“A Critical Discourse Analysis of ‘Ritual and Superstition’ in the Works of Khosro Hamzevi Based on Teun van Dijk’s Theory”

Document Type : Original Article

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Persian literature and language, Farhangian university, Qom, Iran

10.22034/lda.2026.145667.1133

Abstract

Critical Discourse Analysis is an interdisciplinary approach that examines discourse not merely as language but as a tool for representing and critiquing power relations, social cognition, and cultural structures. In contemporary Persian literature, the works of Khosro Hamzevi stand as prominent texts that, through their focus on retual and superstition, provide a platform for questioning traditional beliefs and religious rituals. Despite the significance of these works, previous studies have mostly explored their stylistic and narrative aspects, while critical discourse analysis has been largely overlooked—an omission that has created a notable gap in modern literary studies .The aim of this research is to reveal the discursive mechanisms of retual and superstition in Hamzevi’s works and to examine the interaction between discourse, cognition, and social power within his texts. The importance of this study lies in showing how Hamzevi’s fiction extends beyond storytelling to take an active role in critiquing social beliefs and superstitions, thereby illustrating the interplay between language, meaning, and social structures. Methodologically, the research is qualitative and grounded in Teun van Dijk’s theoretical framework, particularly his “socio-cognitive discourse analysis,”which investigates mechanisms of belief reproduction and textual resistance within their social context. The scope of the study is limited to components related to religion and superstition;broader analyses of ideology and social power in Hamzevi’s oeuvre are pursued in a separate study.The findings indicate that Hamzevi’s works, through portraying the tension between traditional beliefs and conscious characters,possess significant capacity for social and cultural critique and for representing inequalities and social control

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