Critical Discourse Analysis of the Last Will and Testaments of Martyrs from Kerman Province Based on van Dijk’s Approach

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Faculty member of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman

10.22103/jrl.2025.25629.3063

Abstract

This study aimed to a conduct critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the last will and testaments of martyrs from Kerman Province. As concise yet highly meaningful texts, these wills reflect the religious beliefs, ideological orientations, and social perspectives of combatants during the Holy Defense (Iran-Iraq war). Drawing on critical linguistics, particularly van Dijk’s theoretical framework, this study investigated how language interacts with power, mental representations, and the reproduction of dominant discourse within these texts. The study employed a qualitative method grounded in van Dijk’s CDA. The dataset consisted of a collection of wills belonging to the martyrs of the 41st Tharallah Division of Kerman Province. The texts were first categorized thematically, after which key concepts were examined with regard to their cognitive, social, and discursive dimensions. The findings indicated that the wills predominantly follow a religious–revolutionary discourse in which concepts such as jihad, martyrdom, obedience to religious authority (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist), and opposition to global arrogance are foregrounded. The linguistic structure of these texts demonstrated the systematic reproduction of values and norms endorsed by the official discourse of the Islamic Republic of Iran. On the cognitive level, the wills reflect the martyrs’ particular understanding of notions such as the enemy, homeland, and religious duty. Beyond their spiritual significance, these documents also offer substantial analytical capacity for understanding the political and cultural discourses of the 1980s. They may therefore be viewed as mirrors of the collective mindset of the war era and as instruments contributing to the reproduction of the official discourse of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Keywords

References

References [In Persian]:
Kiani Haft Lang, K. (2019). Complete Wills of the Martyrs of Kerman Province. Tehran: Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs.
Mirzaei, A. (2016). Atlas of the 41st Tharallah Division During the Eight Years of Sacred Defense. Tehran: Center for Sacred Defense Documents and Research.
Nazari Moghaddam, J. (2022). Content Analysis of the Wills of Gilan Province Martyrs During the Sacred Defense. Resistance Literature, 14(26), 269–294.
Rashidi Al-Hashem, S. M., Sabouri Kazaj, P., & Sabouri Kazaj, J. (2022). A Phenomenological Analysis of the Culture of Sacrifice and Martyrdom in the Wills of the Sacred Defense Martyrs. Cultural Guardianship of the Islamic Revolution, (26), 325–346.
Shafiee, A., Barzegar, E., & Moradzadeh, A. (2016). The Role of Guardianship and Leadership in the Political Stability of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Case Study: The Leadership of Imam Khamenei). Horizon of Security Quarterly, 9(30), 5–40.
 
Examples of archival documents include the following martyr wills preserved in the Martyrs’ Legacy Foundation of Kerman (Hamase-ye Sarallah Institute):
Will of Martyr Ali Esmaeili, Retrieval Number: 379456. Kerman: Hamase-ye Sarallah Institute
Will of Martyr Asghar Etemadi, Retrieval Number: 592126. ---------------------------.
Will of Martyr Davoud Etemadi, Retrieval Number: 480733. --------------------------.
….
References [In English]:
Assmann, A. (2011). Cultural Memory and Western Civilization: Functions, Media, Archives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language. London: Longman.
Scott, J. C. (1985). Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance. Yale University Press.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. Psychology of Intergroup Relations, Nelson‑Hall, Chicago.
van Dijk, T. A. (1993). Principles of Critical Discourse Analysis. Discourse & Society, 4(2).
van Dijk, T. A. (1998). Ideology: A Multidisciplinary Approach. London: Sage.
van Dijk, T. A. (2006). Discourse and Manipulation. Discourse & Society, 17(3).
van Dijk, T. A. (2008). Discourse and Power. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Journal of Resistance Literature
Volume 17, Issue 33
February 2025
Pages 87-107

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