International Journal Online of Humanities
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The Cemetery of the Mind in Smell of Camphor, Scent of Jasmine: Memory and Mortality in Farmanara\u27s Postmodern Iran
No full textBahman Farmanara’s Smell of Camphor, Scent of Jasmine (2000) stands as a luminous milestone within the canon of Iranian cinema, offering a profound and intricately layered meditation on mortality, memory, and the fragmentation of selfhood. This essay contends that the film’s narrative architecture, thematic preoccupations, and aesthetic strategies are profoundly inflected by postmodern sensibilities and psychoanalytic currents. Through the deployment of a fractured, non-linear narrative, the deliberate dissolution of the boundaries between reality and fantasy, and a sustained self-reflexive engagement with the act of filmmaking itself, Farmanara fashions a cinematic experience that echoes the disorientation and instability of human consciousness. At the heart of the film lies a poignant exploration of the protagonist’s interior life — his anxieties, his submerged desires, and the inexorable pull of the death drive, as articulated by Sigmund Freud. In probing these psychic terrains, Smell of Camphor, Scent of Jasmine eschews conventional storytelling in favor of a poetics of rupture and loss. Through a close examination of its narrative discontinuities, symbolic textures, and intricate characterizations, this essay seeks to elucidate how Farmanara synthesizes postmodern aesthetics and psychoanalytic insight to forge a haunting meditation on the human condition. The protagonist — himself a filmmaker bereaved and adrift — becomes both subject and meta-commentator, embodying the entanglement of art, memory, and mourning. The film’s recursive time structures, dreamlike visual metaphors, and motifs of absence and decay mirror the postmodern distrust of coherent identity and linearity, while the protagonist’s vacillation between conscious mourning and unconscious compulsion reveals the subterranean workings of the Freudian death drive. In weaving together these threads, Farmanara articulates a vision of existence wherein memory falters, meaning dissolves, and creation itself emerges as an act poised precariously against the void of oblivion
Methods of Teaching English as a Foreign Language Followed in Hebron Preparatory Schools, Palestine
No full textUsing methods to teach English in schools is inevitable, but every teacher has his own method that differs from others and helps him in teaching. In this research nine of the most important methods used by teachers were mentioned. The aim of this study is to identify the methods and techniques that English language teachers follow in teaching English as a foreign language in preparatory schools in Hebron. The researchers used the qualitative research through observation. The sample in this research was teachers in girls’ preparatory schools. The researchers chose two schools in Hebron and conducted observations on five teachers, and they attended two classes for each teacher of different grades from the seventh to the tenth grade. The results were as expected, each teacher followed a different method of teaching, using their own methods and using many techniques. The research results show how teachers used these methods. There were some techniques that most of the teachers used, which were the use of the boards, the use of technology, including LCD and Speaker, the use of Arabic language, but the percentages differed among the teachers. All the teachers were focused on the environment and were careful to make the class clean. Based on the results, the researchers offered some recommendations
Effects of Linguistic Imperialism in Achieving Equity and Inclusion in English Language Teaching as a Second Language in Lesotho
No full textEven after efforts to decolonize education, post-colonial countries such as Lesotho are said to retain vestiges of colonial traditions in English language teaching. This has marginalized learners, cultures, and languages in the educational system. Following SDG 4.5, the study looked into the consequences of linguistic imperialism on English as a Foreign Language in Lesotho, which hinder equity and inclusion in the EFL environment. This study\u27s philosophical lenses were derived from Critical Realism paradigm, which explored themes of power relations, politics, and language use. Furthermore, the study used a qualitative case study approach in six high schools to learn about the experiences of 6 EFL teachers. Data was collected through one-on-one open-ended interviews, then analysed thematically. The findings demonstrated that English\u27s dominance in the language field maintains power dynamics that promote linguistic imperialism and impede complete epistemic access to language education. Strategies for eradicating hegemonic beliefs were examined, and the study recommended using the Grammar of the Decoloniality Framework to address the complexities of linguistic imperialism in an EFL classroom. The study found both harmful and beneficial consequences of linguistic imperialism. As a result, a paradigm shift away from a monolingual and monoculture approach and towards a more inclusive and multilingual perspective was recommended
Behind the Digital Mirror: Motives and Body Image Consequences of AR Beauty Filter Use in Morocco
No full textAugmented reality (AR) beauty filters are increasingly used in online self-presentation, raising concerns about their impact on body image and well-being. Existing research has focused largely on Western contexts, leaving little evidence from North Africa. This study examined motives for AR filter use and their associations with self-perception and psychological distress among Moroccan women. An online survey was conducted with 295 participants. Measures included frequency of social media and AR filter use, motives for filter use, self-perception outcomes (body dissatisfaction, self-esteem, anxiety about unfiltered appearance, cosmetic surgery interest, and avoidance behaviors), and psychological distress. Results showed that appearance, validation/mood, and exploration motives were endorsed at comparable levels. Frequent filter use significantly predicted higher self-perception concerns, including dissatisfaction with natural appearance, lower self-esteem, and avoidance behaviors. Filter use did not significantly predict psychological distress, though some respondents reported feelings of exhaustion or harmful self-perceptions. These findings highlight culturally specific patterns of AR filter use and emphasize the need for interventions promoting media literacy in Morocco
Perceptions of Curricula and Methods of Teaching English Experts towards Sustainable Education and Curriculum Development for Specific Purposes
No full textThis paper aimed at investigating the perceptions of EFL faculty members towards sustainable education and curriculum development for specific purposes. The descriptive method with quantitative and qualitative approach was used to achieve the objectives of the study. The sample of the study was purposefully selected as a random sample from the experts of curricula and methods of teaching English at Yemeni Universities. To collect data, the study used a five-point Likert scale questionnaire as close and open-ended questions that was distributed upon the experts of curricula and methods of teaching English at Yemeni Universities with a number of (30) member to identify their perceptions towards sustainable education and curriculum development for specific purposes. The obtained data were tabulated and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version (24) by means of descriptive statistics (means, standard deviation, mean ranks, and sum ranks). The obtained data are also tabulated and analyzed using the inferential statistics (Non-parametric Statistics; ONE WAY ANOVA) to examine if there were any statistical significant differences between the mean ranks of the sample responses regarding the variables of academic rank, years of experience, and the university. The results of the study depicted that the experts of curricula and methods of teaching English believe that the goals of sustainable development should be included in the curricula for sustainable education. The results presented that the perceptions of the experts of curricula and methods of teaching English at Yemeni Universities towards sustainable education and towards curriculum development were highly positive indicating to a significant relationship between curriculum development and sustainable education. The results also proved that there were no any statistical significant differences in the scores of the sample members\u27 responses regarding the variables of academic rank, years of experience, and university. The study presented some important recommendations as follows: Incorporating the topics of sustainable education such as major nature, environmental awareness, global citizen values, as well as students\u27 levels of self- norms, beliefs, and values when designing courses specifications for better learning and teaching process as well as for better career and life. Examining the relationship between the adoption of sustainable technology for educational efficacy and sustainable education. Shedding light on forthcoming curriculum development efforts at faculties and universities, providing opportunities and administrative actions to support sustainable education and sustainable educational environments
Life lessons and the Selected Minor Characters in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudide
No full textLiterary texts have multiple characters of different classes who have various educational qualifications and characteristics. Whatever their types are, they are full of significant life lessons for the reader, although they are not present on every page or chapter. They become integral to fiction for their remarkable positive or negative character traits. Readers hate the negative ones for their villainy. The good-natured ones win our hearts for their sweet gestures and benevolent nature. Jane Austen’s masterwork Pride and Prejudice (1813) is her second novel, full of interesting and distasteful characters. It is globally known not only for its unique story but also for its diverse characters. In it, several major characters have touched the hearts of readers of all ages and periods due to their interesting character traits. Equally, the text is well-known for its remarkable minor characters, who advanced the plot. They are not available page after page, but they teach significant life lessons. These selected characters belong to different classes and age groups with interesting characteristics. Among them, some are men and women. This paper aims to explore their character traits and contributions to readers by giving life lessons through behavior, activities, conversations, and thought processes
Same Sacred Space, Diverse Emotions: A Semio-Stylistic Analysis of Marriage and Funeral Rituals in Nigerian Churches
No full textA sacred space is a location imbued with spiritual, cultural, or religious significance for individuals and communities. The church, as a prominent example, not only holds spiritual and cultural meaning, but also accommodates a wide range of emotional experiences.
This study examines how Anglican churches in Ondo State, Nigeria, transform their emotional character through ritual practice, focusing on marriage and funeral rites as contrasting celebratory and mourning contexts.
Through ethnographic observation of twenty-two ceremonies across Akure, Ondo, and Owo (2020-2025), and textual analysis of programme pamphlets, the study analyses how semio-stylistic elements - linguistic choices, spatial arrangements, and symbolic displays - generate contrasting emotions within the same architectural setting.
Data collection involved systematic documentation of twelve marriage ceremonies and ten funeral services, with four programme pamphlets selected for detailed analysis using Peirce\u27s triadic semiotic model and Halliday\u27s systemic functional linguistics.
Findings reveal that spatial arrangement, symbolic objects, performative acts, and linguistic expressions function as multivalent signs, generating opposing emotional meanings depending on ritual context. The church emerges as a dynamic architectural space, capable of accommodating diverse emotional experiences, navigating both joy and grief through strategic deployment of semio-stylistic resources that transform the same physical environment into emotionally distinct ritual spaces
Excavating Counter-Humanistic Discourses Through Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita (1967)
No full textHumanism is an anthropocentric discourse that weaves a narrative of progress and happiness around an essentialist construct of being human. Since all discourses are historical in nature, this study aims at analyzing humanism as a historical discourse that was dominant in the 20th century modern era and legitimized an exclusionary definition of being human. Furthermore, this study aims to reveal that humanism’s essentialism dehumanizes and alienates people by making them conform to rigid standards of thought and behavior that it posits as universal and absolute. For this purpose, the selected text The Master and Margarita (1967) by Mikhail Bulgakov is taken as representative of the modern episteme wherein humanism was the dominant discourse and therefore dehumanized several characters. To reveal the historicity of humanism, the study utilizes Michel Foucault’s archaeology for undertaking an archaeological analysis of humanist discourses throughout the text. An archaeological analysis of discourses analyzes and makes evaluative claims regarding discourses as products of their historical time periods rather than having a universal essence. To supplement archaeological analysis, the research utilizes textual analysis as the research methodology to study and analyze humanist discourses and excavate counter-humanistic discourses from the text. Finally, the study posits supernatural discourses as counter-humanist discourses with the potential to rehumanize historically dehumanized characters within the selected text
Simultaneous Language Acquisition: A Case Study of Concurrent L2 and L3 Learning
No full textSecond Language Acquisition (SLA) is neither a linear nor a simple process; it is distinctly different from how we acquire our first languages. Today, there is a growing demand to acquire languages beyond the first language from early childhood. This is driven by the current global recognition of bilingualism—the ability to communicate effectively with multiple languages. Among the current trends that attract the attention of researchers in the field of SLA is the simultaneous learning of foreign languages, especially among children. This paper investigates the contemporary phenomenon of children simultaneously acquiring a second language (L2) and a third language (L3) by analysing their levels of proficiency and the external factors that influence the process of L2 and L3 acquisition. Hence, the paper assesses the extent to which second languages learned concurrently can be successfully acquired and identifies the external factors contributing to or hindering the process. The findings illustrate the successful simultaneous acquisition of L2 and L3 by children, given that they exhibit a high level of proficiency by being able to comprehend and communicate effectively in more than one language. These findings further challenge previous studies’ views that simultaneous language acquisition may hinder progress in each language
Transformative Learning in Adult Education
No full textThe particular features that adult learners have impart an orientation to the design, implementation and evaluation of the educational process and so adult education theory is supported by the learning theories. The various theories that have been developed have a common denominator which is the opinion that learning is active. According to Rogers (1999) adult training comprises their active participation and the encouraging of their self-determination, which increases their tendency towards adulthood. ackson and Caffarella (1994) in their book "Experiential Learning: A New Approach" referring to the characteristics of effective adult education, emphasize that in order for the trainer to successfully live up to his role, he must make use of a large tank filled with methods and techniques that give him the ability to produce the appropriate learning experiences for the learners and to promote interaction, always combined with the use of appropriate teaching aids and strategies and of the class structure.