Knowledge of literary genres is one of the oldest and most influential intertextual approaches that has been used to classify texts since the past and has been subject to change. But the background ...of the theory of genres in Iran is less than a century, and its justified application in a comprehensive way in many fields and literary trends is still facing ambiguities and challenges. For example, in classifying ancient narratives, the question arises: on what basis and with what considerations can the dominant literary genres in these texts be proved? The lack of serious research and criticism in response to this question has led researchers over the decades to classify ancient Persian stories by resorting to self-invented, unscientific literary terms without methodological explanation, while the common terms not only fail to give a comprehensive indication of the content and linguistic characteristics of such narratives, but even keep them in a genre indecision or lead them to several similar genres. Since one of the functions of motif study is to determine the literary genre of the texts, the present study has attempted to draw on the Aristotelian theory of genres to utilize this potential talent and prove for the first time through the method of inductive reasoning and relying on the statistical community based on the study various motifs of three stories of Abu Tahir Tarsusi that their literary genres belong to the epic. Extended Abstract 1. Introduction Prose stories, as one of the oldest currents of Persian literature, are voluminous and generally sequential texts (with supplementary appendices) and report on the actions of kings, generals, and warriors who are often in the shadow of history or in a few cases are basically imaginary and are considered to be created by the minds of storytellers. 1-1. Significance of the Study Despite their ancient background, the Persian prose epics have not yet found a certain place in the history of Persian literature from the point of view of literary genres, and in research they are generally presented under vague terms such as story, legend, romance, folktale, fantasy, or romance. The above terms, in the absence of comprehensive information on the content and linguistic characteristics, are unable to determine the parent literary genre or subgenre for the above narratives, and often focus unilaterally on the type of narrative or some elements of the story, and sometimes overlap with other non-homogeneous texts. And they leave the literary genre of the text in limbo. Most importantly, researchers have not yet found a methodological and theoretical approach or a logical explanation to justify the use of these terms for the texts in question. 1-2. Problem The main problem is how to get beyond the stage of asserting the genre and unrelated literary terms and reach the stage of hypothesizing the definition of literary genre and proving it through in-text investigations. So far, the researchers who have written in the field of criticism of fictional narratives have referred to the literary genre of fictional narratives only with short phrases and self-made titles, but the present research attempts to rely on the frequency of the statistical approach and the representation of the statistical community, the hypothesis of a coherent flow of narratives. Prove a story in the literary genre of the epic. 1-3. The Purpose and Method The main purpose of the study is on the function of the thematic approach in determining the literary genre of the narrative, using a statistical method. Therefore, based on the theory of Aristotelian genres and using the thematic approach, the themes mentioned in the three narratives of Dārāb-Nāmeh, Qirān Habaši, Musayyab-Nāmeh were first analyzed in an inductive manner and divided into four sections: Epic and Ayyāri, Lyrical, Amazing and Dignity. Based on the obtained frequency results, the premise of determining their literary type is then proved. 1-4. Literature Review Although studies have been done in the last decade on the subject of literary genre in the form of authorship and translation, the field of research focusing on Persian literature has been completely neglected due to the importance of motif in determining the literary genre of the text, and there is no research to support this. 1-5. Theoretical Basis 1-5-1. Motif Motif is one of the terms defined by Russian formalists to understand the cause-effect relationships of the components of a narrative. "Motif" refers to structural and semantic elements such as actions, events, concepts, and objects that have become exemplary elements through repetition. Although it is not considered a fixed part of the narrative, it is a temporary feature that gains importance in a particular narrative situation and usually due to its repetition. Besides the central role of subtexts in knowing the cause-effect relationships of the components of the narrative, the most important function of subtexts is to help in the classification and typology of narratives, which has not received much attention so far. 1-5-2. Literary Genres If we are to have a scientific view of literature, we should be able to classify literary works as far as possible, and to place similar kinds of literary works in special classes relatively rather than absolutely. After all, the most important characteristic of science is that it can classify; this task is accomplished in literary studies by the approach of "literary genres." Motif is considered one of the main characteristics of literary genres, and its role in this field has not received much attention so far. A literary genre is characterized by a set of features and formal structures that occur in an orderly, cohesive, and simultaneous manner, and motif is one of the most important features mentioned. 1-6. The Case Since Abu Taher Tarsusi is considered the most prominent narrator in the field of ancient Persian prose narratives and a considerable number of authentic fictional texts are also attributed to him, motif analysis was given preference in determining the literary text type on the basis of the three selected narratives by Tarsusi, which are briefly presented below. 1-6-1. Abu Taher Tarsusi Abu Taher Tarsusi was born at the beginning of the second half of the fifth century of the Hijri (450 AH) and the last period of his life coincided with the end of the first decade of the second half of the sixth century of the Hijri (560 AH). His works include Dārāb-Nāmeh, Qirān Habaši, Musayyab-Nāmeh, Abu Muslim-Nāmeh, Qahramān-Nāmeh, Farāmarz-Nāmeh, Houšang-Nāmeh, Ayyār-Nāmeh, Tavārikh-Nāmeh. 2. Discussion 2-1. Epic and Ayyāri Motifs According to the results, 1534 instances of common epic and Ayyāri motifs were observed in all three narratives, and among them, Abu Taher Tarsusi provided the highest number of epic and Ayyāri motifs in Qirān Habaši with 549 instances. This is followed by Musayyab-Nāmeh with 538 cases and Dārāb-Nāmeh with 447 cases in second and third place. 2-2. Lyrical motifs Based on the results, 270 instances of common lyrical motifs were observed in all three narratives, of which Abu Taher Tarsusi in Qirān Habaši provided the most space for lyrical motifs in Qirān Habaši with 125 instances. This is followed by Dārāb-Nāmeh with 117 instances and Musayyab-Nāmeh with 28 instances in second and third place. 2-3. Amazing motifs Based on the results, 433 instances of surprising common motifs were observed in the three narratives, of which Abu Taher Tarsusi provided the most space for the occurrence of surprising motifs in Dārāb-Nāmeh with 303 instances. This is followed by Qirān Habaši with 77 cases and the Musayyab-Nāmeh with 53 cases in second and third place. 2-4. Dignity motifs Based on the results, 275 common motifs of dignity were observed in the three narratives, of which Abu Taher Tarsusi in Dārāb-Nāmeh provided the most space for the expression of dignity motifs with 190 instances. This is followed by Qirān Habaši with 63 instances and Musayyab-Nāmeh with 22 instances in second and third place, respectively. 3. Conclusion After examining the three narratives of Dārāb-Nāmeh, Qirān Habaši and Musayyab-Nāmeh using the motif analysis approach and evaluating the set of their motifs in four parts, according to the report, a total of 2512 common motifs have been identified from these narratives. With 1534 cases, amazing motifs with 433 cases, dignity motifs with 275 cases, and lyrical motifs with 270 cases have the highest frequency in the narratives. Based on this content approach, the three mentioned narratives show their obvious belonging to the epic genre among the long traditional narratives of Iran due to the predominance of epic motifs in them.
Until half a century ago, the question “what is literature?” was common in literary studies. Today such questions have something naïve, especially in a time that has become sceptical towards ...theories. This article tries to avoid this naïve side starting from two books that have enquired into the question ‘what is literature’, in an analytical and genealogical way (Die Logik der Dichtung by Käte Hamburger and Fiction et Diction by Gérard Genette) and going back to the ancient theories of poiesis and mimesis.
This article examines the power of special topoi to characterize the discourse of literary criticism, and through emphasis on rhetorical action, it sheds light on the limitations of topos analysis ...for characterizing research articles in disciplinary discourse more generally. Using an analytical approach drawn both from studies of topoi in disciplinary discourse and rhetorical genre theory, I examine a representative corpus of 21st-century literary research articles. I find that while most of the special topoi recognized by Fahnestock and Secor and Wilder remain prevalent in recent criticism, contemporary literary critics tend to draw on only a select subset of those topoi when making claims about their rhetorical actions. The topoi they use most often—mistaken-critic and paradigm—help identify the ways knowledge-making work is undertaken in literary criticism, a discipline often considered epideictic rather than epistemic. But what the special topoi do not capture is precisely the distinctly motivated, actively epistemic character of this disciplinary rhetoric. Based on these findings, I suggest that special topoi must be seen as functioning in the context of the rhetorical action undertaken by literary research articles. These articles undertake not simply persuasion but the particularly humanistic act I refer to as contributing to scholarly understanding: a rhetorical action worth attending to for scholars of disciplinary discourse, because it is deliberately more concerned with practice than product.
Genre has long been used by Writing Studies ethnographers as a theoretical orientation and analytical tool to bridge text and context. This article describes how genre-based ethnographies as ...methodology might get taken up at the level of method. Drawing on a genre-based ethnographic study as an example and guide, this article presents a process of data collection that builds ethnographic sites from genre by emergently identifying chains of data sources and collection techniques emanating from starting genres. Applying a genre orientation at the level of method centers inquiry on writing and mitigates the need to define site boundaries. By articulating how a genre orientation might shape ethnography at the level of method, this article encourages a stronger articulation between research methodologies and methods across the field of Writing Studies. Further, this article can be used as a guide for researchers conducting genre-based ethnographies.
The novella was known to the Arabs at a relatively late stage from Europe, for many reasons, the most important of which is the problematic and instability of the term. In Egypt, the term short ...novel did not take its place on the map of literature until the beginning of the second half of the twentieth century. In the sixties, the novella became a fictional form, which most experienced. The novelists of that period, and even some writers, most of their productions belonged to the novella form (1), but it did not take its right to study until the second half of the eighty decade (2), to settle as a stand-alone literary genre. In Iraq, there is no accurate database on (the novella): its roots, origin, and development, just as the references broadcast in critical books do not help us in drawing or forming a clear picture of this literary genre. Creativity by male and female writers, and with the positive reception of a wide range of readers for these types of stories, contemporary critical studies emerged that framed these literary genres and studied them within a broader field, which is (fictional art) before joining the narrative as a science that accommodates all narrative forms, literary and non-literary, oral. and written. The short novel (novel) remained a literary genre between the long novel and the short story. It was studied by researchers, once, as a novel. And at other times, as a short story or a long story, and it did not acquire its identity until late at the end of the last century.
Although increases in status often lead to more favorable inferences about quality in subsequent evaluations, in this paper, we examine a setting in which an increase to an actor's status results in ...less favorable quality evaluations, contrary to what much of sociological and management theory would predict. Comparing thousands of reader reviews on Goodreads.com of 64 Englishlanguage books that either won or were short-listed for prestigious book awards between 2007 and 2011, we find that prizewinning books tend to attract more readers following the announcement of an award and that readers' ratings of award-winning books tend to decline more precipitously following the announcement of an award relative to books that were named as finalists but did not win. We explain this surprising result, focusing on two mechanisms whereby signals of quality that tend to promote adoption can subsequently have a negative impact on evaluation. First, we propose that the audience evaluating a high-status actor or object tends to shift as a result of a public status shock, like an award, increasing in number but also in diverse tastes. We outline how this shift might translate into less favorable evaluations of quality. Second, we show that the increase in popularity that tends to follow a status shock is off-putting to some, also resulting in more negative evaluations. We show that our proposed mechanisms together explain the negative effect of status on evaluations in the context of the literary world.
With this volume, the editors Katharina Edtstadler, Sandra Folie, and Gianna Zocco propose an extension of the traditional conception of imagology as a theory and method for studying the cultural ...construction and literary representation of national, usually European characters. Consisting of an instructive introduction and 21 articles, the book relates this sub-field of comparative literature to contemporary political developments and enriches it with new interdisciplinary, transnational, intersectional, and intermedial perspectives. The contributions offer 1 a reconsideration and update of the field’s methods, genres, and theoretical frames; 2 trans-/post-national, migratory, and marginalized perspectives beyond the European nation-state; 3 insights into geopolitical dichotomies such as Orient/Occident; 4 intersectional approaches considering the entanglements of national images with notions of age, class, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity/race; 5 investigations of the role of national images in visual narratives and music.
Mit dem Sammelband New Perspectives on Imagology legen die Herausgeberinnen Katharina Edtstadler, Sandra Folie und Gianna Zocco eine Neubetrachtung des Forschungsfelds der Imagologie vor, das sich traditionell mit der kulturellen Konstruktion und literarischen Darstellung von zumeist europäischen ‚Nationalcharakteren‘ befasst. Das Buch besteht aus einer instruktiven Einleitung und 21 Artikeln, die dieses Teilgebiet der Vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft mit aktuellen politischen Entwicklungen in Beziehung setzen und mit neuen interdisziplinären, transnationalen, intersektionalen und intermedialen Perspektiven bereichern. Die Beiträge widmen sich 1 neuen Überlegungen zu Methoden, Genres und theoretischen Grundannahmen; 2 trans-/post-nationalen, migrantischen und marginalisierten Perspektiven, die sich nicht allein über nationalstaatliche Gegensätze verstehen lassen; 3 der globalen oder transkontinentalen Wirksamkeit kontrastiver Kategorien wie Orient/Okzident; 4 intersektionalen Zugängen, die die komplexe Verflochtenheit nationenbezogener Bilder mit Kategorien wie Alter, Klasse, Geschlecht, Sexualität, Religion und race/Ethnizität behandeln; 5 der Rolle nationaler Bilder in visuellen Erzählungen und in der Musik.
