book chapter

Discourse and mimesis: Shi'ism in everyday life

Iran : from religious dispute to revolutionCambridge, Mass.Published In 1980 • Pages: 136-180

By: Fischer, Michael M. J..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a chapter from Fischer's book, 'Iran: From Religious Dispute to Revolution.' In this chapter, Fischer discusses how Shi'ite idioms are expressed in everyday life. The material for this chapter comes from group discussions and papers produced by members of a group of Western and Iranian intellectuals living in Tehran. One paper, entitled 'Inner Purity,' examines Persian conceptions of self and other, and the search for friendship. The true Sufi or DARVISH is the ideal character type in this regard, a person who is always open, trustworthy, hospitable and humble. The LUTI, or village strongman, is another popular character, one who protects the weak and the moral order of the community. Another paper Fischer discusses is on the Iranian intellectual S. Hossein Nasr and his contribution to modernist Shi'ite thought. Nasr argued for Sufism's role in bridging the gap between Islam and modernity. Fischer also examines changes in personal morality in Iranian culture and the vitality of popular religion as expressed in the Shi'ite passion drama.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Form and rules of government
Theological systems
Priesthood
Organized ceremonial
Philosophy
Humanistic studies
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Iran
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2000
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Middle East
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Middle East
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
book chapter
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Ian Skoggard; 2005
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
no date
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
not specified
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Iran
NotesAdditional notes
Michael M. J. Fischer
for bibliographical references see document 90: Fischer
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
79024330
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Iranians