Interdisciplinary Studies in Media and Culture

Abstract This study investigates the role of lived experience podcasts in transforming the public sphere in Iran through a qualitative case study of the Persian podcast Radio Marz. As one of the most influential audio-based digital platforms, Radio Marz provides a space where marginalized voices and personal narratives become subjects of public discussion. Drawing upon Habermas's theory of the public sphere and communicative action, the study examines how lived experiences narrated through podcasts contribute to expanding public dialogue, challenging social taboos, and creating new forms of networked public participation. Using thematic analysis, twenty-five selected episodes were analyzed to identify the dominant social and cultural themes embedded within the narratives. The findings indicate that lived experience podcasts function as alternative communicative arenas that increase social awareness, reconstruct collective identities, stimulate critical reflection, and facilitate the formation of online communities. Consequently, podcasts not only enrich digital public discourse but also contribute to the structural transformation of the traditional public sphere in contemporary Iranian society.

Abstract Twitter, as one of the most influential social media platforms, provides a space where users reactions are rapidly expressed and social discourses on public issues are formed and representedThis study aims to examine how economic corruption is represented in the discourse of Persianspeaking Twitter usersdrawing on Teun Avan Dijk’s framework of Critical Discourse Analysis.The research data consist of 200 Persian tweets related to the hashtag “economic corruption collected between September 2023 and August 2024 through purposive samplingThe tweets were selected based on several criteriaincluding direct relevance to the topicbeing written in Persian, authenticity of the user accounts, and the exclusion of promotional content and repeated retweetsThe selected tweets were analyzed at three levelssemantic, lexical, and argumentativeThe findings indicate that, within the discourse of Twitter users, economic corruption in Iran is portrayed as a multilayered and networked phenomenon that is closely associated with power structures and institutional mechanismsThe analysis identifies three dominant discoursesstructural and institutionalized corruption, economic corruption among political and power elitesand the politicization of corruption as a tool for political competition and exclusionOverall, the results suggest that social media platforms play a significant role in shaping and reproducing critical discourses about economic corruption and its relationship

Abstract This study aims to conceptualize “cultural resilience” in response to transformations in digital lifeworlds and to examine the possibility of preserving the identity and values of the Islamic-Iranian lifestyle alongside cultural transformability. The main research problem concerns the continuity of identity components under conditions of expanding new media and cultural pressures within the digital environment. The theoretical framework of the study is based on redefining cultural resilience as an interaction between stability and transformability, and it is conducted through a qualitative and theory-based analytical approach. Data were collected and analyzed through content analysis of religious texts, strategic cultural documents, and scholarly literature related to culture, media, and digital lifeworlds. The findings indicate that the Islamic-Iranian lifestyle possesses inherent capacities for adaptation to digital transformations through the creative reproduction of values and cultural ijtihad, without causing a rupture in its core identity principles. The results suggest that cultural resilience in the digital age requires the formation of endogenous and active patterns of engagement with technology and media, enabling cultural continuity and reconstruction within the digital lifeworld.

Abstract The present study aimed to identify the factors affecting the formation of "differences in text comprehension" in cyberspace from the perspective of female students. To achieve this goal, the interpretive paradigm, qualitative approach, and hermeneutic research method were used. The research field included female students of Farhangian University of Kurdistan Province in the academic year 2022-2023, who were selected by purposive sampling, with a total of 19 students. The data collection tool was a semi-structured interview. The research findings were presented in two sections: factors affecting the formation of misunderstandings in textual exchanges and solutions to reduce these factors. The factors section was presented in three areas: factors based on the message sender, message receiver, and the nature of communication in cyberspace, and the solutions section was presented in three areas: solutions based on the message sender, message receiver, and replacing virtual interaction with other interaction methods. The results showed that in the students' opinion, all three factors, the sender, the receiver, and the social media platform, play a role in the formation of differences in understanding the text, and they consider the sender and receiver of the message to have a role in reducing it; however,

Abstract The main objective of this article is to analyze the cultural connotations of food representation in Iranian cinema. The conceptual framework of the research is based on Claude Fischler's theory of the "grammar of cooking," which posits food as a semiotic system, according to which every culture possesses implicit rules governing "what," "how," and "by whom" food is consumed. The research method employed is narrative analysis at two levels: story (characters and actions) and discourse (narrative knots). Purposeful sampling was conducted, resulting in a sample size of 35 Iranian films from the 2010s (1390s Persian calendar), each containing at least one sequence related to food praxis. The main findings indicate that the grammar of cooking in the studied films represents three major connotations: food as a marker of gender distinction, as a facilitator or obstacle to social interaction, and as a medium for religious and national rituals as well as traditional medical beliefs. The conclusion is that Iranian cinema reproduces a bipolar pattern grounded in patriarchal values concerning gender, the necessity of sustaining stable and legitimate social relationships, and the performance of traditional cultural rituals.

Abstract This study examines Leila’s Brothers as a cinematic depiction of structural crises within contemporary Iranian society, emphasizing the clash between traditional frameworks and emerging generational values. Grounded in Inglehart's Value Transition Theory and reception theory, the research argues that the meaning of a film emerges through the interaction between its structural elements and the viewer’s interpretation. Employing narrative analysis based on Selby and Cowdery’s method, the study involved in-depth interviews with selected participants. Findings indicate that the film, through its dense and realistic mise-en-scène, vividly portrays economic hardship and the erosion of social capital as the narrative’s driving forces. The notion of crisis extends beyond economics to encompass self-centered idealism and the absence of collective, goal-oriented action, producing social inertia and structural stagnation. This passivity mirrors the breakdown of institutional authority embedded in the film’s hypertextual discourse, articulated through symbolism, cinematic expression, and dialogue. Audience responses, particularly from viewers, reinforce this interpretation. From their perspective, the film conveys a message of unforeseen transformation—its unconventional ending, marked by the father’s death coinciding with the children’s fleeting joy, replaces traditional resolution with symbolic renewal, reflecting both despair and the possibility of change.

Abstract This study examines the layered construction and future transformation of audience identity in social media environments. Drawing on Causal Layered Analysis (CLA), the research moves beyond surface-level descriptions of user profiles and investigates how audience identity is reproduced through the interaction of datafication, platform algorithms, cultural discourses, and deep social metaphors. The study is based on a qualitative-interpretive design, including the analysis of 60 public Persian-language profiles on Instagram, X, and TikTok, semi-structured interviews with 15 users and content creators, and platform-related documents concerning visibility, recommendation systems, privacy, advertising, and community rules. The findings reveal that audience identity in social media is neither purely individualized nor entirely collective-networked. Rather, it is formed through a dynamic layered configuration in which users are individualized at the level of data and algorithms, while the meaning of identity continues to be produced through collective narratives, networked belonging, and cultural imaginaries. The most analytically coherent future scenario identified by the study is therefore a hybrid-layered scenario in which individual branding and collective-networked identity coexist in tension. The study contributes to media and communication theory by demonstrating how CLA can reveal the hidden causal relations between profile data, algorithmic structures, identity discourses, and cultural myths.

Abstract This study investigated the mediating role of Disposition toward Critical Thinking in the relationship between school climate and media literacy among female high school students. The research employed a descriptive–correlational design. The statistical population included all female students in the second level of public high schools in District 4 of Tehran during the 2024–2025 academic year. Using Cochran’s formula, a sample of 360 students was selected through multistage cluster random sampling. Data were collected using the School Climate Questionnaire (Lee et al., 2017), Ricketts’ Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (Ricketts, 2003), and the Falsafi Media Literacy Questionnaire (Falsafi, 2014). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS. The results revealed that school climate positively predicted both disposition toward critical thinking and media literacy. Furthermore, critical thinking disposition significantly mediated the relationship between school climate and media literacy (β = 0.27, p < 0.001). The coefficient of determination (R²) for media literacy was 0.26, indicating that the two predictors explained 26% of its variance. Overall, the findings highlight that a supportive and positive school climate promotes critical thinking, which in turn enhances students’ media literacy—emphasizing the importance of fostering educational environments that build critical and informed learners.

Abstract The present study investigated the extent to which arguments employed in Persian-language feminist discourse in cyberspace rely on valid argumentation schemes and the extent to which they are are susceptible to fallacies. The study analyzed patterns of argumentation and the formation of logical errors in users’ discourse. A qualitative research design employing deductive content analysis was adopted. The research corpus comprised posts and tweets related to feminist discourse published on X and Instagram. Purposive hybrid sampling was used, and argumentative units containing an identifiable argument structure were analyzed based on Walton’s (2006, 2008) argumentation schemes using a coding framework and corresponding critical questions. The findings indicated that causal/explanatory and conceptual/definitional schemes were the most frequently employed, whereas deductive and rhetorical arguments exhibited the lowest levels of logical coherence. Moreover, a substantial proportion of the arguments were not evaluated as valid from the perspective of informal logic, with emotional and identity-based patterns frequently replacing rational argumentation. The findings further suggest that fallacies are attributable not only to logical errors but also to communicative and identity-related functions. Nevertheless, the persistence of weak argumentative practices highlights the need to strengthen critical thinking education and argumentation skills in social media environments

Abstract The present study aims to analyze policies in the field of media and information literacy, with an emphasis on UNESCO programs (guidelines, strategies, approaches, and requirements). Media and information literacy is considered a hybrid concept and addresses the right to access information through information and communication technologies.These policies provide a coordinated approach that, in turn, enables all actors to formulate more sustainable national media and information literacy policies and strategies .the present study is fundamental and addresses the main question: What are the guidelines, strategies, approaches, and requirements for media and information literacy policies in UNESCO programs? Data collection was done through documentary methods and based on UNESCO's media and information literacy policies, and the findings are in five main dimensions: guidelines, strategies, components, approaches, and requirements of media and information literacy. The results have shown that implementing these policy dimensions in order to promote and publicize them at national and regional levels is important, and we should not neglect the fact that media and information systems play a fundamental role in promoting and publicizing active citizen participation, their moral responsibility, acceptance of discourses, citizen empowerment, the availability of new communication and information technologies, human rights, democracy, and equitable development.

Abstract Objective : W This research was conducted with the aim of transitioning from "individual literacy" to "ecosystemic competence" and designing comprehensive indicators for assessing media literacy in the age of artificial intelligence.

Theoretical Framework: The proposed model is grounded in the innovation of "dynamic capacity at the intersection of four systems": media literacy is defined not as a fixed individual skill, but as an ecosystemic competence that emerges from the simultaneous interaction of individual (mind), technological (algorithm), social (discourse), and power (structure) systems. This matrix framework positions three interactive modes—"comprehension, critique, and creativity"—across these four systems, defining twelve dynamic capacities.

Methodology: This research was developmental validation in nature. Following a systematic review of interdisciplinary literature, a conceptual model was designed, and its content validity was evaluated with the participation of 16 experts using CVR and CVI indices.

Findings: All components demonstrated adequate necessity, clarity, and relevance; the overall CVR value was 0.79, while the mean CVI for clarity and relevance were 0.91 and 0.93, respectively.

Conclusion: The designed matrix model, possesses can serve as a valid foundation for revising media literacy educational programs, developing assessment instruments, and policymaking in the age of artificial intelligence.

Abstract This study examines the role of group relative deprivation, perceived religious discrimination, and social media use in shaping political ethnocentrism. The research employed a survey method, and the population consisted of citizens over 18 years old in Bukan. A total of 380 participants were selected using a multistage cluster sampling technique. The findings indicate that perceived religious discrimination has the strongest impact on relative deprivation: the political (β = 0.692), the economical (β = 0.441) and socio-cultural dimensions (β = 0.439). Additionally, social media use exacerbates the economic (β = 0.504) and socio-cultural dimensions of relative deprivation. However, none of the dimensions of relative deprivation exhibit a significant direct effect on political ethnocentrism, and the model’s explanatory power is low (R² = 0.098), indicating the limited capacity of direct prediction. The results suggest that political ethnocentrism primarily emerges through indirect and contextual pathways, especially via perceived religious discrimination and the representation of inequalities on social media. Accordingly, social media functions less as a direct driver of political action and more as a platform for amplifying perceptions of injustice and identity threats. These findings underscore the importance of administrative justice, political representation, and the strategic management of media spaces.