behrooz azabdaftari; Davoud Amini
Abstract
Behrooz Azabdaftari is Professor Emeritus of Applied Linguistics at University of Tabriz. Born in 1938 in Tabriz, Iran, he received his BA in Language Education from Tehran Higher Education Institute in 1963 and his MA in English from University of Beirut in 1970. He was granted a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics ...
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Behrooz Azabdaftari is Professor Emeritus of Applied Linguistics at University of Tabriz. Born in 1938 in Tabriz, Iran, he received his BA in Language Education from Tehran Higher Education Institute in 1963 and his MA in English from University of Beirut in 1970. He was granted a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics by the University of Illinois, USA in 1980. During nearly 50 years of academic work, professor Azabdaftari has taught graduate courses at University of Tabriz, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University and Islamic Azad University. With an interdisciplinary approach to language studies, Dr. Azabdaftari has regularly published on the cross lines of Applied Linguistics, Translation and Literature. By translating a few key works on Vygotsky’s thought, he has had a significant role in introducing Sociocultural Theory to Iranian community of language teaching researchers. He has also translated selected poetry from well-known Persian contemporary poets, including an excellent translation of Shahraiar’s masterpiece of “Hayder Babaya Selam”. He has joined an interview with Davoud Amini.
Farshid Sadatsharifi; Bahram Behin
Abstract
Farshid Sadatsharifi has been visiting scholar at the Institute of Islamic Studies in McGill University, Montreal, Canada since 2016. He received his PhD and MA in Persian Language and Literature from Shiraz University, Iran. He also completed his post-doc fellowship in Interdisciplinary Approaches to ...
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Farshid Sadatsharifi has been visiting scholar at the Institute of Islamic Studies in McGill University, Montreal, Canada since 2016. He received his PhD and MA in Persian Language and Literature from Shiraz University, Iran. He also completed his post-doc fellowship in Interdisciplinary Approaches to Literature at the same university. Dr. Sadatsharifi is the co-founder and director of Samaak Institution, the center for Persian Language and Literature in applied approach. He is the affiliated researcher of Hafez Studies Center, and a permanent member of Iranian Society of Persian Humor (ISPH). Dr. Sadatsharifi has spent ten years celebrating literary theories, the meaning of life, existentialism, and other subjects related to studying and teaching Persian Language and Literature in a multidisciplinary and applied approach. He hopes to have the chance to establish “applied literature” as a well-recognized part of literary studies. He believes that an applied approach is unavoidable for any form of art, humanities and literature nowadays. In pursuit of JALDA’s fundamental goal of spotlighting the nature of applied literature, the journal’s editor-in-chief, Dr. Bahram Behin, had a short conversation with Dr. Sadatsharifi.
3. Applied Literature
Bahram Behin
Abstract
Applied literature is a term that is the outcome of a need to put literature to tangible uses in the “real” world. A medical practitioner looking for a definition of life, for instance, finds literature a useful source for the answer. With paradigm shifts in scientific studies, interdisciplinarity ...
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Applied literature is a term that is the outcome of a need to put literature to tangible uses in the “real” world. A medical practitioner looking for a definition of life, for instance, finds literature a useful source for the answer. With paradigm shifts in scientific studies, interdisciplinarity has been a method to overcome the alienations that resulted from the isolation of disciplines from one another. Some would go even further to problematize the concept of being solely confined to the limits of disciplines or the textuality of literature because they are still hindrances to coming into direct contact with the “real” world. Arguing that tangible real world should lie at the core of applied literary studies, this paper is an attempt to show how a path may be opened up towards the diverse nature of reality in literary studies through a critical review of relevant aspects of literary theory and by drawing upon studies of cultures.
Bahram Behin
Abstract
The editor’s notes in our Journal have been so far a site for the clarification of the Journal’s policy and the task still continues. With an inclination towards solving our real world problems in language teaching (and literary studies, which I will discuss in the next issue of the Journal), ...
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The editor’s notes in our Journal have been so far a site for the clarification of the Journal’s policy and the task still continues. With an inclination towards solving our real world problems in language teaching (and literary studies, which I will discuss in the next issue of the Journal), we would like to take that the introduction of the concept of “life-world” to Social Sciences can be a ground-breaking movement to open up new horizons for researchers. I will further illustrate JALDA's position and policy here. The current issue of JALDA features an interview, seven research papers of national and international scope and a book review. The interview is with Professor Glenn Fulcher, the distinguished British applied linguist working in the field of language testing and assessment. The first paper by Behrooz Azabdaftari is a tribute to Professor Henry Widdowson on his visit to Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University in 2018. Cosmas Rai Amenorvi draws on the theory of cohesion to show how both linguistic and aesthetic effects are achieved in Malcolm X’s ‘The Ballot or the Bullet’. The paper by Sarvandy and Ekstam focuses on English as Lingua Franca with attention to Iranian context. The paper by Karimnia and Sabbaghi is a study of Ta’ziyeh and its discourse with an emphasis on how language varieties help frame a culturee’s perception of religion. Ameri's contibution is an example of applied literature. She applies New Jungian findings to the reading of Sweetness in the Belly. The paper by Abbasi and Khosrowshahi explores the role of experience in EFL teachers’ satisfaction of the in-service teacher education programs in Iran, and Ashrafi and Ajideh explore culture-related content in the advanced series of Iran Language Institute. And, finally, Jane Ekstam has reviewed Loving Literature: A Cultural History, by Deirde Shauna Lynch for us.
3. Applied Literature
Firouzeh Ameri
Abstract
The field of Applied Literature is concerned with the practical usages of literature, including the potentials of literature to empower and transform individuals. Jungian criticism, with its suggestions of the possibility of individuation and self-actualization in individuals, has been an important source ...
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The field of Applied Literature is concerned with the practical usages of literature, including the potentials of literature to empower and transform individuals. Jungian criticism, with its suggestions of the possibility of individuation and self-actualization in individuals, has been an important source for scholars in the field of Applied Literature for healing. Still, the traditional Jungian approach to literature has been criticized in recent years, especially due to its apparent universalist assumptions and its insensitivity to context-specific issues in texts. For the same reason, New Jungian critics have been recently exploring the possibilities of reconciling Jungian concepts with more context-oriented literary theories. This paper, then, in accordance with this new trend, attempts to do a New Jungian reading of a contemporary postcolonial novel, Sweetness in the Belly, by Camilla Gibb , as a case study, to investigate the potentials within this approach of extension of Jungian ideas and dialogue with other more modern literary theories after poststructuralism. The research benefits from the views of New Jungian critics as well as the theories in relation to the identity issues of migrants. The paper is concluded with the proposition that, as the exploration of this novel testifies, the New Jungian approach as well as the contemporary fiction of identity construction can prove as valid resources for Applied Literature for healing.
Bahram Behin
Abstract
Applied Literature, however, does not have literature at its centre. Literature in this domain is a tool to solve problems and achieve goals. Using literature to teach and learn languages, the application of literature to language education, is a very handy example. Health Humanities (by Crawford, et ...
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Applied Literature, however, does not have literature at its centre. Literature in this domain is a tool to solve problems and achieve goals. Using literature to teach and learn languages, the application of literature to language education, is a very handy example. Health Humanities (by Crawford, et al. and reviewed by A. Ramazani in our Journal's previous issue) comprises chapters on how literature can be used for health purposes. Medical Humanities is introduced as “the engagement of medicine with the humanities and arts, social sciences, health policy, medical education, patient experience and the public at large.” A shift is observable here from pure objective scientific endeavour based on the segregation of seemingly unrelated fields to the integration of them for more practical purposes.The role attributed to the public at large in these equations demands careful consideration. In traditional literary studies, as stated above, the textuality of literature is central. But in Applied Literature the text is no longer our precious object. Some reader-oriented literary theories have shifted our attentionradically from the text to the reader. In these theories, the literary critic is no longer the sole source of justification and interpretation of literature.Determining the literariness of the text and its interpretation lies with the reader. This might eventually lead to the well-beingness of the reader, which, once achieved, fulfils the applied literature critic’s wish! Thus, those with inclination towards the reader in literary studies may have an affinitywith applied literature critics that move towards the public at large.
4. Dynamics between Applied Studies on Language and Literature
Bahram Behin
Abstract
Applied Linguistics and Applied Literature in the sense that we would like to use them should result in academic activities that are social in their orientation. Academics are not isolated individuals equipped with scientific tools and working within laboratory like situations. Their close encounter ...
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Applied Linguistics and Applied Literature in the sense that we would like to use them should result in academic activities that are social in their orientation. Academics are not isolated individuals equipped with scientific tools and working within laboratory like situations. Their close encounter with the real world situations is a fundamental necessity. Reading theories and literary texts in the library is not undertaken for the sake of creating mentalities to judge what lies outside our reading and library. There should, instead, be an interactional process between what we read and what we experience in the world out there that seems to be unruly and messy in nature. This attitude seems to have consequences for us in our academic behaviour. One of them, for instance, should be our attempts to look for non-traditional forms and formations of research and practice. Employing mere quantitative research methods, what we have inherited in the name of ‘science’ from the past, we may end up in failures. ‘Science’ is no longer a sacred institution whose colossal columns are untouchable, especially for us in developing countries that seem to be lagging behind the fast moving states and institutions forming categories of insiders and outsiders for themselves, for instance. There have been so many glossy theories of language and literature that are regarded either as totally obsolete or impractical for many reasons today.
Dr. Bahram Behin
Abstract
EDITORIAL Dear JALDA reader, Our journal experiences transformations. In its title “Discourse Analysis” gives way to “Applied Literature.” The reason is that our Department offers undergraduate and graduate courses in both English Literature and English Language ...
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EDITORIAL Dear JALDA reader, Our journal experiences transformations. In its title “Discourse Analysis” gives way to “Applied Literature.” The reason is that our Department offers undergraduate and graduate courses in both English Literature and English Language Teaching and we believe that our Journal should cover both disciplines. We would also like to put emphasis on the “applied” aspect of the disciplines because we believe that within the context of what we have done so far in our Journal this is a meaningful step we take towards dealing more with the “real world” than before. We had a similar intention from the very beginning of our Journal, but, due to mostly theoretically-orientedness of Applied Linguistics and textually-orientedness of Discourse Analysis, we started to realize that we miss the lion's share of what is called the “real world.” Working within the mainstream findings in Applied Linguistics and Discourse Analysis eventually leads to what we have experienced so far: a contribution to the verification of findings we have received from the authorities in the disciplines. This sounds, within the context of today’s globalization, somehow problematic. Do we really look like one another? Do we have similar problems in language teaching and learning and in studying and understanding texts? Should we read literary texts mostly within the frameworks we have received from sources that are usually culturally far from us because they are “great” sources? Another problem with mainstream research in Applied Linguistics and Discourse Analysis is that the researcher working in these disciplines stands at the centre of research process and determines, on the basis of his theoretical standpoint, what is right and what is wrong and what should be done and what shouldn’t. Such an attitude has been criticised for some remarkable time especially by those who have an orientation towards the real world rather than scientific theories. In the traditional approach, the relationship between the researcher and the researched is that of subject and object, whereas, to our view, the relationship should be between subject and subject. We believe that research should take us into the unknown aspects of the real world so that we may use the teaching and learning of language and literature for effect-driven purposes in our particular societies instead of contributing to what is known as the mainstream flow of knowledge in its academic sense. The researches we would like to be undertaken should show the peculiarities of the researcher’s context of situation and challenge our already held concepts and presuppositions of what language and literature are and how they may be tackled for real world purposes. Our standpoint towards worldly phenomena is regarding them as precious and invaluable in themselves. We do not eliminate anything because we would not like to play God with things. Literature, both in its broadest sense referring to ordinary people’s understanding of it and in its narrowest sense referring to specific definitions of it, for instance, is of great significance to us because literature has been part of people’s lives from the early periods of the history of mankind. But the tendency in our Journal is to have literature applied to the solution of the problems we come across in our society. It does not make sense to us to read literature within the framework of different theories, for instance, simply because we are supposed to put on fashionable hats throughout of our career. A theory introduced as magnificent to us but without any sensible touch to our lives should not be a source of restriction for us. We may find solutions to our problems in other areas and places especially with reference to real life situations. The “real world” has priority to us. We are certainly taking our first steps in this regard, but we are hopeful that our enthusiasm and heartfelt wishes for finding ways towards understanding the complexity of the world around us would be our strong source of motivation and moral support. The contributions from colleagues and researchers from all over the world are our source to shed light to this wonderful world and to see its colourful aspects. Bahram Behin Founding Editor-in-chief Journal of Applied Linguistics and Applied Literature: Dynamics and Advances (JALDA) 15 July 2018
3. Applied Literature
Dr. Abolfazl Ramazani
Abstract
Health Humanities written by Paul Crawford, Brian Brown, Charley Baker, Victoria Tischler, and Brian Adams was first published in 2015 by Palgrave Macmillan, UK. The book is a result of many years of experience of work in the field and comes at a right time after the successful organisation of some international ...
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Health Humanities written by Paul Crawford, Brian Brown, Charley Baker, Victoria Tischler, and Brian Adams was first published in 2015 by Palgrave Macmillan, UK. The book is a result of many years of experience of work in the field and comes at a right time after the successful organisation of some international conferences on health humanities by Professor Paul Crawford, et al. in the preceding years. Structurally, it includes the following chapters: 1) “Health Humanities”, 2) “Anthropology and the Study of Culture”, 3) “Applied Literature”, 4) “Narrative and Applied Linguistics”, 5) “Performing Arts and the Aesthetics of Health”, 6) “Visual Art and Transformation”, 7) “Practice Based Evidence: Delivering Humanities into Healthcare”, 8) “Creative Practice as Mutual Recovery”, and finally “Concluding Remarks”. The book also contains, amongst other things, three important entries: “List of Figures and Tables”, “References”, and an “Index”, which add to the attraction of the book and make it an authentic read. In the “Acknowledgements” section of the book, the authors thank many health-related organisations in the UK, specially the Creative Practice as Mutual Recovery consortium for practically helping them with their “Mutual Recovery”, a subject that has duly and frequently been dealt with in chapter eight.
