a
primary cause of Isfahan’s decline, it can also be attributed to competition from maritime
commerce developed by European merchants from such countries as the Netherlands. Isfahan’s
wealth originated in its role as a chief way station along the trans-Asia trade route (such as the
Silk Road). Such land trade dwindled as the cheaper sea routes intensified in popularity for
transporting commodities between Asia and Europe.
Nowadays Isfahan is the third largest city in Iran, produces fine carpets, textiles, steel, and
handicrafts. The cities of Najafabad, Khaneh Isfahan, Khomeini-shahr, Shahin-shahr,
Zarrinshahr, Mobarakeh, Qomshe(Shahreza) , Kashan, Fouladshahr and Falavarjan are belong to
the metropolitan city of Isfahan. The city also has an international airport and is in the final stages
of constructing its first Metro line” (Isfahantoday, 2011).
Over 2000 companies and corporation are working in the area using Isfahan’s economic, cultural,
and social potentials. Isfahan contains a major oil refinery and a large airforce base. HESA, Iran’s
most advanced aircraft manufacturing plant (where the IR.AN-140 aircraft is made), is located
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Isfahan city and its Rural area
nearby (Hesaco.com). Isfahan also hosted the International Physics Olympiad in 2007, which
shows the city also it important in the world as well as in Iran.
Geography and climate
“Isfahan city is located in the lush plain of the Zayandeh River, at the foothills of the Zagros
mountain range. The city enjoys a temperate climate and regular seasons. No geological obstacles
exist within 90 km north of Isfahan, allowing cool northern winds to blow from this direction.
Situated at 1,590 meters (5,217 ft) above sea level, Isfahan is still very hot during the summer
with maximum typically around 36 °C (97 °F). However, with low humidity and moderate
temperatures at night, the climate can be very pleasant. In the winter time, days are mild but
nights can be very cold and snow is not unknown and some year the city has a massive snowfall.
However, on the whole Isfahan’s climate is extremely dry. Its annual precipitation of 113
millimeters (4.4 in) is only about half that of Tehran or Mashhad and only a quarter that of more
exposed Kermanshah.
Isfahan is served by the Isfahan International Airport which is included domestic flights to
Iranian cities and international flights, mostly to regional destinations across Middle East and
central Asia including Dubai and Damascus.
Isfahan is connected to three major rail lines: Isfahan-Tehran, Isfahan-Shiraz (Recently opened),
Isfahan-Yazd and through this recent one to Bandar Abbas and Zahedan, these rail lines are very
important in Isfahan transportation.
Isfahan’s internal highway network is currently under an immense development which began
during last decade. Its lengthy construction is due to concerns of possible destruction of valuable
85
Isfahan city and its Rural area
historical buildings. Outside the city, Isfahan is connected by modern highways to Tehran which
spans a distance of nearly 400 km (248.55 mi) north and to Shiraz at about 200 km (124.27 mi) to
the south. The highways also service satellite cities surrounding the metropolitan area.
Isfahan metro is under construction and will include 2 lines with 43 km length. The first line of
that is planned to be finished by end of 2010 with 21 km length and 20 stations. Until that time
expanded bus system with Taxis are handing Isfahan inter city public transportation.
Isfahan has long been one of the centers for production of the famous Persian Rug. Weaving in
Isfahan flourished in the Safavid period. But when the Afghans invaded Iran, ending the Safavid
dynasty, the craft also became stagnant.
Not until 1920s, between two world wars, was weaving again taken seriously by the people of
Isfahan. They started to weave Safavid designs and once again and in new era became one of the
most important nexus of the Iranian rug weaving industry. Isfahan carpets and rugs today are
among the most requested in world markets, having many customers in western countries.
Isfahan rugs and carpets usually have ivory backgrounds with blue, rose, and indigo motifs. Rugs
and carpets often have very symmetrical and balanced designs. They usually have a single
medallion that is surrounded with vines and palmettos and are of excellent quality.
The most important dishes and desserts in Isfahan are:
- Gaz is the name given to Persian Nougat using the sap collected from rosewater and also
another plant from the tamarisk family found only on the outskirts of Isfahan. It is belended with
different ingredients including, pistachio and almond kernels and saffron.
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Isfahan city and its Rural area
- Khoresht-e mast (yoghurt stew) is a traditional dish in Isfahan. Not similarly with the other
stews despite its name, it is not served as a main dish and with rice; since it is more of a sweet
pudding it is usually served as a side dish or dessert. The dish is made with yogurt, lamb, mutton
or chicken, saffron, sugar and orange zest. Iranians either put the orange zest in water for one
week or longer or boil them for few minutes so the orange peels become sweet and ready for use.
People in Iran make a lot of delicate dishes and jam with fruit rinds. This dish often accompanies
celebrations and weddings.
- Fesenjan is a casserole type dish with a sweet and tart sauce containing the two base
ingredients, pomegranate molasses and ground walnuts cooked with chicken, duck, lamb or beef
and served with rice and salad.
- Isfahan is famous for its Beryooni. This dish is made of baked mutton and lungs that are minced
and then cooked in a special small pan over open fire with a pinch of cinnamon. Beryooni is
generally eaten with a certain type of bread, “nan-e taftton”, although it can also be served with
other breads” (Wikipedia).
4.2 Location and area
In this part I explain the geographical and sociological structure of the fieldwork. This is included
Isfahan province, Isfahan city as urban area and South Braan district as rural area.
Isfahan province has 19 counties, 83 cities, 43 zones and 131 rural districts. The area of Isfahan
province is around 107,029 km2.
Isfahan County with 13 cities, 6 zones and 19 rural districts is one of the biggest counties in the
province (Iran statistical center, 1997).
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Isfahan city and its Rural area
South Braan district with the area around 334 km2 is encompassed 67.39 percent of Braan
flatland. This rural district is located between 32° 28´ till 32° 32´ north latitude and 51° 5´ till 51°
56´ east longitude.
In the map number 4.1 the location of the region is visible. This map has depicted the region of
study according to Isfahan province, Isfahan county and South Braan district.
South Braan district from north reach to Zayandeh Roud River and from south reach to Kolah
Ghazi mountains. The east part has border with Jarghoyeh zone and west part is near to Kararaj
district.
The height above sea level is 1550 meter and it decrease from south to north. The center of this
rural district is Ziar village with 32° 30´ north latitude and 51° 56´ east longitude (Isfahan
governorate, 2004).
South Braan district has 62 residence places that 25 of them have residence and 37 are empty
(Iran statistical center, 2001).
88
Isfahan city and its Rural area
Map Number 4.1 case study region
89
Isfahan city and its Rural area
4.3 Demography of the region1
4.3.1 Appellation
Some scholars said that Braan idiom is extracted from Braahan means decorous and developed
and the others believe that is extracted from two words “Ber” means patulous field and “Aan”
means location and together means patulous location that locates in two side of the river
(Hosseini Abari, 149, 1999).
4.3.2 History
Many historians have narrated that Braan is one of the most historical place in Isfahan and there
are too many quotations in the history of the region. The name of the villages are signs of the
long history, the names like Gaar, Ziar, Cham, Aseman etc, back before Islamic period (Fakharan
Khorasgani, 2002).
After Islamic period the name of the villages has mentioned in many books. Ibn Hawqal in the
book title “The Face of the World” in the year 997 around 1000 years ago has mentioned the
name of the villages.
Moustofi in 800 hundred years ago has categorized Isfahan to seven regions and Braan is the
seventh of them (house and urban organization of Isfahan, 66, 1995).
4.3.3 Population
According to the public census in 2007 the population of Isfahan province was 4559356 and
Isfahan city was 1986542. In general, by comparing of the public census in 2007, 1997, 1987 and
1977, we realized that the population growth has balanced during the last decade.
1
The statistics in this section are from Iran Statistical Center
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Isfahan city and its Rural area
The rural census information in 2007 of South Braan shows that the population was 15231; it was
9.5 percent of the Zone, 6.3 percent of the County and 0.76 percent of the province. The
population of the region is shown in the table number 4-1.
Year
1977
1987
1997
2007
Isfahan Province
2176694
3294916
3923325
4559356
Isfahan County
1033179
1420921
1610015
1986542
South Braan district
8767
13911
13241
15213
Region
Table 4-1 Population
As it is visible in the table number 4-2 the population growth of the province in 1977-87 was 3.2
percent and in 1987-97 was 1.7 percent. Isfahan County in these two decades had the 3.2 and 1.2
population growth. But the population growths in the last decade did not change and the number
was 1.7 %.
Year
1977-87
1987-97
1997-07
Isfahan Province
3.9
1.7
1.7
Isfahan County
3.2
1.2
0.23
South Braan district
4.4
0.5
1.5
Region
Table 4-2 Population growth
Furthermore population growth of the South Braan district in 1977-87 and 1987-97 was 4.4 and
0.5 percent. These numbers shows the reduction of population growth in the last decades.
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Isfahan city and its Rural area
4.3.4 Gender structure
In 2007 from the whole population in Isfahan province, 51.31 percent was men and 48.69 percent
was women. The gender percentage in Isfahan County was 53.15 percent for the men and 46.85
for the women. South Braan district has 1.31 percent of the men and 1.31 of the women in
Isfahan province. It is also included 6.04 of men and 6.49 percent of women in Isfahan County,
reviewing this numbers shows that the region has the same percentage of men and women in the
Province and more women percentage in the County.
4.3.5 Population age construction
The base of the social and economic planning for each country is the information and knowledge
about the age of the population, while each plan must cover the main demands of the population,
age construction needs to consider in the planning (Saaedi, 2005)
Juvenile
As it is shown in the table 4-3 most of the population in Isfahan County are under 15. In the years
1997 and 2007 it was 42.14 and 23.57 percent of the whole Isfahan County’s population. In
South Braan district the percentage was 42.63 in 2007.
Geographical
Population
Men
Women
region
sum
0-14
15-64
+65
sum
0-14
15-64
+65
province
1007087
516837
200045
287373
29260
490250
191500
271132
27607
County
211745
112563
41909
66207
4298
99182
40139
54856
4118
district
13241
6803
2744
3770
273
6438
2628
3581
225
Table 4-3 Age construction
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Isfahan city and its Rural area
Adult
Adults are important in both economy and regeneration. As table 4-3 shows the ratio is larger
than other groups. In 1997 was 54.7 percent and 2007 was 61 percent of the whole population of
the Isfahan County. This number in South Braan was 55.6 percent that shows more than half of
the population are in this group hence the region does not have any problem for supply his labor.
Old
The third age group is more than 65 years old. Increasing the number of aged people bring many
problems in social and economic planning. The percentage of group in Isfahan County in 1997
and 2007 sequentially are 3.2 and 4.3, the number in South Braan of 2007 is 5.2. But most of the
people in this age are still working in both rural and urban areas.
4.3.6 Family size
Family size is the number of the persons that officially or unofficially are the members of a
family; the family size can calculate from the division of the whole population in exact time to
the numbers of the family.
The table number 4-4 shows family size in Iran, Isfahan province, Isfahan County and South
Braan district in 1987 to 2007.
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Isfahan city and its Rural area
Census year
Country
1987
1997
2007
all
5
5/1
4/8
Rural region
5/2
5/4
5/2
Province
4/7
4/8
4/3
Rural Region
4/8
4/9
4/5
County
4/7
4/6
4/2
Rural region
4/7
4/7
4/4
5/1
5/1
4/5
Isfahan Province
Isfahan County
South Braan district
Table 4-4 Family size
The comparison between rural area in the country and Isfahan province shows this fact that in the
1987 and 1997 census, family size was increased and in 2007 was decreased. The family size
average in Isfahan County is less than the country and province. In South Braan County in 1987
and 1997 the number was the same (5.1) and in the census 2007 was decreasing to 4.5.
4.3.7 Densities
Density is defined as the division of the whole population to the whole area, and normally is
shown in square Kilometers or square Miles.
As it is shown in the table 4-5 relative density in all area from 1987 to 2007 is increasing that
confirms high population growth. According to the average of the population density in Isfahan
County, density is 55.2 Km2 that is 2.5 times more than the average of Iran and Isfahan province,
therefore, the region is one of the high density areas in Iran.
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Isfahan city and its Rural area
Relative population density (person in Km2)
Year
Region
1987
1997
2007
Iran
20/4
30/1
36/4
Isfahan Province
20/6
31/1
36/7
Isfahan County
48/4
67/4
90/8
South Braan district
-
41
39
Table 4-5 Relative population density
Based on this table relative density in Isfahan County from 1987 to 2007 have had an immense
growth and from 48.4 in 1987 increased to 90.8 in 2007, more than 2 times in a 30 years period.
Relative density in South Braan in 1997 and 2007 was more than the country average and
province but less than the Isfahan County.
Bio density
For the estimation of population presser on farming land, scientists use the bio density and it’s
defined as number of population dived to the land that are using for agriculture (Javan, 2007, 56).
Bio density has displayed in the table number 4-6. According to this table the number of the bio
density in 1987 for the district, County, province and country is nearly the same (3.3 for the
district, 2.88 for the County, 3.09 for the province and 3.31 for country). But in 2007 this
numbers has decreased from country to district. It seems that the reason of this problem is
emigration.
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Isfahan city and its Rural area
Bio density (person in hectare)
Year
Region
1987
1997
2007
Iran
3/06
3/31
3/9
Isfahan Province
3/36
3/09
2/6
Isfahan County
-
2/88
2/4
South Braan district
-
3/3
1/4
Table 4-6 Bio density
Labor density
For the calculating labor density we need to divide the number of the employee population to the
whole number of adult (active) people and for the convert to percent, multiply it to 100. The
number demonstrates the employee’s percentage to active persons.
According to the table number 4-7 this index for the South Braan district is 55 in 100 persons and
Isfahan province the number is 53.
Labor density
Employees (men and
Active population (men
women)
and women)
Isfahan Province
296653
558505
53
South Braan district
4040
7351
55
Labor density
Region
Table 4-7 Labor density
4.3.8 Population prediction
Quick growth of urban population in last decades proves the necessity of the population
prediction for at least next 20 years to supply the social and economic planning demands.
Because of the migration and changing the concept of the urban and rural area is not simple and
easy to predict the urban and rural population.
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Isfahan city and its Rural area
Rural and urban population growth is not only depending to the natural growth but also other
factors such as migration, rural movement, administrative and political division change affect the
concept of city and village.
There are several ways for the population prediction; in this thesis we use mathematical way that
calculates from this formula:
pt = p0 (1 + r ) t
In this formula pt is the population in future years, P0 is the current population and r is the
percentage of population growth.
Population in 2017= 15213(1+0.015) = 15442
According to the results we can see that the population in 2017 will be around 15442 and do not
have any meaningful change in the population number.
4.3.9 Migration
People relocation has increased with new technology and economic development. This is also
related to new system of transportation and acceleration of this new system that yield to more
relocation and migration amongst people.
People normally migrate from the place with lack of economic facilities to the region with higher
salary, and better socio-economic situation. In other hand migration from a place is an index of
population pressure on the recourses and immigration to a region describe the capability of the
recourses there.
All the settlers in the region of study are not native and have migrated from other place to this
region. South Braan region during last decades has had migration problem but in the last years
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Isfahan city and its Rural area
has had immigration from other part of the province, the reason is increasing the facilities,
improvement agricultural possibilities, multiplication of the land price, ability to buy gardens and
villa and availability of suitable roads.
The most important reasons of emigration are marriage, education and looking for the jobs, but
it’s different in each gender, among men the main reason is occupation and women is marriage.
4.3.10 Habitat
The rural study region in 1997 had 25 habitats but in 2005 were only 16 habitats. The reasons of
this decreasing are the merging of smaller villages and migration. The villages in the region are
located in flatland and the average distance between them is around 15 km.
The houses have two different type- modern and old structures. The materials of old structure are
brick, wood and clay. The roofs are domical and are compatible with the environment in summer
and winter and there is no need to heating and cooling system. But the materials of modern
structure are stones, cement, brick and iron and are less compatible with the environment. In
some villages such as Ziar, Andalan and Rooran both modern and old structures are visible.
One of the difficulties in the region is air pollution contagious and noise pollution.
4.3.11 Economy
Active population and economic situation
Human power as a factor in production process has an important rule. The creator of wealth and
direct motive of economy is active population and labors of each society. The amount of the GDP
of each country is depended to knowledge and awareness of technique and capacity of production
of active population. In other hand economic development in each country need stock,
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technology and also effective and expert human resources. The ability of active population shows
the amount of growth and economic development of each society.
Distribution of active population
The number of employees, unemployed and looking for a job persons are active population, this
people are capable to play a rule in production process. The table number 4-8 illustrates active
population in the district, main zone, County and province.
Gender
Men and women
men
women
Isfahan province
296653
239491
57162
Isfahan County
96507
57532
11975
Main zone
54716
40466
5250
South Braan
4040
3419
621
Region
Table 4-8 Active population
According to the table 4-8 south Braan district has 1.36 percent of active population in Isfahan
province, 5.81 in Isfahan County and 8.83 in main zone.
Number of employees
In Isfahan province 296453 persons are employed that 80.73 percent are men and 19.27 are
women. This relation in Isfahan County is 82.77 for men and 17.27 for women. In the main zone
is 88.51 for men and 11.49 for women. In South Braan district 4040 are employed which 84.62
percent of them are men and 15.38 are women.
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Isfahan city and its Rural area
South Braan employee distribution
Table number 4-9 shows employed persons in the region according to three agriculture, industry
and service sectors.
Sector
Agriculture
Industry
|Service
Sum
64
29
7
100
Region
South Braan
Table 4-9 Employee distribution
As it is visible in the table 64% are working in agriculture sector and shows the high ability of the
region in this sector.
Unemployed
Unemployed persons are part of the active population that they have desire to work but for some
reasons they couldn’t find a suitable job. Table number 4-10 shows the number of the
unemployed divided by gender. The table shows that 0.74 percent of the whole unemployed
belong to the study region.
Gender
Men and women
Men
women
Isfahan Province
22923
20025
2898
South Braan district
170
119
51
Region
Table 4-10 Unemployed numbers
Chapter 5
Lifestyle indices and differences amongst study groups
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5.1 Overview
In this chapter, first I take a look at some parts of Bourdieu’s theory which is related to my topic
and has been used for the analyzing part; then I will proceed to the explanation of analyzing of
case study discourses, particularly through the lens of cultural globalization theories, as well as
lifestyle and cultural differentialism theories. Supplementary to the content of the interviews, I
will as well make use of my participant observation field notes when necessary and relevant to
the themes presented. In next chapter, I will discuss globalization and cultural differentialism
theory and the case study region with the explanation of the fact of globalization and
modernization in present Iranian society.
For the start with Bourdieu’s theory (1984, 109–12), we need to take into account not only the
complete quantity of capital a social group or an individual disposes of but the relative strengths
of different kinds of capital and the history of their attainment. This is normally explained by
comparing two indexes, old wealth with newly acquired wealth. If we compare two holders of big
corporations with identical wealth, we will understand that the one who gained his wealth more
recently usually has far less impact— not only in the economic field but in most other fields. This
is due to the fact that old wealth is connected to other forms of capital, especially social capital.
Bourdieu’s description of social capital is more restricted than those of Putnam and Fukuyama,
which refer only to personal and family relationships. A person from an old, wealthy family
enjoys social connections that the nouveaux riches lack, by definition (Rehbein, 2007, 19).
Bourdieu in his main work, Distinction (1984), focuses on both economic and cultural capital. In
other works, he distinguishes other kinds of capital, such as social, symbolic and political.
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Symbolic capital, according to Bourdieu (1984, 291), is the prestige conferred by a title, a
function or some other personal bequest. For instance, economic capital does not merely allow
people to buy something it also gives them a specific prestige. The same is true for a special
accent, clothes or diploma. Political capital originates from a political role (Bourdieu 1998a);
Bourdieu seemingly has discussed this that only with reference to socialist countries.
Furthermore, to these forms of capital, Bourdieu presents in a host of other varieties in his
writings without defining or elucidating them. This should not concern us excessively as the role
of the general concept is significant, not its explicit forms. The different forms of capital can be
converted into one another or, as I prefer to say, one form of capital can be used to obtain
another. This can lead to an increase in both types of capital (such as the use of social capital to
gain economic capital) or to the spending of one form to acquire another (such as the use of
economic capital to obtain cultural capital).
One could say that capital in Bourdieu’s theory is an essential resource for social acts, which in a
explicit instance is related as correct and demand positive consequences for the agent. The notion
of capital is intimately connected to that of habitus. Knowing how to blow your nose properly is
at once part of one’s habitus and cultural capital. While the notions of capital and habitus have
overlap, they can be differentiated by their role: habitus influences one’s way of acting; capital
influences one’s social position. Both notions are near to the concept of field. A field looks like a
social system but differs from it in that it cannot be analyzed independently of social action and
of power relations. Every field has its own logic and structure (Bourdieu 1984, 113). Fields are
ascertained by their logic—not by their medium, as in the theory of systems. Their boundaries
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cannot be clearly and objectively described as they are continually being redefined in the social
process by agents themselves (Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992, 100). From the viewpoint of
sociology, almost any scope of social action can be referred to as a field. As in the case of capital,
there is little point in determining the number and identity of possible fields; such an exercise
would depend on the possibility and goal of the analysis undertaken.
Bourdieu believes in the differentiation between diverse social groups. The basic assumption of
differentiation is always similar. Several individuals distribute the same habitus and capital and
form a group (Bourdieu 1984, 101). Each group diverges in habitus and capital from all other
groups and tries to articulate and display this difference, particularly with regard to neighboring
groups, as the socially more remote groups do not form part of their lifestyle and everyday life. It
is certainly correct that we regularly have limited contact with people who lead a drastically
different life from ours and whom we do not know very much about. In most cases, we are
spatially distanced from them, and even if we encounter them regularly, we normally do not
communicate with them; even if we do, we do not use their concerns and perspectives (Rehbein,
2007, 21).
5.2 Food as a main cultural indicator
Whether or not viewed from archeological-historical, socio-cultural or biomedical perspectives,
food is not only a basic concern for all human societies, it is also a cultural practice. Considered
in view of the work of Ellen Messer (1984), the old proverbs, ‘tell me what you eat and I’ll tell
you who you are’ (in French), and ‘you are what you eat’ (in German), point to more general
anthropological issues such as the relationships of human populations or social groups to their
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environment, the symbolic construction of cultures and the social relations and social structures
of societies. Some early British social anthropologists mentioned how the search for, the
preparation and consumption of food provided the primary focus rather than an interval in the
day’s activities, and how in such contexts, symbolic and emotional values of foods were often
used ritually to mark social status, intervals in time and culturally important environmental
reserves. Subsequent ethnographies emphasized the centrality of the social cooperation in the
quest for food and in food sharing to the structure and change of human social organization and
culture (Leonard, 2005, 166).
Therefore, in this part I elucidate the food index among the interviewees according to gender,
marital status and profession in both case study regions to find out if there are any differences
between them.
5.2.1 Gender
In the whole region of study both male and female interviewees eat Persian food as their main
cuisine; they do not eat any other type of foreign food. But there are some differences in eating
fast food amongst them. In general people in the city of Isfahan eat more fast food than do rural
dwellers. But also there are other differences among the gender groups with whom I conducted
my interviews. By looking to the analytical section in appendix 1, we can understand that going
to fast food restaurants is more common among male interviewees rather than for female
interviewees in both villages and in the city of Isfahan.
5.2.2 Marital Status
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The diet of all of the married interviewees in the region of study consists chiefly of Persian food.
The people who go to the fast food restaurants amongst them are very rare. But the situation
among single interviewees is different, as going to the fast food restaurant amongst single
interviewees is common especially in the city of Isfahan, and on the weekend most of the single
population goes to the fast food restaurants. In contrast, single interviewees in rural area go to
traditional Persian restaurants rather than fast food chain restaurants in the city.
5.2.3 Profession
The main food in both rural and urban areas for workers and student groups is traditional Persian
food which is very common among all of the interviewees in the case study region.
But whereas the worker groups in the whole case study region do not go to the fast food
restaurants to eat their meal, going to the well known fast food restaurants is very common
among students in both the villages and in the city. They spend more time in these places and are
also well aware of these shops in the city. The students choose the famous fast food brands in the
city of Isfahan. As I have explained in analytical section in appendix 1, there are no famous
global fast food brands like McDonalds, Burger King, KFC etc, but the concept of chain fast
foods is visible in Iran. There are famous fast food shops which have multiple branches in Isfahan
and other cities and the young people and especially students go there to eat their meal outside of
home.
In general, findings about food as one of the indices in this thesis show that younger people,
singles and males eat more fast food than older people, married couples and women. The findings
also show that people eat fast food not just because of the food itself but they go to fast food
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restaurant to meet others and talk and enjoy their time. Watson explained in his book Golden
Arches East the reasons of growing fast food industry in some countries in East Asian and he
explained that the reasons are different in these countries; for example in China many of the
people did not like the food but assume that something more profound is at issue when eating at
McDonald’s; In Korea by contrast, hamburgers and similar meat products have long been a
feature of the natural diet, so to the actual taste of McDonald’s standard fare is not consider new
(Watson, 1997, 2). The situation in Iran is more similar to China, although there are strong
warnings in national TV and public opinion against unhealthy fast foods – I watched by myself a
documentary on TV, the name was “Shock” which was about fast food restaurants and unhealthy
food that encouraged people to eat their food more at home rather than go to these restaurants –
there is a trend among student, younger people and men to eat their food in these kind of
restaurant. Yunxiang Yan in the first chapter of the Watson’s book “McDonald’s in Beijing: The
Localization of Americana” explained that one of the reason why people go to the McDonald’s;
commenting that: “It seems ironic that although people have reservations about the food at
McDonald’s, they are still keen on going there. Why? Most informants said that they liked the
atmosphere of the restaurant, the style of eating, and the experience of being there. In other
words, the attraction of McDonald’s is that it offers, not filling food, but a fulfilling experience.
Or, as a local writer says, it is the culture of fast food that draws Beijing consumers to these
restaurants” (Watson, 1997, 47). Notwithstanding the fact that there is no McDonald or other
famous global fast food corporations in Iran, the concept of the fast food restaurants is still
apparent in the local branches of fast food in Isfahan and other big cities in Iran. Some specific
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Lifestyle indices and differences amongst study groups
groups of people, especially students and younger people, go to these fast food restaurants to
experience the different atmosphere and enjoy their time in a pleasant gathering place.
5.3 Industrial revolution and media in globalization era
According to Jean-Pierre Warnier (2004), a new historical situation emerged when the Industrial
Revolution allowed the “developed” (soon to be industrialized) countries to develop cultural
products and to spread them in mass and everywhere. One of the effects of this industrial
development is the globalization of culture, and moreover the development of industries of
culture that can produce and trade cultural goods on a large scale. The phrase of the globalization
of culture thus can be found in the circulation of cultural productions at the global scale. One of
the questions, Warnier (2004) mentions, discussed by the globalization of culture is how much
will world cultures weigh facing the “attack” of cultural industries? Frankfurt School scholars
and theorists (especially Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno) created the term “cultural
industry” for the first time in 1947: they wanted to denounce the mass production of cultural
goods that, according to them, would endanger the artistic creation. And in general, they meant to
emphasize the negative parts of industrial modernity doomed to produce a mixture culture,
counterfeit, superficial and standardized, without any depth (Leonard, 2005). Culture industry is a
phrase which shows both descriptive and conceptual meaning. In Horkheimer and Adorno’s
critical view, popular culture is similar to a factory producing standardized cultural goods to
manipulate the masses into passivity; the easy pleasures available through consumption of
popular culture make people docile and content, no matter how difficult their economic
circumstances. This mass-produced culture presents a danger to the more challenging high arts.
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The culture industry may cultivate false needs; that is, needs created and satisfied by capitalism
(Horkheimer and Adorno, 1972). They also used this term to prevent any possible confusion with
the meaning of mass culture, which they had chosen in their drafts. Culture industry was used in
order to exclude from the outset the interpretation agreeable to mass culture advocates: that it is a
matter of something like a culture that arises spontaneously from the masses themselves, the
contemporary form of popular art. From the latter culture industry must be distinguished in the
extreme. It is interesting to note that contrary to Horkheimer and Adorno in their negative
approach to culture industry, Walter Benjamin, also a member of the Frankfurt School, felt
optimistic about culture industry and popular culture and was more optimistic and saw an
emancipatory potential in the mass media (Qin, 2009).
As one of my main indices in this thesis is about Media and the usage of the new devices in the
region of study, I explain the analysis of the media index here using the lens of culture industry
theory and will find out if culture industry theory happens in the region of study; similar the way
that Horkheimer and Adorno have explained.
Most of the people in rural and urban areas watch both national TV and satellite channels; but the
common answer amongst them is that when they want to watch foreign programs they watch
them with Persian translation or subtitles, and also they listen to Persian music, but Persian music
refers to both the traditional and modern genres of music. The only groups of people who watch
media products in original version (without subtitles or dubbing) are the people who have English
language ability and students. They would prefer to watch foreign programs and listen to foreign
music. I will describe all the groups more precisely in this part.
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5.3.1 Gender
Both men and women interviewees in the whole case study region watch Persian programs from
national TV and satellite and as I mentioned in the analytical section if the programs are
produced in other countries they watch it in Persian translation or with Persian subtitles but they
mostly watch Persian broadcastings. The situation with the music is the same because most of the
male and female interviewees prefer to listen to Persian music.
But there are also major differences between men and women in the rural and urban areas that I
explain in this part.
The most important difference among villages and city residents is usage of the computer and
internet which is more common amongst the people who live in the city than it is among
villagers.
Another difference is between men and women; in comparison with women, the male
interviewees watch more soccer matches and other major sport events during the year to compare
with women. This means they are more familiar with the global concept of the sport.
5.3.2 Marital Status
Both the married and single groups in the case study watch Persian broadcasts but the difference
here is about choosing the programs because the married interviewees mentioned that they do not
have time to watch TV programs or listen to music and if they do have time, it would be for the
broadcastings that TV shows or radio plays vis-à-vis the single interviewees which have more
time choose their specific programs in both national TV and satellite channels. They also work
with computer and internet more than the married responders. Still among villagers working with
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Lifestyle indices and differences amongst study groups
computer and internet is less common than among urbanities in both married and single
interviewees. The married interviewees answered that they bought computers for their children
and do not actually use with computers very often.
5.3.3 Profession
The two profession groups of workers and students in rural and urban areas own satellite, TV and
other modern devices but the usage of these devices varies according to their users, specifically in
music and internet.
The whole of the worker and student interviewees watch Persian programs in both national TV
and via satellite; the foreign programs would be in translation or with subtitles. In addition,
students also watch foreign movies and TV series in original version or with or without subtitles
and are more familiar with global broadcastings. Workers mostly listen to Persian music while
students listen to both traditional and modern Persian music and also some major foreign bands;
they are familiar with the other genre of music, well known singers and bands in the world such
as Michael Jackson, Metallica and U2, etc.
In working with computer and internet the usage and intensity of that among student is higher
than the workers. Most of the student work with internet everyday and very commonly use it to
carry out research for university.
5.3.4 Language ability
As it is mentioned in the appendix 1 in finding section, the big differences concerning media
consumption emerge with the people who have the ability to speak English.
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By looking at the results of this group we understand that the interviewees, who can speak
English, are watching more foreign programs and movies in comparison with other groups and
they do not need to watch them with translation or subtitle. They also listen to foreign music
more than other people and can repeat the songs that they are listening.
Working with the internet is similar for them - they check the English websites more than other
groups who do not have this ability in English; for reading the news also they use both Persian
and English websites. In fact they can work with computer and internet more than the other
interviewees who do not have the ability to speak other languages.
For conclusion of media as one of the indices in this thesis, we back again to the culture industry
theory and refer to Herbert Marcuse, another main theorist of Frankfurt School, and its critical
theory of society, originated in the 1920s in Germany. The Frankfurt School made a critical
analysis of the economic and political challenges of modern capitalism, but it also critiqued
culture and more precisely the cultural domination of the culture industry. It was thought that the
culture industry would influence and control the arts, and that with consumerism and advertising
joint, we would turn out with standardized commodity production replacing critical and creative
cultural expression. Specifically, Marcuse has foreseen that this logic of commodification would
happen in contemporary societies from which appear a ‘one-dimensionality’ of life. Marcuse
especially focused on cultural superstructure: he discussed in his critique of culture “OneDimensional Man” that an external world of mass production, mass distribution and mass
technology declares the whole person (Leonard, 2005, 183).
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The actual observations recorded in the study mean that the theory of the culture industry cannot
be made to fit the entirety of the groups in the study, for it cannot explain the situation of all of
the groups. Because the groups like women, married and workers are using the domestic
broadcasting rather than foreign one; on the other hand the groups like students and people who
have the ability of speaking English use more mass cultural production, mass media and mass
technology. Therefore, culture industry theory can be applied to these specific groups and not all
the people in the society.
Finally, we can conclude that because of the abundance of usage of media broadcasting among
the people who have English language ability and students, we can claim that they are more
globalized in this index comparison with the people who do not have this ability; furthermore this
usage of global media broadcastings affects other aspects of their life which I will explain in the
coming parts.
5.4 Globalization and the clothing industry
Globalization is uncontrollable and the most visible testament to the power of this process is the
clothes people are wearing in completely different regions of the world, countries and cultures.
People, clothes and fashion are becoming more and more similar, while good old diversity and
individualism are gradually being put aside. In the past different geographical location, different
culture and even different atmosphere have had a lot to do with how people used to dress.
Nowadays with globalization on every place, people more and more wear similar and even
completely identical outfits. This is not only the case with clothing but also with shoes, jewelry,
hair style, make up and other fashion items.
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Since the 1980s and the growth of the global economy, there has been massive growth in what
Joanne Eicher has termed “world fashion”. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the
preferred attires of young people of both genders from around the world have a tendency to be
sneakers, sweatshirts, T-shirts, and jeans. These outfits are also international symbols of
American culture. The young people wear the same clothing, a phenomenon made possible by
the exploitative mechanisms of the globalization of clothing manufacture, distribution, and
retailing and by new technologies, global commodity advertising of branded leisure clothing, and
the cultural and political domination of the United States. The reasons for wearing such clothing
are different, but these clothes indicate youth, modernity, and an enthusiasm to belong to the
newly globalized capitalist world (Meternick, 2010).
In this part I take a look to the analyzing of clothing part in my interviews and we understand if
the trend that is mentioned above in globalization and clothes is happening in the case study
region or not.
5.4.1 Gender
The men and women in both rural and urban areas wear normal clothes without any specific
brands, marks and signs visible on their clothes. Nevertheless there are some differences amongst
them, for example people in the city of Isfahan prefer clothes which are chic and stylish but
people in rural area prefer clothes which are comfortable. Also the women in both the city and
villages are more concerned about the shops that they choose to buy their clothes. Some of the
women in rural areas replied to my inquiry by saying that they just buy their clothes from the
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boutiques in the city of Isfahan and never buy them from a village, but men in rural area buy their
clothes in both city and villages boutiques.
With some exceptions most of the men and women do not care about the brand of their clothes
and also some of them are not even aware of the global brands in the world.
5.4.2 Marital status
The married interviewees asked about their clothes mentioned that they wear normal clothes
which are comfortable and also present Persian culture and hat they don’t look for any unique
signs in their clothing. Intriguingly all of them answered that they do not buy major and famous
brands, also do not care about the brands and mark of the clothes and outfit. This answer was
common in both the city and rural areas but the answer of the single interview is a little different
because sometimes they are also aware about the brands of their clothes and care about it,
although it was more visible among people in the city rather than the villages. I have mentioned
in the appendix 1 in one village that I have interviewed one person who cares about his clothes
brand and mark. But as I mentioned knowing and having familiarity about the clothes brand is
more common among urbanities rather than villagers.
5.4.3 Profession
The worker interviewees in both rural and urban areas choose their clothes with consideration of
their job, they said: we wear clothes which are suitable for our work. It depends on their work
and some of them that have official and prestigious works in an office answered: we wear suit
and the clothes which are classically cut and good value. They also buy their clothes from
boutiques and never look for major brands and mark of their clothes; they said that the price is
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Lifestyle indices and differences amongst study groups
more important for them rather than the mark and brands of clothes. Also in the villages people
who are working use to wear clothes that are simple and comfortable because when they are
working, it is very important to wear clothes which are comfortable and suitable for their job.
Especially among farmers, this answer was often repeated.
They also do not buy clothes with famous marks and brands and never care about this specific
kind of clothes. When I asked them if they buy the other famous domestic marks and brands they
answered me no, we never buy these kinds of clothes because they are too expensive for us and it
is not worth it to buy them.
The situation among students is different because most of the students buy clothes which are chic
and stylish, and while they are aware of major and famous brands in the world, as such brand
would be very expensive for them, they prefer to buy just normal clothes without any brands and
marks.
In general, when we consider the results of this analysis of clothing, we understand that people in
both regions wear normal clothes without any specific marks and global brands and normally
they do not care about it. It is plausible if we conclude in this way that in clothing index people in
case study region are not globalized and still have their domestic manner in this lifestyle as
another index in this thesis. But we need to mention here that because of the use of global media
broadcastings is more common in some groups like students is more common, they are also more
familiar with the clothes global brands even they can not afford to buy them. At some point for
instance, in sport outfits they prefer to pay more money and buy these global marks, which means
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Lifestyle indices and differences amongst study groups
because of watching global sport programs and big sport events in the world, they are aware
about the brands and try to purchase these clothes for themselves.
5.5 Religions in globalized world
Lester Kurtz, in his work, Gods in the Global Village, has discussed, how, historically, religions
have normally consisted of the beliefs and practices of a particular community. Religions have
offered a “sacred canopy”, to use Peter Berger’s term, within which people made sense of their
world. “Our ancient ancestors sat around the fire and heard stories about their forebears - about
the time when life first emerged in the universe, about lessons for living their lives”, Kurtz says.
In more formal terms, religious ideas can be seen as ‘the major organizing rules for explaining
the world and defining ethical life’ (Kurtz, 2007, 3).
While religious ideas have been deeply linked to precise cultures, Kurtz recognizes that religious
traditions have always been dynamic, changing as they have encountered each other. There are
no “pure” religious traditions which have been preserved intact over centuries (Kurtz, 2007, 98).
And it has always been the case that within cultures there, have been different versions of the
religious tradition for different groups and society, such as different social groups and classes.
The “sacred canopy” has not largely been uniform.
In the modern globalized world, religions are facing two main problems. The first, he sees in
modernism, which he describes as the emergence of a global, scientific-technological culture
connected to a scientific view of the world. One of the outcomes of this problem has been the redefinition of the position of religion in the world, in which the place of technology and science is
recognized, but in which religion is seen as focusing on the ends of life and of well-being while
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science focuses on the means. At the same time, there has been a penchant for religion to
withdraw into the personal areas of life with a secularization of public life in which people from
many different religious faiths can share a common social life.
The second problem is the matter of the pluralism of religion. Some religions, particularly
Jewish, Christian and Islam (sometimes known as the religions of the book in that their authority
lies primarily in sacred texts, in fact, of similar texts) have asserted special accounts of the nature
of reality. The encounter of religions with each other, which is happening with increasing
frequency as globalization continues, Kurtz says, fuels “culture wars” (Kurtz, 2007, 168). Diverse
worldviews give rise to different allegiances and different standards in relation to family, law, art,
education and politics. Furthermore, Kurtz has discussed that conflicts between people, ethnic
groups, classes, and nations are repeatedly framed in religious terms. These religious conflicts
often take on larger-than-life proportions as the battle of good against evil (Kurtz, 2007, 170).
Kurtz does not see globalization as leading to a unified religion. Rather, religion is becoming an
issue of individual choice in which many religions are competing for attention. Within the global
marketplace of religion, the relatively autonomous sacred canopy may be an artifact of the past,
he suggests. But at the same time, attempts to combine culture on a global level have been
countered by the revival of more localized practices in the form of religious fundamentalist and
other protest movements (Kurtz, 2007, 99).
In this part I will describe my analyzing of the religious questions in the villages and the city of
Isfahan according to the groups into which I have divided the interviewees. At the outset we will
determine the relation between people and religion in the case study and secondly we examine
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their beliefs and global concepts of social a manner which are related to the Islamic religion in
Iran.
5.5.1 Gender
Both Men and women in rural and urban areas practice their Islamic religious acts; sometimes
with social participation, as in going to the mosque. They participate in yearly acts and
ceremonies as well; they are committed to carrying out these religious activities.
They view the New Year’s ceremony of Nowrooz as a part of ancient Persian civilization that is
celebrated with Islamic acts mixed in, such as praying and blessing God according to the
traditions of Islam.
Their travel destinations are both religious and non religious places but mostly they prefer to go
to religious places.
Women in both rural and urban areas have the opinion that having a boyfriend or girlfriend
before marriage is not suitable for their children. Also they prefer to have Hijab; but if we take a
look at the appendix 1 and at the data analysis, we understand that the answers among men are
different. If they have a male child they allow them to have girlfriend if they want to have one,
whereas if they have a female child they do not let them to have boyfriend before marriage. And
also in choosing Hijab they exhibit the same norms; those who have boys say they can have their
opinion and make their decisions by themselves; those who have girls said no, the children must
wear Hijab.
5.5.2 Marital status
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The entire married and single interviewees perform their religious acts personally or socially and
I have not had even one interviewee say: no I don’t do these religious activities. All of them also
participate in yearly memorial acts and ceremonies.
In New Year ceremony also they have the same idea and beliefs that it is belonged to the Persian
civilization and Islamic period.
Both single and married interviewees have the same travel destination and there is no difference
in their answers. The most important differences emerge when the married interviewees talk
about relationship and Hijab concepts, they talk about them reluctantly and most of them said that
we do not allow our children to have boyfriend or girlfriend before marriage and they have to
have Hijab while single interviewees are more open mind and say they can choose their wearing
style and have their opinion about their relationship. They said we do not force them to have
Hijab or do not have boyfriend or girlfriend before marriage. Interestingly these sorts of answers
were common among all the single interviewees in both rural and urban areas.
5.5.3 Profession
In the religious questions workers responded that they do participate in daily, weekly and yearly
religious acts and religion is very important for them. But they also said if they have time they
prefer to go to the mosques otherwise they stay at home and pray.
The Persian New Year also for them is a celebration mixing Islam with elements of an ancient
Persian celebration. Their travel destinations are both religious and non religious places but they
mostly answered that they first go to religious cities like Mashhad and Qom then decide to go to
other places.
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Most of the worker interviewees in the villages and city answered that, they don’t let their
children have boyfriends or girlfriends before marriage and that their children must also wear
when they want to go out of the house and in public places.
But when we take a look to the appendix 1 and analytical section, we understand that there are
major differences between workers and students in both regions. Because the students are more
open minded and believe that they can decide how they dress- that is, with or without Hijab. And
if their children want, they could have boyfriends or girlfriends before marriage.
By taking a look at the religious views of the people in the case study we realize that religion
plays an important role in their daily life. They all participate in daily, weekly and yearly
religious activities and ceremonies; furthermore, most of the people are concerned about Islam in
their social affairs such as relationships before marriage or the matter of wearing the Hijab. The
only groups that are more open mind on these issues are students and single people who
answered to the religious questions freely. While these groups regularly perform their religious
activities and believe in the Islamic faith, regarding the issues of relationships and the wearing of
the Hijab their opinions might be characterized as more open and globalized; it appears that the
broadcasting that they watch may be affect their perspectives on these issues and they have
grasped these new opinions from the Media and culture industry that we discussed in media part.
We can conclude that because watching foreign broadcasting among student and single
interviewees is higher than in other groups the concept of relationship and wearing style among
them is also more globalized.
5.6 Leisure change after World War II
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Changes in society and space continue to change general knowledge of what leisure is and how it
manifests. Since the end of World War II a number of social and economic changes have been
suggested as contributing factors in the expansion of leisure industries and spaces.
These factors include: continued urbanization; increasing mobility of capital; labor and
populations; technological change; car and home ownership; increasing standards of living and
discretionary spending; shorter and more flexible working hours. In the Western world, statistics
show that over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries hours of weekly work have
decreased and have become more disjointed and flexible. An increase in paid holidays and shifts
toward service-based economies led commentators in the 1970s and 1980s to predict the arrival
of a postindustrial society, one in which leisure would be prioritized over work. The continued
social, political, and economic dominance of paid work, the existence of the income rich–time
poor, and unevenness and disparity in the geographical expansion of these transformations have
meant the predictions of the arrival of a leisure society have not been realized.
However, processes of globalization have brought other transformations, resulting in more
complex webs of economic, cultural, and political leisure activity connecting people and places
across nation-states and producing new forms of material and discursive connections.
The increase and growth of international tourism, environmental impacts of resource and land
use, and the formation of electronic ghettos are just some of the issues which evidence how
people and places tie into complex and uneven relationships across a variety of scales. Though
spaces, activities, and forms of leisure have altered over time, leisure remains a site for the
production and expression of power, and a key marker of identity and difference.
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The extensive availability of a range of mass-produced and niche commodities, the development
of new consumer products, services, and sites linked to particular lifestyles and identities, rituals
associated with the possession, repair, display, and use of commodities have meant leisure
activities are progressively subject to commodification.
Global media conglomerates dominate coverage of major sporting events and the numbers of
individuals employed in leisure, tourism, sport entertainment industries globally are growing. The
growth of media, communication and information technologies has also meant greater exposure –
though not necessarily personal access – to a range of new leisure practices, spaces, lifestyles,
and identities. In some countries neoliberal forms of governance have seen the marketization of
government provided leisure and free time services with succeeding changes in delivery, cost,
and access to leisure facilities and spaces.
Though predictions of a leisure society have not been fulfilled, leisure spaces are a visible part of
landscapes in many contemporary societies. Their presence is often connected to commodified
leisure practices with many of these spaces operating as sites of public though often privately
owned leisure in the form of shopping malls, exhibitions, tourist spaces, theme parks, and
multiplex cinemas etc. However, an overemphasis on spectacular spaces and narcissistic,
commodified, ostentatious leisure practices obscures the significant ways in which leisure also
occurs in private and home spaces, and how mundane leisure practices such as eating, listening to
music, or sharing time with friends also produce meaning, identities, social relations, and
geographies which may extend beyond the locality in which they occur. Relations of gender,
sexuality, class, disability, ethnicity, and age are also performed and expressed powerfully
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through leisure and social and spatial heterogeneity continues to be a feature of leisure practices
and sites. Hence, it is important to see many of the trends outlined here as generalizations, some
with a much longer historical trajectory than their visibility as twentieth- or twenty-first-century
phenomenon might suggest (Mansvelt, 2009).
In this part I utilize the categories of gender, marital status, profession, in rural and urban
residence in order to elucidate my interviewee’s responses to my questions about leisure and free
time usage. I emphasize on the role of media in leisure and free times activities and also try to
find out the relation between these two indices of lifestyle.
5.6.1 Gender
The most visible difference between men and women in both rural and urban areas in leisure is
that women normally prefer to spend their free time with their family even when they go out, but
the men prefer to spend the time with their friends and hang out with them rather than stay with
the family.
Another difference is between villages and the city. The urbanites spend their time in common
places in the city and going to parks, exhibitions, sport complexes, cinema etc, but the villagers
go out around their village and spend free time in the nature around their living region. This
shows that the leisure activity in the city is more related to the trends and activities wrought by
globalization, as I have explained these types of leisure activities in the “leisure change after
World War II” the concept of global leisure is more visible among urbanities rather than
villagers.
5.6.2 Marital status
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The results of the findings of appendix 1 in gender part in rural area shows that villagers spend
their time with families; particularly married people spend their time with their relatives in
villages because the social bonds between them is still strong, but in the city married people
spend their time just with their family and not with their relatives.
Among single interviewees the situation is different because most of the interviewees in the
villages and city spend their time mostly with their friends and it is not common among them to
spend their leisure with their family. But the differences emerge among villagers and urbanities to
the type of leisure activities because the people in the city go out and do some activities like
shopping, watching movies at the cinema, and sometimes pursue the city’s night life but in the
villages both married and single interviewees stay at villages and spend their leisure there. Only a
few single interviewees go to the city sometimes to spend their free time.
5.6.3 Profession
The workers also spend their free time with their family but most of them go out and far from
their work place; they say that because they work during weekdays they would like to go out for
the weekend and during their other free time. This attitude is common among villagers and
urbanities. The difference that I have explained in the last two parts is also visible between
workers in the villages and the city, in that the villagers prefer to spend their leisure with relatives
and urbanites with family and friends.
Students in both rural and urban areas spend their leisure and free time in the city with their
friends and go to coffee shops or other entertainment places. Just a small number of them stay at
home and spend the time with the family. Some of them also go to the new established clubs like
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billiard and bowling to spend their leisure time in other similarly globalized ways. They also
mostly prefer to go to the fast food restaurants more than do other groups; these activities are
mentioned above as kind of global leisure which is also related to the concept of leisure in a
globalized world and relates to the new consumption of media.
Among students these activities are normal but I did not encounter these concepts of leisure in
other groups I interviewed. This indicates that the connection with global leisure activities that is
mentioned in the leisure overview is higher and stronger amongst students rather than other
interviewee groups.
Finally I would like to emphasize one point, as the impact of globalization are more visible in
some specific groups like students and single interviewees, doing the activities in leisure also is
more globalized among them; for example going to coffee shops or new sport places like billiard
and bowling is more common among students than it is among others. These results could be
linked to the media section that shows students are using more global media broadcastings;
therefore, the students are more familiar with global leisure activities and try to spend their free
times in a globalized way. More precisely they do their leisure activities via the media
broadcasting that they have received via satellite and try to be more close to global activities, but
as I mentioned it just happens among the groups who are affected by globalization and
specifically culture industry theory. This means using media helps them to be familiar with these
new concepts and to try to act in these global ways.
Chapter 6
Theories of cultural globalization and discourse on
Iranian society
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In keeping with the objective of the thesis, namely, to determine differences in the lifestyle
indices of urban and rural populations in the case study and amongst people of different gender,
marital status, professions, and language abilities, I have analyzed the findings compiled for each
index. Now we will determine whether the hypotheses can be confirmed or rejected, according to
which we will be able to understand which theory of cultural differentialism paradigms can
explain different groups in both rural and urban areas. Accordingly, we use other theories related
to the topic and useful for the justification of the case study analysis and finally we add
discourses about Iranian society and its relation to the issues of globalization-localization and
modern-tradition.
6.1 Are there any differences in lifestyle indices?
In this thesis we have two hypothesizes which are related to the indices that have been used in
interview and observation sheet.
The first hypothesis is that the relation of local, national and global cultures depends on the
contact with global flows on the one hand and on social positions on the other hand.
After analyzing the whole interviews in both rural and urban areas according to gender, marital
status, profession and language ability, we can determine that this hypothesis is confirmed.
Because in the whole society the people who are more confronted with global flows are more
active in globalized lifestyle and manners.
By taking a look at people who have the ability to speak English we understand that they watch
more English movies, listen to more foreign music and work more with the computer and
internet; therefore, they are more globalized than the other groups who can not speak English.
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In addition, the groups such as students in both rural and urban areas are spending more time in
fast food restaurants, working with the computer and internet more than the other groups and are
familiar with global ideas of entertainment. They are well aware of major music bands and major
sport events in the world.
In addition, students who are more often confronted with the cultural currents of globalization
would allow their children to have boyfriends or girlfriends before marriage and would allow
them to choose their style of dress were Hijab not mandatory in Iran.
If we closely examine the analytical section, we also can appreciate the differences amongst the
study groups. The differences for example, amongst men and women, married and single
interviewees, workers and students and also the people who have the ability to speak English are
apparent.
The study groups who are more in contact with the world are more globalized. The groups such
as students and English speakers are the main example of the whole society. According to the
culture industry theory from Horkheimer and Adorno that I explained in media part, I would like
to point that that nowadays media broadcasting can affects all aspects people’s lives. As is
apparent in the case study, people who use more global broadcasting demonstrate a globalized
lifestyle in all aspects of their everyday life. In my case study it occurred among some specific
groups - students and the people who have the ability to speak English and these traits it is not
visible among all the members of the society. Interestingly, these effects could be visible in both
case study regions which are villages and the city.
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The second hypothesis is that there are differences between rural and urban areas in trends of
cultural globalization in lifestyle indices.
To examine this hypothesis we need to go back to the analytical section and look at differences in
lifestyle indices between rural and urban areas in the case study region.
We cannot confirm or reject this hypothesis generally because in some indices there are
differences and in the others both rural and urban lifestyles have some kind of similarity;
therefore, I explain the indices separately and relate them to the hypothesis and create subhypothesis for each of the indices.
In the food index the differences amongst villagers and urbanites in the fast food part emerge: the
people in the city are going to the fast food restaurants more than the villagers. But the principle
cuisine is still the same in the whole society and the people in the case study just eat Persian food
as their main dish. Hence, the sub-hypothesis concerning fast food is confirmed and concerning
main food is rejected. Thus the differences in villages and the city in fast food part are apparent.
In the Media index the situation between villagers and urbanities has two factors that must be
considered, first ownership of new and modern media devices such as satellites, computers and
internet and second the usage of such devices.
Both rural and urban dwellers have these devices in their homes, and the only difference here
could be visible in the quality of these devices which is better in the city in comparison with what
is available in the villages (see appendix 3).
But there are important differences in the use of these devices in the regions in question. While
the villagers own the devices in their houses they do not use them regularly; they are not working
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with the computer and internet like urbanities are, and in the villages just small numbers and
groups such as single or students are using these technologies habitually. Also by taking a look at
the analytical section in appendix 1, we realize that the other criteria such as listening to music,
watching movies or sport programs are more globalized in urban areas than the rural regions.
Thus the sub-hypothesis concerning media is also confirmed and the differences in the use of new
media devices in rural and urban area are apparent.
The index of clothes has a sub-hypothesis that could be rejected, because although there are some
differences in rural and urban areas about the main feature and characteristic of their clothes such
as being stylish or comfortable or the places that villagers and urban dwellers buy their clothes,
the main designs and outer appearances are still the same and the differences are not noticeable.
Besides that both groups are not strongly familiar with or aware of the global clothes brands and
do not make use of these brands and marks regularly.
The sub-hypothesis of religious questions could be rejected because the differences in this part is
not between villagers and urbanities but is visible amongst different groups that I discussed in the
analytical section.
In both regions people are religious and perform daily, weekly and yearly religious acts. They
believe that their New Year is related to traditional Persian civilization and celebrate it with
Islamic acts mixed in.
They also go to the both religious and non-religious places for their travel destinations and have
the same attitude toward the wearing of Hijab and relationships before marriage.
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The next sub-hypothesis, which is about leisure and spending free time in rural and urban
settings, can be confirmed. The differences in this index become apparent when we take a look at
the types of activities of the villagers and urban residents. The people who are living in the rural
area spend more time in their villages and communicate more with their extended relatives in the
villages but the urbanites spend their time more with their own family and friends and go to
public places. The individual life among urban dwellers is more visible than it is among villagers;
the social connections in rural area still exercise strong influences in the villagers’ daily lives.
The observation part as another index in this thesis also could have a sub-hypothesis. By take a
look at the analysis of observation in appendix 1, we understand that while in both regions there
are some differences in house decorations between rural and urban houses, this does not
demonstrate an immense gap between these two regions, because they both use modern devices
and have the same dominant style in their house decoration. By referring to the first hypothesis
we understand that differences occurs among specific groups in both rural and urban area and not
the people in general in these regions, even the participant observations in matchmaking
ceremonies in which I participated, have had the same routines and traditions which I have
explained in appendix 1 in the observation section. Hence, the sub-hypothesis in observation
section could be rejected in this thesis.
6.2 Adjusting cultural globalization theory to the case study region
In this part, first we illustrate the relation between global and local by taking a brief look to
important discourses on globalization and its relation to Westernization and also globalization
and localization, then we look back to our theory in the theoretical framework chapter and will
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find out according to the results and analysis of the data which theory or sub-theory can explain
the region of study or if we need to turn to another theory for the case study that can explain the
characteristic of the region.
Globalization as Westernization
Wallerstein’s historical research about the condition of Europe at the core of development of
capitalism explains that processes of globalization have very close connections with processes of
westernization. The simple declaration of modernization theory that social progress is equal to
the spread of western institutions and norms is now defunct, but Hettne’s (1995) identification of
‘Eurocentric bias’ in thinking about development encourages us to rethink basic categories of this
understanding of the world. In the West, the expanded contact with other cultures brought about
by globalization has had the consequence of undermining certainties on which ideas of western
superiority were based, making it more and more hard to specify what it means to be western.
However, it seems to be a point that processes of globalization and westernization are closely
interconnected. There are theorists for whom it is important to emphasize capitalism as the
driving force within globalization. Sklair (2001) discussed that the functioning of transnational
capitalism has been essential to the proliferation of transnational corporations and the
globalization of mass media, both of which have promoted consumerism as a principle part of
modern global culture. This allows the distinction between ‘capitalist development’ and
alternative definitions of development framed in terms of economic growth, criteria of the
distribution of the social product, democratic politics and the elimination of class, gender and
ethnic inequalities. Various scholars from different social and cultural sciences contemplate
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processes of globalization and flows of cultural elements across frontiers as a global cultural
homogenization, as ‘Westernization’ or an ‘Americanization’. This perspective is based on the
fact that the trend of cultural elements across boundaries is dominated by western industrial
nations, such as the United States. According to these scholars, the global flow of cultural forms
and meanings occurs along a one-way street from the core countries to the peripheral countries
(Schuerkens, 2004, 18). Hannerz (1992, 219) says: “when the center speaks, the periphery listens,
and mostly does not talk back”. Mass media, products from mass media and (material)
consumption goods are considered to contribute to a global cultural homogenization. The spread
of these goods from core countries implies an increasing development of consumption societies
close to the western model. Mlinar (1992b, 21) speaks of ‘cocacolization’, Appadurai (1995, 295)
of ‘commoditization’ and Hannerz (1996, 24) of a global ‘takeover by giant cultural commodity
merchants’.
Globalization as Glocalization
Another topic that has been raised in the issue of globalization is glocalization debates. Many of
the social and cultural trends that we are confronted with at the commencement of the third
millennium are rather new in the history of human beings. This statement can be clarified by
reference to three major phenomena: first, an increasing part of human beings around the world
are connected with each other; second, the cumulative effects of human actions and interactions
are leading to, for example, global ecological problems; and, third, the resulting increasing
complexity of the world. This means that our disciplines have to investigate globalizing
interactions amongst nation-states, economies, societies and cultures. However, globalization is
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not simply dissolving local life-worlds in their traditional local structures and settings, but is
interacting with them in a sort of localization, or ‘glocalization’ as some scholars call it
hybridization (see Nederveen Pieterse, 2004). As sociology and cultural anthropology analyze the
conditions of humankind in a global era, local changes resulting from the impact of global forces
mean a new form of interdependence of cultures. Thus, nationally constricted approaches such as
modernization and dependence theories have lost their explanatory power. Instead, new
theoretical and analytical approaches are needed to study social transformation in various world
regions under conditions of globalization (Schuerkens, 2004).
To conclude this discussion on the relation between globalization, localization and westernization
it would serve to refer to Schuerkens (2003) who demonstrates:
On the one hand, there are universalizing processes of modernization and
globalization, mostly of western origins, that are spreading all over the world. On the
other hand, there are tendencies to maintain traditional life-worlds, attempting at
keeping up the authenticity of their cultures. The interaction of these processes results
in varying forms of implantation of and adaptation to western modernity and culture,
crystallizing in differing mixtures and hybrid modes of western modernity and nonwestern traditions, various forms of reaction and resistance to the imposition of the
western model, or various forms of dissolution and destruction of traditional lifeworlds through the impact of the western civilization (Schuerkens, 2003, 195).
In order to work towards a better understanding of the relation between globalization and culture
which is the main topic of this thesis we will illustrate all possible theories of cultural
differentialism.
Nederveen Pieterse (2004) explains that the process of globalization, or the tendency towards
global interconnectedness, has produced various concepts and understandings of cultural
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differences. In response to the awareness of a shrinking global community and cultural diversity
there has been a mounting “sensitivity to cultural difference.” Within general global culture there
is a mounting salience of cultural difference that has brought on a self-reflexivity of modernity,
which is undertaken by those that concede the fact that their traditions and culture are at threat or
are eroding away. The advance of modernity has brought noticeable modifications, wiping out
cultural and biological diversity, causing some to develop feelings of alienation and
disenchantment or physical displacement. Today the concept of cultural identity has shifted from
the traditional national differences to alternative forms of identification, for instance gender,
ethnic and religious movements, minority rights, indigenous movements. Nederveen Pieterse
(2004) explains that there are three paradigms to “globalization and culture” where cultural
differences are recognized within a “self-reflexivity of modernity”: “clash of civilizations”,
“McDonaldization”, “glocalization and hybridization”:
He says there are three, and only three, perspectives on cultural difference: cultural
differentialism or lasting difference, cultural convergence or growing sameness, and cultural
hybridization or ongoing mixing. The first view, according to which cultural difference is
immutable, may be the oldest perspective on cultural difference. The second, the thesis of cultural
convergence, is as old as the earliest forms of universalism, as in the world religions. Both have
been revived and renewed as varieties of modernism, respectively in its romantic and
Enlightenment versions, while the third perspective, hybridization, refers to a postmodern
sensibility of traveling culture (Nederveen Pieterse, 2004).
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After analyzing all of the data, including the interviews, and explaining the theories of cultural
globalization and cultural differentialism we understand that the third paradigm of glocalization
and hybridization could fit and explain our region of study. Pieterse and Robertson in their
theories of hybridization and glocalization have emphasized mixing and the fact that it is
happening now in the case study region in particular and in Iran in general. In the comparison of
rural and urban areas in global flows Pieterse says:
“Is the hybridization of cultural styles then typically an urban phenomenon, a consequence of
urbanization and industrialization? If we look into the countryside virtually anywhere in the
world, we find tracks of cultural mixing: the crops planted, planting methods and agricultural
techniques, implements and inputs used (seeds, fertilizer, irrigation methods, credit) are usually
of translocal origin” (Nederveen Pieterse, 2004).
In the region of study people in both the city and in the villages are using new and modern
devices in everyday life. They have TV sets, Satellite, computer and internet. Also the other
instruments in their houses are modern and new. Beyond the new vehicles that are visible
everywhere, they have also microwave ovens, dishwashers and appliances for use in daily life.
The interesting point is that the people in Isfahan and its villages are using all these new
instruments and devices with local adjustments and traditions and the use of technology has been
localized in the case study region. For example they cook Persian food with the new and modern
cooking ovens. There is some kind of mixing in the whole region of study: although people still
have their tradition and lifestyle they have been globalized in some aspects of their everyday life.
This is mostly visible in some groups like students and some indices like media
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Furthermore, Robertson says: Glocalization processes have significant implications for
consideration of ‘the local’. We assume that local cultures do not simply mark themselves off
from each other. Rather, glocalization also includes the construction or the invention of local
traditions or forms of particularity (Robertson, 1995, 29). We consider that this process is
analogous to such conceptions as the ‘invention of culture’, the ‘invention of tradition’ or the
creation of ‘imagined communities’ (Wagner, 1975; Hobsbawm and Ranger, 1983; Anderson,
1983; cf. Robertson, 1995, 35).
In cross-cultural terms, glocalization does not simply produce or reproduce random forms of
cultural heterogeneity. It also reveals the ‘standardization of locality’ so that various localities
may possess very similar structures, reference points, symbolic textures or contents (Robertson,
1995, 30–1). The local is globally institutionalized (Robertson, 2003c). Therefore, glocalization
theory also can be fit to the region of study, because the people in the region are on the one hand
affected by the global flows, but on the other hand keep their tradition and lifestyle and achieve a
sort of compromise in their day-to-day living, drawing on the global and the local, the modern
and the traditional.
But we need to emphasize that globalization and its effects do not have a uniform impact across
the society. By taking a look at the analytical section we realize that the most important aspect of
cultural globalization that affects people in the case study region is media. Here we can refer back
to the culture industry theory of Horkheimer and Adorno. By adjusting culture industry theory to
apply it to the region of study we understand that this theory is fit with specific group who have
the ability to speak English and also students; the globalization process is occurring differently in
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various social group and different aspect of lifestyle. Although all the people use globalized
media in the region of study they still have their traditions, eat Persian food and wear normal
clothes without considering the brands and marks of their clothes and also they have their
religious beliefs; but the specific groups like students and people with knowledge of the English
language who are more confronted with globalization flows use new media technology and are
more familiar with global lifestyle concepts. These groups’ use of new media technology and
other new technologies has also affected other aspects of their life, for example students go more
to fast food restaurants and also are more familiar with famous clothes brands, in addition, they
are more open minded in their religious views and their leisure is more globalized for instance,
going to coffee shops or new sport places like billiard and bowling is more common in students
rather than others. This is the result of internet and global media and being conscious of these
concepts in the world.
The results show the fact that the link between cultural globalization and local lifestyle cannot be
explained by modernization or Westernization theories alone - other theories are needed to
explain our region of study; these theories could be hybridization and glocalization. This means,
for instance, in the one hand the diversity of national and regional lifestyles and traditions in the
region of study has still strong power, and on the other hand the power of globalization and
media diversity is affecting this lifestyle; on the front line of this process are young people and
specially students in both rural and urban areas.
Ulrike Schuerkens (2004) illustrates this process which is related to our results here:
it seems important to acknowledge the necessity of a notion such as glocalization which
tries to include aspects of both sides: local lifestyle can no longer be considered as
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separate unit. Today, people are confronted by transnationals, global images, markets and
media. They try to get to grips with these external elements. We can no longer speak of
the globalized world in terms of ‘centre–periphery’, which implied asymmetries in
economies, politics and culture. Instead the current globalization implies a form of
homogenization and diversity: globalization is linked to localization. As our case study
show, we have to analyze the ways in which local systems, values, social relations are
reworked in interaction with global conditions. For several decades, we have found the
creations of new local social forms as an answer to the process of globalization. In order
to be meaningful to social actors, these new social meanings must build on existing
cultural schemes. It becomes obvious that this sort of reinvention of tradition and creation
of new meanings is different from persisting local traditions. Thus glocalization permits
the opening up of a new theoretical understanding of social transformation and change
(Schuerkens, 2004, 12).
But as I have mentioned before this process in our case study has some differences from other
parts of the world, owing to Iran’s peculiar circumstances during the last century; we could claim
that according to our analysis of the data the process of glocalization is strongly impacting in
young people and specially students due to the culture industry and media globalization theories.
In next part I will explain Iranian situation more precisely and we understand why this has
emerged in Iranian society.
6.3 Iran, globalization and modernity
In this part we look for an explanation of the relation between globalization and localization in
Iran throughout history and in Iranian society. We will find out why the relation between Iranian
society and global flows is clarified by hybridization and glocalization theories with reference to
culture industry theory and why this situation has been happening in Iran which can be referred to
as a modern and traditional society simultaneously.
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Discussions about modernization and globalization are not completely new in Iran social science
discourse. Ever since the early encounters with the industrialized West, the questions of how to
modernize or how to avoid it have been at the forefront of discussion. In the early nineteenth
century, the Russian and British Empires defeated Iran in several wars and conquered some parts
of the Persian Empire’s territories. Iranians, who were shocked by the military might and the
economic supremacy of the West, started a procedure of improvement, realizing that alteration
was unavoidable. They wanted now to change institutions, appearances and environments to
refashion the country in the image of the West as a powerful actor. This also triggered a response
to such alterations, as it was found to be obnoxious or embarrassing for some people, and
threatening for others. These interior anxieties had a close link with external ones, in the context
of expanding, capitalist economies of the West forcing to integrate Iran into a new world system
as a peripheral partner. External and internal anxieties of this type lie at the heart, but are not the
sole cause, of two revolutions and several upheavals during the past one hundred years
(Madanipour, 2003, 137).
For some time, it was felt that arguments and uncertainties in relation to modernity were only a
symptom of the so-called traditional societies, on the margins of the expanding West. These were
thought to be slumbering societies that were being dragged into the modern age, and therefore,
some disturbance was not only unavoidable, but also healthy. Modernism was basically
constructed on the possibility and necessity of breaking with traditions and instituting new ways
of living and thinking. It was not expected to see these debates occurring in the heartland of
modernity. But we have witnessed in recent decades heated criticisms of modernity and
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Theories of cultural globalization and Discourse on Iranian society
modernization processes in the West on similar grounds (see, for example, Berman, 1982;
Harvey, 1989; Giddens, 1990; Touraine, 1995).
As the prosperity and security that the post-Second World War period was offering began to fade,
some of the earlier hesitations concerning modernity returned. The practices which have led to,
and followed, the Iranian revolution can be studied in the light of these and similar discussions.
Ever since the eighteenth century, revolutions have been major vehicles for breaking with the
past and major occasions to bring about modernization. In this sense, the Iranian revolution was
no exception. What did make it an exception was the use of traditional cultural norms to achieve
such a strong break. The synchronization of breaking with the past and returning to the past,
however, has created contradictions for the revolutionary practices and rhetoric. It has become
conventional understanding that the revolution in Iran took place in reaction to the forced
modernization processes of the Pahlavi epoch, aiming to liberate everyday life practices and
beliefs from these processes. What emerged, however, included some new forms of
modernization or, in some cases, a continuation of the existing forms. The revolution may have
watched some aspects of popular culture norm a further infringement of the modernization
processes. It has, at the same time introduced powerful elements of modernization in social and
political organizations as well as in the built environment (Madanipour, 2003, 138). One of the
most striking aspects of modernization in the Iranian revolution is the use of media during the
revolution; John Thompson in his book The Media and Modernity on the relation between the
global and the local and the role of communication media, refers to Iranian revolution text from
the work of Sreberny-Mohammadi and Mohammadi: During the 1970s, traditional religious
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Theories of cultural globalization and Discourse on Iranian society
languages and imagery were used in Iran as symbolic weapons in the struggle against the Shah,
who was associated with corrupting importation of Western culture.
Although Ayatollah
Khomeini was in exile, his speeches and sermons were recorded and smuggled into Iran on
audiocassettes, which were easily reproduced and widely diffused. But with the development of
an Islamic government in the post-revolutionary period, Western cultural products began to
assume a very different significance for many Iranians. Video of Western films and tapes of
Western pop music circulated as part of a popular cultural underground, taking on a subversive
character; they help to create an alternative cultural space in which individuals could take some
distance from a regime experienced by many as oppressive (Sreberny-Mohammadi and
Mohammadi, 1994).
Then Thompson comes up with a conclusion that examples such as these illustrate well the
contextually bounded character of the process of appropriation. As representative materials
circulate on an ever-greater scale, locales become sites where, to an ever-increasing extent,
globalized media products are received, interpreted and incorporated into the daily lives of
individuals. Through the localized process of appropriation, media products are embedded in sets
of practices which shape and alter their significance (Thompson, 1995, 175).
We need to add here that in the Iran of today, there are even greater possibilities for contact with
global media, because of the access granted by satellite and internet technology. But as I have
explained earlier this global media and culture industry has a greater impact on younger people
and student groups in Iran. This process also affects other aspect of their life such as religious
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Theories of cultural globalization and Discourse on Iranian society
views and leisure, although they still believe in their religion and traditions and have their old
lifestyle in other aspects like food or clothing.
Finally a compromise situation between Globalization-localization and modern- tradition is
taking shape in Iran. There is still strong tradition in some part of the Iranian society while other
parts are interacting more with globalization and modernization flows.
The two complexes of processes of globalization and localization are connected together
dialectically and work with and in contradiction of each other at the same time. Localization
channels the global energy, directs it to the suitable destination and modifies it to the formats of
the indigenous structures. In a dialectical process of give and take, the content and form of
globalization shape each other to the local needs and demands. At the same time, the local
demands and structures adapt themselves to global processes and institutions appropriate to their
growth and expansion. Global structures and changes, then, are integrated with local traditions
and existing social structures (Mahdi, 2003, 50).
6.4 Conclusion
As I have stated in the introduction, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of
cultural globalization in a rural area and compare it with an urban area, but not only between
these two regions but also amongst different social groups by following the example of Bourdieu
(1984). The theoretical model of the dissertation was designed according to the cultural
globalization theory from Nederveen Pieterse (2004) to find out that which kind of these theories
– cultural differentialism, cultural convergence and cultural hybridization – can explain and
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Theories of cultural globalization and Discourse on Iranian society
illustrate the region of study. I also explained the culture industry theory from Horkheimer and
Adorno for the explanation and justification of the data analyzing.
This thesis has attempted to critically analyze several sites of discourse on the issues surrounding
cultural globalization. By taking a look at the analytical section of the thesis and the whole data,
including the interviews and also explaining the theories of cultural globalization theories and
cultural differentialism; we have understood that the third paradigm which is glocalization and
hybridization can be fit to explain the case study region. Pieterse and Robertson in their theories
of hybridization and glocalization emphasize mixing; therefore, we could stress that it is taking
place now in the case study region of Isfahan and its rural surroundings in particular, as well as in
Iran in general.
This work illustrates a number of significant points about people lifestyle in current Iranian
society in general and in the specific case study region in particular.
These results also attest to the fact that the link between cultural globalization and local lifestyle
cannot only be explained by glocalization and hybridization theories alone – we also need to add
other theories to our analysis in order to explain the exact facts of the case study; these theories
could be culture industry and media glocalization. This means, for instance, on the one hand the
diversity of national or regional lifestyle and tradition in the region of study still have strong
power, and on the other hand the power of globalization and media diversity is affecting people’s
lifestyle; the front line of this process are young people and specially students in both rural and
urban areas.
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Theories of cultural globalization and Discourse on Iranian society
As we have stated before, this process in our case study has some differences from other parts of
the world and it is because of Iran’s peculiar condition during last century; we could claim that
according to our analysis of the data that the process of glocalization is especially apparent
among young people and students in particular, due to the phenomena described by the culture
industry and media globalization theories. The people who have the ability to understand foreign
languages, more specifically, English, and students who use more globalized media are more
affected by this process and have more globalized lifestyle. They are more familiar with global
media, and global clothing brands. In addition their religious views are more open minded in
comparison with the other social groups in the society; the way of spending their leisure and free
time is also more globalized. They are going to more fast food restaurants and coffee shops to
experience different atmosphere and enjoy their time in a pleasant gathering place. All these
observations show different lifestyles in different social groups according to the effects of
cultural globalization on region of study.
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Appendix 1
Lifestyle indices and case study analysis
In this section I will describe the interviews and observations by dividing both rural and urban
areas due to the main point of the thesis which is finding the differences in lifestyle indices
amongst villagers and urbanites in one hand and amongst different groups according to their
gender marital status, professing and language ability on the other hand. I have referred to this
section during the analyzing when it is necessary and relates to the topic.
As it is explained in the methodology chapter during my fieldwork I have done 100 interviews
and 50 observations in the region of study; I describe them according to the analyzing method
which is also mentioned in the third chapter.
1 Interviews:
In this part I will introduce the groups which I established in relation to individuals who I
interviewed, by presenting their socio-economic status, their different exposure to habits (Food,
Media, clothes, religious activity and their leisure) and finally their involvement level within their
activities in daily life. I will also discuss how the texts or narratives from the interviews will be
incorporated and displayed in the analysis.
The first part of my interviews questions was about their personal information that I have asked
them. These personal data are:
Gender
Age
Marital status
Profession
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Father’s profession
Living Place
How long have you lived here?
Highest level of education
Approximate income
Language ability
Due to these questions I tried to find people in the same social class. For the age I asked people in
active age between 20 to 40 years old. In average income I tried to find people who earn in the
vicinity of 300 to 700 Euros per month. This monthly revenue is the average income in Iranian
society (Iran statistical center, 2007). In educational question I didn’t ask illiterate people or high
educated person who for example has PhD degree, the criteria in this question was high school
Diploma to Master degree. The other questions and answer were open and I asked both males and
females, also from different professions and with different skill of languages, the interviews took
place in different places.
In this thesis I do not mention the whole 100 interviews separately but according to my points
that are finding the differences in lifestyle indices in both rural and urban area; I will analyze the
data in the gender, marital status, profession and language ability. I describe each group in both
regions of study and also when it is necessary I mention the percentage of the answers which I
have gained them from the interviews.
1.1 Urban Interviews:
1.1.1Gender:
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As I explained in methodology chapter as a male researcher was hard for me to get plenty of
access to female responders. Because of this difficulty I just could have done 20 interviews in the
region of study with females, ten of them were in Isfahan city. And the rest of the interviews
were done with the males.
Female interviews:
All the women that I have asked them during my interview prefer to eat Persian food in both
situations when they have guest or not. If they are married they cook by themselves and if they
are single they eat Persian food in their house with the family. They don’t go out for eating at the
weekend so often and even when they go out, most of them eat Persian food and do not prefer
any type of fast foods. I also asked them about other kind of food, originated in other countries,
but they had no idea about that, even when I mentioned some kind of foreign food like East Asian
or Latin American, still they don’t eat any other foreign food.
The women that I have done my interviews with them use computer in daily life and also some of
them own satellite and mp3 players and other new modern media devices. My questions were
concern about the kind of use. For example I asked them when you want to watch TV do you
prefer to watch Persian official TV or satellite. Some of them who did not own satellite answered,
that we just Persian TV but the others who own satellite answered that we watch both of them,
and when I asked them which programs mainly you watch when you choose satellite, they
responded also Persian programs in satellite. Normally they don’t watch any other programs
except Persian channels broadcastings even with satellite.
For the music also the responses were similar with TV programs, they all prefer to listen to
Persian music, not only traditional Persian music but also some other genre of music like pop or
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rap as well. But in general in the case of music most of the females responded to traditional
Persian music.
About the movie the answers has little differences because they watch both Persian and foreign
movies but if they want to watch foreign movies, they are with Persian subtitle or translated to
Persian. Also they don’t go to the cinema frequently and just answer twice or three times in a
year.
In the matter of watching sport programs, more than 95% of women answered that normally we
don’t watch any sport programs except some major events like the soccer matches of national and
they were not familiar with sport events in the world.
Working with computer and internet was the last question in Media part of my interview, first of
all I ask them if they can work with computer and internet or not and secondly if they use it then
what do they do. The responses were also similar with TV broadcastings, if they want to use
internet, normally they use Persian websites for reading the news; beside googling and checking
mail are the other works that the women in Isfahan city are doing with the computer and internet.
Next part of my interview questions was related to the clothes. It was included about the
characteristics of their clothes, the place of the buying and also the mark and the brand of their
clothes.
Almost all the women in Isfahan city that I asked them answered we just buy the clothes that are
chick and stylish and also keep our Hijab, because they have to wear type of clothes that cover
their hair and most part of the body.
They also buy their clothes from normal boutiques and not from big chain stores who sells some
major brands, also they answered that they do not care about their clothes brand and just look to
the quality of them. Among the women in Isfahan city one of them answered me that sometimes
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if she wants to buy sport outfit she likes to buy Adidas and this answer was an exception among
them.
The next part of the interview were about religion and I asked my interviewees about their
religious activities and thought.
First question was about their attendance in daily, weekly or yearly religious activity. All the
women that I asked them this question answered: yes they do attend in yearly activities like
Ramadan fast or prophet memorial and ceremonies (see the photos in Appendix 3). And also for
the daily or weekly activities they answered that they might not go to the mosque but they do
these acts by themselves and at home.
The next question was about new year celebration that I asked them if they think it belongs to
traditional Persian civilization, Islamic civilization or another culture; for example during the
interview I asked them do you celebrate this ceremony in just Persian culture way or mix it with
another culture. The answers were the same and all of them responded: it is firstly traditional
Persian act and secondly with Islamic acts which is mixing with e.g. praying and blessing.
The next question was about their traveling destinations that they prefer to go to the religious
places or other entertaining locations such as islands in south in Persian Gulf or north of Iran
nearby Caspian Sea. They said we go to both places and if we choose one of them in this year
another would be next destination for the following year.
The last two questions were relatively hard to ask and answer specially as a male researcher that
wanted to ask the women in a traditional city like Isfahan, they were about their children
relationship before marriage and also choosing Hijab if it was not coercive.
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The women who were my interviewees answered that we give them the tip to have boyfriend or
girlfriend before the marriage but we cannot force them to don’t have any kind of relationship
before the marriage.
About their Hijab they answer we personally like Hijab and we use it according to our religion;
but about our family members they need to make a decision and we do not tell them to keep this
wearing style coercively.
The last question was one open question; I tell them to explain me one ideal free day and explain
what they do in their leisure.
The most common activity for the women in Isfahan city was spending the time with their family
and staying at home, watching TV and reading book. Even when they go out to the city, they
spend their time with family and going to some common places, namely, park and shopping
center. But they do not participate in any special activities.
Male Interviews:
The number of men interviewees in the urban area in my case study was 40; in this part I
scrutinize these interviews according to the indices that I asked them in the interview questions.
All the men in Isfahan city also eat Persian food for their daily meal and even when they have
guest they prefer to cook Persian cuisine by themselves and normally they don’t eat any other
food rather than Persian one. But if they go out, for instance, at the weekend they order either
traditional Persian foods or fast foods. When I ask them the type of fast food or name of the fast
food shop, some of them answered any type of fast food and the others specified the names and
branches of the fast food restaurants. Although in Iran there is no major worldwide giant food
corporations such as McDonalds, KFC, Starbucks etc, but the concept of these fast food
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restaurants is apparent by going to the other chain store restaurants. Therefore, when I specified
my question to these fast food branches they knew it and answered yes sometimes we go there
and eat in these peculiar places.
Another important index in this thesis is Media that includes the question about owning new
devices, watching programs and quality of the usages.
Almost 70% percent of the men in urban area in my case study, watch both satellite and national
TV, they choose them according the programs and the others just watch national TV channels.
They also watch both foreign and domestic movies, for watching foreign movies they watch them
with Persian subtitles or translation. I got the same answer about music; they listen to both
Persian and foreign music, but mostly Persian music and also traditional and pop Persian music.
About the sport programs more than 90% percent of men watch both foreign and Persian sport
events, and they are more aware about sport events in global level. They follow European
Champions league and major soccer leagues in Europe. When I asked them do you know
something about foreign team they said: yes indubitable, and some of them are a fan of the world
known soccer club such as Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich etc. They also talk
about major sport events namely World Cup or Olympic Games and share their idea about it
meanwhile of the events.
About the clothing question they responded that we prefer clothes which are chic and stylish and
they did not select their clothes to specify exact culture or manner. They buy their clothes from
normal boutique in the city or some of them responded that they prefer to buy from the stores
which are familiar for them. Also they don’t care about the brand of their clothes and answered
although they know these brands but the well known mark clothes are too expensive and they
prefer to buy cheaper clothes without any specific label or brand.
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For the religious question as a male researcher was easier for me to ask male interviewees the
questions and make my connection and continue the conversation longer that was expected.
For the daily, weekly and yearly activities they answered yes we participate in all of them. They
have answered for the yearly ceremonies we definitely go to the public and religious places to
participate in these acts and although for the daily or weekly activities they said maybe we stay at
home and doing them personally, but as religion is an important part of our daily life we do all
the religious acts personally or socially.
The New Year answers were the same with the women interviewee answers, they responded we
think it belongs to old Persian civilization by mixing with Islam and do not see any connection
with other New Year ceremonies in the world.
For the traveling destinations they go to both religious and none religious places and it depends to
the time of traveling and the ambition of their trip.
The answer of if let their children to have boyfriend or girlfriend before marriage, was different
amongst men in the urban area of case study. Some of them responded yes we let them to have a
partner before marriage because of our bad experience in the past. For example one young guy
who were a barber in a traditional quarter in Isfahan city said: “I am just 23 years old and got
married with a girl that I did not know her well before my marriage and now I am getting divorce
with her; if I go back to the past, first of all I get to know her completely then marry her, and
surely I let my children have boyfriend or girlfriend before marriage”
The others answer simply: No, because it is against our principles and norms in the society and
we are not agreeing with this kind of relationship. This group that said we do not let them have
this kind of relationship has different reasons e.g. having female child or they belong to
traditional families with strong beliefs in Islam.
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But also I had some interviewees who answered yes we let them to have this kind of relationship,
but under our control and regulation. They said we need to know about their relationship.
The answers about Hijab for their female family member also were the same which is separated
in three parts. Some responders said that they can freely choose their wearing style and others
said no they have to wear Hijab because it is a rule in our society. The third group responded that
in specific situation they can choose it but it depends to the rule of society as well.
The last question was about free time and leisure and it was open question which I let them to
explain it freely.
Most of the men in their leisure hang out with their friends when they have free time and they go
to the city for eating their supper in some restaurant. But also some of them answered we stay at
home and spend the time with our family.
1.1.2 Marital Status
This section of my analyzing will be held by marital status of the interviewees, I have analyzed
them in two married and unmarried parts. Amongst 50 interviews in the city, 20 of them were
married and 30 of them were single. I explain both groups in this part.
Married interviewees:
The entire married interviewees in food questions answered that we eat traditional Persian food
and also when we have guest we prefer to cook by ourselves, these foods are also traditional
Persian cuisine. Also when they go out for having their meal in a restaurant they prefer to eat
Iranian food. When I specified and asked them if they also eat other type of food from other
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countries or fast food, they answered maybe sometimes they eat fast food but it’s not a part of
their lifestyle to go out for having fast food and they prefer to have their traditional Persian food.
In Media questions first of all I asked them if they own satellite, computer and other modern
devices. All the interviewee answered yes we have these new devices at home.
When I asked them about the programs that they watch habitually, they answered they do not
watch TV or satellite very often because they don’t have enough time and if they want to watch,
it would be a Persian TV channel and programs, the answers for the music also was the same but
they responded if they want to listen to music, they prefer to listen to traditional Persian music
and more than 80% percent of them have answered they never choose some specific music; they
just turn on the radio and whatever it plays they listen.
The only foreign programs that they would watch, is the sport matches via Iranian national TV or
sometimes via satellite channels.
Almost 90% of married interviewees answered that they don’t go to the cinema casually and also
they don’t work with the computer and internet as well.
In the clothing part the all married people answered me that they wear normal clothes which are
comfortable and also present Persian culture and they don’t look for any unique sign in their
clothes. And intriguingly all of them answered that they do not buy major and famous brands and
do not care about the brands and marks of their clothes and outfits.
In addition, about the religious question that I asked them during interview I got the same
answers from married interviewees. All of them responded that they do participate in daily,
weekly and yearly religious activities.
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For the New Year ceremony they answered that it’s a Persian ceremony and at the same time
blend with Islam, they do both religious and traditional Persian civilization acts for the New Year
ceremony.
For the traveling destination also they said that they prefer to go to the religious places and cities
in Iran like Mashhad and Qom or Iran neighbor countries like Iraq, Saudi Arabia or Syria which
they have also religious cities which are sacred for Iranian people.
The last two questions in religious part were answered differently by married interviewees, some
of them answered: no, they don’t let them to have boyfriend or girlfriend before the marriage and
also they have to wear Hijab in their daily life, but I also had some interviewees who answered
me more logically, for example one men who traveled a lot in other countries specially in Europe
said:
“They are going in this new and modern way and I don’t restrict them, but if they want to do it, I
just give my children hints and suggestions in this process; I need to know about their relations, if
you give them limitation it will be worst, in the house we have some kind of freedom”.
Also about the Hijab he said: “I believe to the Islam religion but for the life of the others I cannot
make their decision and they need to choose it by themselves”
And final question was about their free time, most of the married people answered me: they
spend their time with family and their just go to public places in the city and maybe sometimes
go for a picnic out of city.
Single interviewees:
Among the urban interviewees 30 of them were single which now I interpret their answers during
the interview.
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The entire single interviewees also responded me when they want to eat at home they prefer to
eat traditional Persian food and also when they have guest they cook Persian foods. But the
answers for having their meal in a restaurant were different from married interviewees, because
most of them responded to this question that they prefer to go to a fast food restaurant and order
foods such as pizza, hamburger and other type of fast foods. And when I asked them about
particular places and branch restaurants in the city, they said yes they prefer to go to some wellknown places in Isfahan for eating fast food, because they have the possibility to meet and hang
out with their friends.
About the media, all the single interviewees own the new devices and tools. They watch both
Iranian national TV and Satellite channels. When I asked them which programs do you prefer to
watch, they answered if they cannot find their favorable programs in national TV broadcasting
then they check satellite channels to find suitable programs for watching. But still they prefer to
watch Persian or foreign movies with Persian subtitle or the movies which are translated in
Persian. Also I asked them which genre of music they prefer to listen and most of them answered
me, they listen to the Persian music both traditional and new genre like Persian pop and rap. They
also watch sport programs especially the soccer games both domestic and foreign leagues and
also major sport events during the year. But they don’t go often to the cinema; the single
interviewees answered me, they go to the cinema just randomly and maybe three times in a year
and not more than that. In addition, they work with the computer and internet, except checking
their email and reading the news the students also use internet for their university research and
also they use Google more than other websites.
The next index was clothing questions that I asked them during my interview. More than 80% of
single interviewees responded me that we prefer clothes which are chic, stylish and it is not an
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effective matter if it shows any culture or not, it must be just beautiful. They buy their clothes
from normal boutique in the city and also sometimes they look for clothes with specific brands
like Adidas and Nike. But when they talk about these brands they talk reluctantly about buying
them because of the price which is too expensive for them to purchase these global brands.
Sometimes these brands are smuggled to Iran and do have a good quality but the single and
student interviewees buy these clothes just for their marks.
The religious questions that I asked them were the next criteria in my interviews. They responded
me: yes they participate in yearly religious acts and ceremony but in daily and weekly religious
acts not very often and they do their religious acts like daily prays alone, they don’t go to the
mosques regularly. For the New Year ceremony also they answered me that it’s a traditional
Persian civilization ceremony which is mixed with some Islamic acts but most importantly is
traditional and not related to the other cultures. For their travel destination they go to both
religious and none religious places.
They responded to my last two hypothetical questions differently comparing with the married
people; they said for them there is no problem if their children have boyfriend or girlfriend before
marriage and also they said their children can choose their wearing style; even if Hijab was not
coercive they don’t force their children to have it.
The last question was an open question about their leisure. The single interviewees prefer to
spend their free times with their friends rather than their family and also they go to city and
restaurant for having their meal there. But small number of them also answered they stay at
home, watch TV and spend the time with their family. While, this answer was not the major
response among them, more than 90% of them prefer to hang out with their friends and go to
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public and famous places in city of Isfahan and do some activities, namely, going to bowling and
billiard club.
1.1.3 Profession
In this part I will describe my interviews in urban area according to profession of the
interviewees; I have categorized them in two groups. The first group is workers and the second is
students. As I mentioned before my samples are in the age between 20 to 40 and all of them have
some kind of profession but amongst them I have asked the people who are working and the
people who are just student and do not have any permanent job, they sometimes work to earn a
bit of money for their studying and their main profession is just being student.
Amongst 50 interviews in the Isfahan city, I have done 22 interviews with workers and 28
interviews with students.
Workers
In this part I analyze my interviews with the workers in Isfahan city and in the next part I will
explain the student interviews in the city.
In food questions similar to the most answers they said that they prefer to eat at home and Persian
traditional food and even when they have guests they cook by themselves traditional Persian
food, and most of them don’t have any idea about other nation foods, mainly they just cook
Persian food by themselves.
When they go out for having their food in a restaurant, they order traditional Persian food
regularly and in very rarely case eat Hamburger, Pizza or any kind of fast food.
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In media section, they have Satellite and computer in their houses but the usage of these
instruments tell us for example they all just watch Persian programs with Satellite or watch
Persian movies or foreign movies either with subtitle or translation.
They also said they don’t have enough time to watch TV or listen to music but more than 80% of
them answered that they watch national TV or listen to Persian music. Some of the worker
interviewees follow soccer games eagerly and persuading both national and European leagues
and also the main sport events around the world.
They don’t go to the cinema very often and also don’t work with the computer and internet
casually. They answered me if they have to do something with internet like registration for
traveling then they use it, but in their normal daily life, internet does not play a major rule.
In clothing questions the worker interviewees answered that they wear clothes that are daring and
suitable for their work. It depends to their work and some of them that have official and
prestigious work in an office answered: “we wear suit and the clothes that are classically cut and
good value”. They also buy their clothes from boutiques and never look for major brands and
mark for their clothes, they said that the price is more important for them rather than the mark
and brands of the clothes.
In religious question and their attending in the daily, weekly and yearly ceremonies and religious
acts they responded that if they have time they participate to these ceremonies but if they don’t
have time they just perform them at home.
For the New Year ceremonies they also answered me it’s a traditional Persian ceremony with
Islamic acts mixing such as praying.
For their traveling destination, workers go to both religious and other random places, they
answered if they go this year to a religious city and place for the next year they will go to the
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other places; these destinations could be north of Iran and Caspian Sea shoreline and north forests
or South of Iran and Persian Gulf islands or many other traditional cities and places inside Iran.
About the last two questions that are related to the religion most of them answered me that they
don’t let their children have boyfriend or girlfriend but in some condition they first need to know
about their relations, and then they need to guide them in theses relations. They also responded
that they are Muslim and they have to have Hijab, in the case that they can choose their wearing
they also prefer to have Hijab.
For the leisure question they answer that they prefer to spend their time with the family and go
out of the city because they work during the week and in our weekend and leisure they prefer to
be out of the city. But some of them also spend their time in some public places in the city.
Students
I have done 28 interviews with the students. They were students in Isfahan University or in
smaller cities in Isfahan province but they live in Isfahan as their home town or current city.
Students in my research also eat Persian food at home and cook Persian food when they have
guests, but when they want to go out for having their meal preferably go to the a fast food
restaurant in the city and also they choose well-known fast food shops in the city center or the
other places that are gathering places for young people.
About the media they all own computer, TV, satellite, mp3 player etc. When they want to choose
a program for watching, they prefer to watch Persian programs either in national or Satellite
channels, but also they are familiar with the satellite channels and sometimes they watch them.
About watching movies they watch both Iranian and foreign movies but with Persian subtitle or
translation and the small number of them watch the movies in original screen.
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But about music they listen to both Persian and foreign music, some of them also are aware of the
major bands in the world such as Metallica, Pink Floyd, U2 etc. They also pursue the global sport
events specially the European soccer. To compare with the other interviewee groups they go
more often to the cinema but still not numerous and frequently, they go to the cinema five or six
times in a year. But working with the internet among students in urban area is more often to
compare with other groups. They answered me that they use internet not only for regularly matter
such as checking email and reading news but also for doing their university registration for the
semester and also the research that they need to do during the semester. But most of the time they
check Persian websites in internet even when they want to do their research.
In clothing index most of the student responded thats they use clothes that are chic, stylish and
also daring. They buy their clothes from boutiques and chain stores in Isfahan city. Although the
student in Isfahan city are familiar with brands and mark of the clothes but they don’t buy such
clothes because it’s expensive for them and some of them answered me that they would like to
buy the brands but they cannot afford it, the others also said if we have money for the sport outfit
we buy the major brands like Adidas, Nike or Puma otherwise we purchase smuggled clothes
with these specific marks.
About the religious acts and ceremonies the student answered that they do not participate in the
daily or weekly religious acts like going to the mosques everyday and going to the Friday pray
every week, but they participate in the yearly occasion e.g. Ramadan and prophet, Imam and
other religious luminary anniversary.
They answered me that New Year ceremony is traditional Persian civilization with Islamic
activities mixing; in addition, they do not think that it is related to other type of New Year around
the world.
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They travel to both religious and none religious places and their destinations depend on the
money that they have and also the last traveling that they did. If it has been a religious place, for
the next time they will go to other places in other cities in Iran.
Most of the student responded to the last two questions very open minded. They said yes they do
let their children to have boyfriend or girlfriend before the marriage and also for the Hijab they
can choose to have this wearing style or do not wear Hijab, it depends to their opinion.
For the free times they responded me that they spend the leisure with their friends and during the
day they stay at home and watch TV and at night go out for eating and playing. Some of them
also go to the new established clubs such as billiard and bowling for spending their free time.
They also mostly prefer to go to the fast food restaurants more than other groups.
Among students doing these activities is normal but I did not have such answers among the other
groups that I have interviewed them.
1.1.4 Language ability
The last part of my analysis in urban interviews is related to the language skill and the ability of
the people to speak foreign languages.
Among my interviewees just the small number of them could speak another language. The only
foreign language that they could speak was English and not any other languages like German,
French or Spanish.
In the urban interviewees just 15 of them could speak English and the others did not have the
ability to speak or just answered me a little bit that they have learned in high school and not more
than that.
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These 15 interviewees who I have interviewed in the educational center office in Isfahan were the
participators in English language courses as students or teachers. Five of them were the teachers
of the institute and could speak English very well. For getting better results I did some part of my
interview with them in English and did not need to translate these parts from Persian to English.
The others were the students in the language institute in high level and have the ability to speak
English as well.
As I have explained the whole urban interviews in previous parts, these interviewees are also
included to one of these groups: gender, marital status and profession, I don’t explain all the
questions and interviews again and just illustrate the major differences in their responses.
The most detectable difference in the interviews with the people that they could speak English
was in Media index. These interviewees also own all the new devices and tools like Satellite,
computer and internet but they don’t just watch Persian programs and listen to Persian music.
They answered me beside the Persian program in national TV and satellite they watch also
English programs and movies but in original screen and without translation or Persian subtitle,
even if they want to watch movies with subtitle they are in English subtitle and some of them
answered me that they watch without subtitle to try to understand the movie and also try to
improve their English language.
About the music is also the same; they listen to the foreign music more than the other
interviewees and they also aware of the famous music bands around the world, they listen to them
usually. They not only listen to foreign music but also they can understand the meaning of the
lyrics and repeat them.
Working with the internet also is in the same condition for them, they check the English websites
more than the others; for reading the news they also use both Persian and English websites.
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In fact they can work with the computer and internet more than the other interviewees who do not
have ability of speaking other languages.
1.2 Rural Interviews
In this part I will analyze the rural interviews which I have done during my fieldwork. The
numbers of the interviews are 50 and I will scrutinize them according to Gender, Marital status,
Profession and language ability.
1.2.1 Gender
Female interviews
Among 20 interviews that I did with women during my fieldwork, ten of them were in rural area.
I will explain them in this part and then describe men interviews in rural area.
The women in rural area like the women in the city eat Persian food in their daily life and also
when they have guest they cook traditional Persian food. When I asked them about the other type
of food in the world they answered me that we don’t have any idea about the food around the
world and also they do not go out very often to have meal either in traditional or fast food
restaurants.
In the media section, although they have satellite and TV in their houses in the villages but the
usage shows us that they just watch Persian programs in both national and satellite channels; the
women watch TV series also in national TV and if they are produced in other countries, they
must be translated to Persian from original languages. The women interviewees in the villages do
not listen to music very often, but if they want to listen, it would be Persian songs. Also most of
them cannot work with the computer and internet.
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About the clothes they all have responded that they choose normal clothes without any specific
design and they buy their clothes more in Isfahan city from normal boutiques rather than local
shops which are in their villages. They also do not care about the brand of their clothes and just
wear normal clothes without the brands and marks.
In the religious question all of them answered me normally if they have time they participate in
the daily and weekly religious acts but they definitely go and participate in the yearly ceremonies
and religious acts.
For them New Year is a traditional ceremony with a strong combination with Islam. They
answered to the traveling destination that it depends to the family decisions and they go for both
places during the year.
Almost all the women in the rural area answered me that according to the law of Islam they don’t
like their children to have a boyfriend or girlfriend but for the marriage they guide them to choose
their spouse. Furthermore about having Hijab they answered, they personally use this style and
want the family member to use this wearing style as well.
For the free time question they responded that they spend their time with the family and don’t do
anything special rather than going out and visit their relatives. They said they prefer to stay at
home and watching TV and do their regular work.
Male Interview:
I have done 40 interviews with the men in rural area and will describe them in this part of
analysis.
The men in the villages also eat traditional Persian food and when they have guest cook Persian
food at home and don’t prepare any other kind of food from other nationality. They don’t go out
for having their meal in a restaurant usually and if they decide to eat out of home they go to the
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city and traditional restaurant in Isfahan. The public awareness and concern about fast food in the
villages is low and they do not eat fast food very often.
All the men in rural area own TV, satellite and computer. But they just use them for watching
Persian programs in both national and satellite channels and the movies are also Persian movies
or translated from other languages to Persian. Almost all the men interviewees do not listen to the
music very often in rural area and some of them answered me: “we just listen to the radio and
whatever the radio plays we listen and do not pick up any specific music”. Although they watch
sport programs from TV but it’s just for the entertainment and do not have any specific concern
about watching a sport matches. Some of them can work with the computer and internet. By
comparing computer usage with the men in urban area we understand that the usage is less than
the city.
The men clothing in rural area were normal and they answered me they just look for the clothes
that are comfortable and the price is also important for them.
Most of them buy their clothes in the villages from the small shops or if they go to the city buy
them from the boutiques in Isfahan city. When I asked them about the brands and marks of the
clothes they answered me, they don’t care about the brands of the clothes and most of them were
not familiar with the major and famous brands.
The men in the villages are also religious. They participate in the daily, weekly and yearly
religious acts and ceremonies. The New Year for them is also a Persian ceremony without any
mixing with the other countries civilization.
They said if they want to choose a destination for their traveling they prefer to go to religious
places and then other destination and it depends to the number of traveling in year, if it is just one
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then they go the religious city like Mashhad and Qom, but if they go more than once in a year
then they would go to the other places as well.
The men in villages of the fieldwork responded to the last two religious questions very
restrictively and most of them answered that they do not let them to have boyfriend or girlfriend
before their marriage and also they have to wear Hijab. But there were some exceptions among
them that I will explain in the marital status part and differences between the single and married
people and also who have male or female child.
In the rural area most of the people just stay at home or go around the villages for picnic during
their free days and they don’t do any peculiar activity like going to some special places for eating
or doing some modern sport like bowling or billiard. They also meet their relatives in the villages
in their free times.
1.2.2 Marital Status
In the villages of fieldwork the numbers of the married interviewees were 30 and single
interviewees were 20. I analyze both groups here separately.
Married interviewees
For the married people in the villages that I have done my interviews with them Persian cuisine is
the most important one and not any other type of foreign food. They are not even familiar with
the other type of food and just eat the traditional foods which are originally Iranian foods.
Villagers normally do not go out for having their meal in a restaurant and they do not go to a fast
food restaurant regularly.
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The married interviewees in my case study own satellite and computer like the other people in
my fieldwork. But most of them just watch Persian channel and don’t fallow any other languages
broadcasting and programs.
They said also they watch Persian movies and listen to Persian music in a case that they have
enough time to listen.
Most of the married interviewees in rural area own computer with internet but they do not work
with it vey often. Many of them cannot work with the computer, they answered me they just
bought it for their children and they don’t use it personally.
The clothing style in married people in the villages was the same with the other interviewees in
my fieldwork. They just buy normal clothes without any specific signs and brands from ordinary
shops and boutiques either in the villages or Isfahan city. None of them were interested to buy
clothes and dress with major brands and marks.
About the religious question all the married interviewees were also keen to attend to the daily and
weekly programs and also for the yearly religious activities they answered yes they do participate
in these ceremonies.
For all of them also New Year is a traditional Persian ceremony with Islamic acts mixing such as
praying and blessing God. They also go to the both religious and other places for their trip
destinations.
For the questions about their children relationship and Hijab they answered me differently. The
parents who have male child answered me that there is no problem if they have girlfriends before
their marriage and also they said they don’t have a girl to force her to have Hijab and if they have
a girl child they can choose their wearing style by themselves.
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But the others that have female child responded no they do not let their children to have
boyfriend before marriage and according to their religion and law it is not acceptable for them.
Also they have to have Hijab for wearing style.
The reason of these differences between the answers is that in traditional rural society in my
fieldwork, the relationships before marriage is uncommon especially for the girls that they have
to keep their virginity till they get married. It shows that the tradition in rural area still has strong
power on people life and beliefs.
Most of the married interviewees in rural areas spend their leisure with their family and relatives
who are still living there. They get together at the weekend and go out for picnic.
As the social contact in the villages is higher than the city, people are more in contact and their
leisure activities is similar to each other; most of them answered me that they go out of the
villages for having picnic. A small number –around 20% – among them spend their time at the
weekend in the city for doing other activities. If they come to the city in their leisure, the reason
is visiting their relatives who migrated and live in the city.
Single
Similar the other people in the case study, all the single interviewees in rural area eat Persian
food as a main meal during the day and also when they have guest they cook Persian food by
themselves. The single people in rural area don’t go to restaurant for having their meal and prefer
to cook by themselves and go out of their villages in nature and have picnic there rather than to
go to a fast food restaurant in the city. They just answered sometimes maybe once in a month
they go to have their meal in a restaurant and most probably go to traditional Persian food
restaurant.
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The single interviewees in rural area also own TV, Satellite, computer and other new modern
devices like mp3 player. Similar to the others in rural area they also watch Persian programs and
channels in both national TV and satellite. They also watch both Persian and foreign movies but
with translation or Persian subtitle. About the music it’s a little different because they just listen
to the Persian music and not any genre of foreign music but in Persian music they listen to both
traditional and modern music e.g. pop and rap but some of them also are aware about other genre
of music. In watching sport matches they answered me: “we watch both domestic and foreign
sport events especially the European soccer”.
More than 80% of the single interviewees said that we don’t go to the cinema habitually and
maybe just once in a year or less.
About working with computer and internet although they work more than the married people in
rural area but it is still uncommon amongst them to compare with the people in urban area just a
small number of them answered me that they work with the computer and internet.
The single people in the villages in the clothes index answered that they would like their clothes
to be chic and stylish and also comfortable. They normally buy their clothes from boutiques in
Isfahan city and they prefer to go to the city for shopping. They also do not care about the brand
of the clothes and do not buy clothes with the specific brand or mark. But among the single
interviewees I had one exception; a young guy who was a master student in accounting said to me
that: “I just buy marked clothes like Adidas and Nike all the time”. During the interview also he
was wearing an Adidas T-shirt and cap.
In religious question I encountered different responses from them. In participating religious acts
and ceremonies the answers was similar and all of them answered me that they participate in
yearly ceremonies and if they have time they go to the mosque for the daily and weekly
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ceremonies as well. For them also the Persian New Year was traditional ceremony like all the
other groups in the case study. In travel destination I had two different answers some of them said
just religious places and the other answered both religious and none religious places could be
their destination for the traveling.
In the last two questions the answers were different from each interviewee, some of them who
were not extremely religious responded that yes when they get married and have child they let
them to have boyfriend or girlfriend before their marriage, and also they do not force their family
members to have Hijab and if it was not coercive they let them to choose their wearing style.
In their leisure the single people in rural area have two activities, the first is going outside the
villages and camping in the mountain area around the villages and the second is going to the city
and spend their off days in the city with their friends.
1.2.3 Profession
In this part I describe the analysis of the rural interviews according to their profession. I have
divided the interviews in two parts. First people who have permanent jobs and doing their work
daily and regularly; second students who don’t have permanent job and some of them just do part
time job for affording their student life. Conversely with urban interviews in rural area I have
done 35 interviews with the workers and 15 with the students, the reason is because many of the
people in the rural area prefer to work and the small number of them continue their education
after high school to the higher degree.
Worker interviewees
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The worker interviewees in rural area responded that they eat just Persian food in their home and
when they have guest they cook by themselves. They do not know much about the other
nationalities food around the world. They also do not eat fast food or any type of foreign food in
daily normal life.
About owning the new media devices similar to the other interviewees they also own these
devices and use them. But they just watch Persian language programs from both satellite and
national TV. They emphasized that they watch foreign TV series from satellite that are translated
to the Persian or they watch foreign movies with Subtitle. Many of them also specified one
Persian channel that its name is Farsi 1 and shows foreign TV series with Persian translation.
They also answered they listen to traditional music more than other genre of music or just listen
to the radio.
About watching sport events they answered me that normally if they have time they watch soccer
match from TV otherwise if they do not have time don’t watch it. When I asked them about the
foreign sport events they responded they just watch it and do not fallow any specific sport match
or events in the world.
About going to the cinema and other activities they said due to limitation of time they are not
able to go to such places and maybe once in a year they go to the cinema or other similar places.
Although most of the worker interviewees own the computer and internet but they do not work
with them regularly and the other members of their family like their child use computer and
internet.
The people who are working in the villages about their clothes style responded that they use to
wear clothes that are simple and comfortable because when they are working it is very important
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to wear clothes which are comfortable and suitable for the job, especially who are farmer and
need to work in a farm this answer was common.
They also do not buy clothes with famous mark and brand and never care about that. When also I
asked them if they buy the other famous domestic marks and brands they answered me: “we
never buy these types of clothes because they are too expensive for us and it does not worth to
buy them”.
In the religious questions the worker answered me that they do participate in daily, weekly and
yearly religious acts and the religion is very important for them. But they also said if we have
time we prefer to go to the mosques otherwise we stay at home and pray alone.
The Persian New Year for all of them is a traditional ceremony with mixing with Islam. Their
travel destination is both religious and none religious places.
Most of the worker interviewees in the villages answered, no they don’t let their children have
boyfriend or girlfriend before marriage and also they have to have Hijab when they want to go
out of house.
But there was also some exception that I explained before and some of them who have boy
answered me there is no problem if their children want to have girlfriend before their marriage.
The workers in the rural area prefer to go out with their family and relatives in their leisure and
spend the time with them out of the village, they don’t go to the city very often except the time
that they have some work to do in the city.
Student
The numbers of the students that I asked them the interview questions and did my interview were
15 which I analyze the interviews with them in this part.
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The student similar to all the responders said that we eat Persian food rather than other type of the
food when we are at home or when we have guest. But as they live also in the city for their
studying they go to the fast food restaurant and eat in some famous brands in Isfahan city and
they are more familiar with the concept of the fast food restaurant.
For example one of them answered me: “twice in a week I go out for having meal in a restaurant
with my girlfriend and we go to both traditional and fast food restaurant and we just go to well
known places for eating, even when we want to have ice-cream we go to the major brands like
Ice-pack which is a multinational corporation that has branches in Iran, UAE, Kuwait, Malaysia,
Syria, Iraq and Turkey”.
Almost all the students in the villages also own TV, satellite, computer and internet and other
devices like mp3 players. They maybe watch both domestic and foreign programs but the foreign
programs are still with subtitle or Persian translation and they don’t watch movie and TV series
in original languages.
They also watch both national and international sport events during the year and aware of the
well-known soccer teams in Europe. To compare with the others they are going to cinema more
than other interviewees in the villages and also they work with the computer and internet very
often.
About their clothes style they answered me that they use to wear clothes which are chic and
stylish, they buy them from the boutiques in Isfahan city and major places there. Most of the
student in rural area answered me that they do not buy the brands and marks outfit; not because
they do not care or do not know about them but because they are too expensive for them and they
prefer to buy normal clothes without any brands.
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To compare with the others, student in rural area have less participation in daily or weekly
religious acts, but they participate in the yearly ceremonies like Ramadan and Islamic fast.
For all of them also Persian New Year is a traditional one without any sign of the other
civilization and ceremonies.
The student interviewees are going more to none religious places like Kish Island in south or
Caspian Sea’s shoreline in the north of Iran, but they also go the religious places casually.
They answered me to the last two questions more open minded and said: “we just let them choose
if they want to have boyfriends or girlfriends before marriage and also they can choose their
wearing style with Hijab or without Hijab”.
For the free times most of the student spend their time in the city with their friends and going to
coffee shops or other entertainment places and a rare number of them stay at home and spend the
time with the family.
1.2.4 Languages ability
In the rural area I could not find some one who can speak English or other foreign languages very
well. This lack of knowledge is visible not only among ordinary people in rural area but also
among students who are going to the universities and have more education rather than the others.
Therefore, in Rural area I cannot analyze the people who have the English language ability. But
among them some of the students who had a little knowledge in English answered me in Media
question that we watch American TV series like 24 or prison break with subtitles.
They are also aware of the famous international music band such as Metallica or famous singer
e.g. Michal Jackson.
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But in the other parts of the interview the answers were similar to the other interviewees in the
villages.
2 Observations:
In this part I explain the observations during my fieldwork. The numbers of observations are 50
that 25 of them were in the city and 25 in the villages.
When I went to the interviewee’s home for doing my interview I also looked around their house
and filled my observation sheets. But I also did participant observation in both rural and urban
areas. When I was invited for two matchmaking ceremonies in the city and one village, I wrote
down my notes about this traditional ceremony and added to my observations. I will describe the
urban observations first and then rural observations.
2.1 Urban observations
In this section I do not mention all the 25 observation that I did in the city. I explain the
noticeable points in the observations and precisely mention the similarity and variety points
among them.
I have divided the home observation in two apartments and houses parts and explicate them in
these two parts.
One of the homes that I have visited was located in Jey Street in the east part of Isfahan.
The home is relatively big and the age is around 15 years old. The main quality looks good and it
includes 2 rooms, one big kitchen, yard and parking lot.
The decoration is somehow modern with 2 sets of chic furniture; they have also a big TV,
satellite, PC. In the kitchen they own dish washer and a big refrigerator and a gas oven. But for
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eating they still use to sit on the ground on a traditional Persian carpet. The two rooms and main
hall are covered by the Persian carpet. They take off their shoes when they want to enter to the
house.
Their dress is casual and I didn’t notice any specific sign on them and also they have normal hair
cut without any meaningful hair design.
Also when I talked to them, I understand that they do not have any Persian accent, beside they
could not talk any other languages.
Another house which was a big house in urban area and is quite new has 3 rooms and one big
kitchen and a big living room, the decoration and furniture are completely modern; for example
they have some new and modern paintings which are hanged on the wall. But they have also
Persian carpets on the ground and for eating they seat on these carpets. They don’t use a table and
chairs.
They have a modern computer with internet but as their children are small, they cannot use it
perfectly and the parent doesn’t use the pc casually. Indeed the children use the PC just for video
game. They don’t have satellite and just watch Iranian TV channels.
About the accent I talked to them with the local accent and the mother that she is a teacher in
Persian language said that “I am trying to refine their accent to perfect Persian accent because the
father cannot talk very fluent in Persian accent, he has a slang local accent, and the children learn
from their father and they don’t have a perfect accent”.
Their clothes are completely normal and casual; also their hair styles were normal. But as I have
mentioned in the methodology section I could not see the hair style of the women and cannot
specify them in this part.
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Another observation was an apartment in the city center and I went there for doing the interview
and observation.
The apartment has 2 rooms and the owner is a teacher that she has been there for 10 years. The
furniture was somehow luxurious and old fashion, although it was an apartment with quit modern
facilities but the decoration were old fashion. They have modern refrigerator and microwave and
also a set of Personal computer. They own a satellite and when I asked them about the programs
that they watch, they answered: “satellite channels shows anti religious programs and it’s against
our religion, therefore, we do not watch it frequently and we just watch Persian programs”.
They have slang Isfahanian accent and don’t have any ability to talk to other languages. Also they
cannot talk in other languages.
In general most of the houses that I have visited during my fieldwork are in the same shape and
design. They have both traditional and modern elements, feature and aspect in their house. For
example the households in houses and apartments take off their shoes before entering to the
house and also all of them use Persian carpets on the ground.
Another part of my observations was participating in a matchmaking ceremony in Isfahan city
and I wrote my observation from this ceremony as a part of thesis. According to the main point of
the thesis I wanted to know is there any influence from modern trends to this tradition ritual or
not.
I was there as a guest, then according to the observation sheet start to observe the guests act and
the process of the ceremony.
The entire participants were believed on the traditions, manners and rules from the old times. For
example about the amount of dowry, bride and bridegroom families spoke to each other before
the ceremony and agreed to 714 hundreds gold coins, they wrote it on a piece of paper and then
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signed it. The dowry in traditional society in Iran is very important and according to the law of
Islam the bridegroom has to give it to the bride.
All the men and women sat separately in the hall of the home and after ceremony men went to
another room that women could dance without being seen by men because of the Islamic law.
2.2 Rural observations
The second part of observations is rural observations. In some of the households that I went there
for doing my interview, I also had my observation sheets in my hand and filled them when I was
in their home.
In this part I describe the most common design and shape in rural dwelling in both houses and
apartments. Then also I explain the matchmaking ceremony that I participated during my
fieldwork.
The first house that I did my observation was an old house with the age around 25 years, it has a
big yard and 3 rooms and one big basement, they don’t have any furniture and similar to the old
traditional time they seat normally on the ground but they have 5 aged Persian carpets which
seem that they are precious. The decoration was completely simple without any specific material
and decoration stuffs.
About the media instruments and tools I saw a personal computer and TV, but they didn’t have
any internet connection and satellite.
The kitchen also is old and they don’t have any kind of new instruments like microwave or
dishwasher, therefore, they cook in traditional style with an old oven.
Their dress is also normal without any peculiar sign and brands and also the hair style is
completely simple, they have short or medium hair.
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About their accent when I talked to them I understand that they have slang accent that is related
to the region.
Another house that I visited was a quite new house in rural area with the age around 2 years that
includes 3 rooms, a big kitchen and one big living room. They don’t have any furniture and use
Persian carpet for sitting and eating. They have a personal computer and also a satellite with a big
TV. They use satellite for watching sport programs and movies but as they cannot speak any
foreign languages they just watch Persian channels and program in both national TV and Satellite
which I have explained in interview part. The most common foreign programs in satellite
amongst them are sport programs and in sport programs also soccer is very popular.
Their clothes like the other people in rural area are simple and I did not notice any specific
emblem in their clothes.
They have strong accent when they talked to each other but they tried to reduce their local accent
and talked in fluent Persian accent while I was asking my questions.
Another house was with new exterior view which has been rebuilt. The quality is good and it has
3 rooms and the floor has covered with Persian carpet but they have also furniture in medium
quality and very simple.
They don’t have a computer but they have satellite and TV and as I explain in the interview part
they watch Persian programs habitually.
Their dress is completely normal without any specific exclusivity in brand and design. And also
they have slang accent even when they talked to me as a person that came from outside the
region.
Another domicile that I visited for my fieldwork was an apartment in a village. It was in third
floor of the fourth floors apartment. Although it was an apartment in the village but the
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decoration was completely traditional, they don’t have any furniture and they just seat on the
floor that is covered with Persian carpets. They don’t have satellite and also new equipment like
microwave and dishwasher for the kitchen, but they own a personal computer with internet and
normally just their children use it, but the parents do not work with the computer and internet.
Their clothes and hair style are also simple deprived of major mark, brand and style.
They have also strong local accent and they do not have the ability to talk to any other languages
rather than Farsi.
In general all the houses that I visited in rural area have the same style and shape and the
differences are in details and elements. For example some of the houses have modern furniture
and decoration but the others have older furniture or do not have any furniture. But the main view
of the houses and usage of the instruments and devices are the same for the whole people in the
region of study. They also use new media devices like computer and satellite (see the appendix
3).
One of my participant observations was related to a matchmaking ceremony in one village of the
case study region.
That was a same ceremony with the city but they were more concern about their traditions, both
families believe to the Islam religion. And they celebrated this ceremony exactly according to the
law of Islam and their tradition.
Men and women sat in two separated rooms and in the whole time of the matchmaking I didn’t
see any women. The bride also was in women room and her father was the person who was in
charge in men rooms.
But both bride and bridegroom families have talked to each other before the public ceremony and
were agreed about this marriage.
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The dowry price that bridegroom has to promise to give to bride was 514 gold coins and as they
talked and agreed about it before this ceremony, they didn’t write it on a piece of paper. I should
mention here that number *14 for the dowry is because of Shiite sharia that most of the Iranian
people believe to 14 innocent Imams and it’s because of their intent to get help from God and
these 14 Imams. The number 14 is holy and sacred for the Iranian people. In most of the
matchmaking ceremony when they discuss about the dowry amount at the end of discussion and
after agreement, they say plus 14 for the scariness and holiness of our ceremony.
Finally I would say that in the matchmaking ceremonies the tradition and its effects is completely
apparent and people still have strong beliefs to their traditions.
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Appendix 2
Personal interview’s questions and observation sheet
Personal Information:
Sex:
Age:
Marital status:
Profession:
Father’s profession:
Place:
How long have you lived here?
Highest level of education:
Approximate income:
Language ability:
Food:
Which type of food normally do you prefer to eat?
Cook by yourself
order from a restaurant
Foreign foods
other type of food
traditional Persian food
fast foods
When you have guests for a meal, what type of meals do you prefer to serve?
Cook by yourself
order from a restaurant
traditional Persian food
Foreign foods
other type – local food, Turkish food, Kurdish food,
How many times in a week do you go out for eating? And what do you order? Fast food or
something else?
Media:
Do you own?
TV satellite
computer with internet or without internet a MP3 player
Do you watch Iranian TV or satellite? When you watch, which programs do you mainly watch?
Do you listen to music? If you listen, which type of music normally do you listen?
If you want to watch a film, which type of film do you prefer to watch?
If you want to watch a sport match, do you prefer to watch domestic or foreign one?
How many times in a month do you go to the cinema?
Can you work with the computer?
Do you use internet?
Cloth
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Do you prefer cloths that are:
Classically cut and good value for money
Those reflect fashion and suit personality
Sober and correct
Daring and out of ordinary
Comfortable
Chic and stylish
Present Persian culture
Present other culture
Other (specify)
Are your clothes:
Home-made, by yourself or one of the family member
Made up by a small tailor or dressmaker
Made to measure by a large fashion-house or tailor
From a chain-store
From a boutique
Do you care about the brand of your cloth?
Religious questions
Do you attend to daily or weekly religious acts? or do you have other favors? Please mention
Do you attend to religious ceremonies during the year?
Is your new-year ceremony related to religion or ancient Persian civilization or another type such
foreign one?
For your holiday trip, do you prefer to go to religious places and cities or other places?
Do you let your children have boyfriend or girlfriend before marriage?
According to the law if Hijab was not coercive, do you use this style of wearing for yourself or
force your family to use that?
Free Times
Describe an ideal free day
What do you normally do in your leisure?
Which activities do you prefer to do in your free time?
- cinema
- doing sport
- eating in the city
- hang out with friends
- spend time with your relatives
- stay at home and watch TV and relax
199
Observation Schedule (to be completed by interviewer)
Home
Apartment
House
Sub urban detached (single-family) house (pavilion)
Age:
Quality:
Municipal (council flat)
Bourgeois
old
poor
fairly prestigious
very prestigious
Number of rooms:
Decoration:
Furniture:
Predominant style:
Floor:
Other observation
Dress
Men:
Blue overalls
casual (sweat-shirt, jeans…)
suit
pullover tie shape and color of shirt:
Cuffs buttoned double cuffs
rolled-up sleeves
smart ‘town’ cloths
Women:
Housework cloths (housedresses)
skirt and blouse
dress
costume (suit)
slacks
very smart
Footwear: high heels flat heels etc. slippers
Make-up and perfume:
Well-groomed or not:
Hair
Men:
Short medium crew cut very short long parting (side/middle) sideburns
moustache (specify type)
beard
brilliantine
Women: (it’s a little hard to ask women because of the Hijab in Iran)
Speech
Refined
standard slang mistake in grammar (specify)
Accent: strong
slight
none
200
Appendix 3
The photos of participating in religious acts:
201
202
Source: www.pix2pix.org
203
The photos of using satellite in both rural and urban area:
Source: researcher survey
204
Source: www.mehrnews.com
205