Discourse and the Representation of Self and Other in the Travelogue Janestan-e Kabulestan

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Corresponding Author: Ph.D. in Persian Language and Literature, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.

2 Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.

10.22103/jll.2026.25786.3214

Abstract

Purpose:  Employing a descriptive–analytical method and integrating three key approaches, including Critical Discourse Analysis, Representation, and Imagology, this study examined the quality of the “image” of the “Self” and the “Other” in a travelogue from the 2010s. Its objective was to identify the factors that influence this process of “representation”.
Method and Research:  This study analyzed the travelogue Janestan-e Kabulestan by Reza Amirkhani through a tripartite theoretical framework. The framework combines Laclau and Mouffe’s theory of discourse (which conceives all social phenomena as discursive), Stuart Hall’s perspective on Representation (which views images as discursive constructs), and Imagology, specifically Nanquette’s model, for classifying images of the “Other”.
Findings and Conclusions:  The analysis revealed that the author’s constructed identity as a religiously committed Iranian Muslim fundamentally shaped the imagery. Based on the Imagology approach, three distinct types of the “Other” were identified: the “Other as non-alien” or “Alter” (encompassing both admirable and condemnable Afghans), the “Other as alien” (represented by the Taliban and Western forces), and the “transient or ephemral Other”  (such as personnel of the United Nations).
Conclusions:  The study concluded that the author’s ideological identity and dominant religious discourse were the primary factors influencing the representation of images in the travelogue. The employed analytical framework, comprising Critical Discourse Analysis, Representation, and Imagology, proved effective in deconstructing these images and is proposed as a viable model for analyzing other travelogues.

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References

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