Abstract
With the expansion of access to cyberspace in recent years, in the context of new globalization and the increase of Persian content on social media, YouTube has become a key hub with hundreds of thousands of viewers and followers in our country. Given the importance of this space, its growing popularity, and the impact of audio-visual content on those who consume its content on a daily basis, examining the effects of this segment of the Persian cyberspace and its content on redefining Iranian identity—with a focus on its historical and ancient aspect—can lead to a better understanding of this arena. This study paves the way for further research and analysis of its impact on Persian-speaking audiences on the cyberspace. Undoubtedly, conducting such research requires the use of diverse and appropriate tools that can first define this dimension of the three dimensions of Iranian identity, and then analyze and examine the representation of Iranian national identity in Persian YouTube content. For this purpose, qualitative content analysis based on Michel Foucault’s perspective meets our needs more than any other method, while also incorporating the theoretical framework of Claude Lévi-Strauss’s structuralism. Given the dominant environment among Persian-speaking cyberspace users, initial results indicate that Persian YouTube content predominantly presents ancient Iran as a symbol of power and historical splendor, and has a positive impact on reinforcing Iranian national identity among audiences, while assigning greater weight to the ancient dimension compared to the other two dimensions, namely modernity and religion.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
IRANIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY, ANCIENT IRAN, PERSIAN YOUTUBE, GLOBALIZATION, STRUCTURALISM
