نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسنده
گروه تاریخ، دانشکده ادبیات و علوم انسانی، دانشگاه شهبد بهشتی، تهران، ایران.
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسنده [English]
The Qajar era marked both the emergence of modern transformations in Iran and an inevitable encounter with Western civilization. While many intellectuals of the time looked to the West with admiration, the treatise Sheikh and Shukh presents a contrasting discourse. Written in the late Qajar period, it takes the form of a satirical dialogue between a traditionalist cleric (Sheikh) and a modernist reformer (Shukh), offering a sharp critique of Iran’s political and cultural situation.
This article explores three core questions: how the text evaluates Western civilization, how it conceives Iranian identity, and what principles it advances for progress. Through discourse analysis, the study demonstrates how the treatise denounces governmental corruption and the inefficiency of the Qajar state, while exposing the dangers of foreign influence, especially from Britain and Russia. It also warns against blind imitation of imported sciences and concepts such as “civilization” and “statecraft.”
In terms of cultural resilience, the Sheikh underscores the defense of national and Islamic identity, preference for indigenous sciences, and rejection of cultural subordination. The dialogue between Sheikh and Shukh symbolizes the broader struggle between native tradition and externally imposed modernity.
The findings reveal that Sheikh and Shukh operates as a form of resistance literature, combining critique of domestic corruption with opposition to colonial penetration. In contrast to reformist calls for Westernization, it seeks to safeguard cultural integrity and prevent social disintegration. As such, the treatise provides valuable evidence of how late Qajar thought engaged with the dilemmas of identity, sovereignty, and modernization.
کلیدواژهها [English]
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