Cultural and politico-religious challenges impacting critical reading of text for Iranian postgraduates in Australia

Abstract

Abstract This study investigates the impact of cultural and politico-religious dominance on the practice of critical reading (CR) of texts by a group of Iranian postgraduate students in Australia. Four postgraduate students were interviewed individually four times (each time for reading one text) for critical understanding of two pairs of Persian texts, each with opposing viewpoints, on current socio-political and nationalistic debates of Iran. They were then involved in a focus group discussion for further critique of each other’s viewpoints. Findings indicate two major Persian constructs that influence CR: hefz-e zaaher ‘keeping up appearances’ and ta’sob/gheyrat, approximating to ‘one’s honor combined with prejudice and bigotry’. Findings also reveal that participants’ CR is contributed by heavy emotional attachment to nationalistic views engendered by Persian poetry. Chafe (1982), too, found that emotional attachment in appraising text was true with American English speakers. Finally, the focus group discussion had a slight impact on encouraging CR. Overall, it seems that participants’ repositioned journeys in Australia have influenced their perspective.