The shadows of knowability: Reading between opaque narrative and transparent text

Saramifar, Younes

doi:10.1080/23311983.2017.1279815

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…I realised that during the ceremonies the Iranian Shi'i youth who I followed encounter a ‘puzzling knowability’ (Saramifar ), a form of knowing that perplexes them rather than offers them any sense of comprehension about what martyrdom is and why sacrificing and embracing it in answer to Hussain's call is the way to salvation and grace. In speaking with them I sensed what Birgit Meyer (: 8), inspired by Hans Kippenberg, calls “wow effects and a sense of wonder … in the conjuring of ‘sacred surplus’”.…”

Section: Marching With Heart and Crying Like Menmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lamenting the real and crying for the really real: Searching for silences and mourning martyrdom amongst Iranian volunteer militants

Saramifar

2018

Australian J of Anthropology

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Martyrdom, sacrifice, and the dedication of one's life to fight for a higher cause are central themes of Shi'i militancy. I recount my journey among Iranian Shi'i youth who fought or enlisted to fight in Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria, to trace their ineffable experiences and silences, which they used to justify desires for martyrdom. I explore by way of an ethnography of mourning and the lamentation ceremonies of Muharram how individuals’ ineffable experiences and perplexities emerge as explanations of their own commitment to the cause. I call on the Lacanian Real to discuss how people craft the unarticulated, the unsaid and networks to navigate their subjectivity while they encounter the divine. I broaden the Lacanian Real through an exploration of Shi'i mystical notions, in order to address how Lacan's work can be applied in non‐European traditions of the unsaid and the unarticulated.

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Section: Marching With Heart and Crying Like Menmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lamenting the real and crying for the really real: Searching for silences and mourning martyrdom amongst Iranian volunteer militants

Saramifar

2018

Australian J of Anthropology

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“…I gave attention to three constituting elements of the training camps: speech, enemy and weapon during my fieldwork. It is noteworthy that I only focus on the material semiotics of the weapon in this article and refer readers interested in pursuing the subject further to my book (Saramifar 2015). These three elements are conceptually entangled because they are components of an 'enchanted assemblage of performance, control, omnipotence, pleasure and fear' (Springwood, 2014: 452).…”

Section: My Safety Is Always Onmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…I explored the material culture of the AK-47 in relation to the three questions set out at the beginning of this article: what does the AK-47 signify, how does it acquire such signification, and lastly, how does its materiality contribute to the signification? I have stressed the materiality of the AK-47 that emphasizes the opaque paradigmatic link between the weapon and the militant that in itself highlights the 'shadows of knowability' (Saramifar, 2017) rather than the absolute knowledge of the relationship. The blurred lines and opaque linkages show that a militant is not a mere 'tool carrying a tool' (Feldman, 1991: 10).…”

Section: The Emerging Life Of Materialitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The weapons are more than an object in the mayhem and chaos of wars, violence and transgression in Lebanon and the Middle East in general. They not only take part in the performance of what I call 'theatres of war' (Saramifar, 2015) but they are also the theatres' performing elements. The weapons find a life of their own during these performances and refuse to be merely a cold piece of metal.…”

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Enchanted by the AK-47: Contingency of body and the weapon among Hezbollah militants

Saramifar

2017

Journal of Material Culture

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The constant presence of various forms and makes of firearm has turned it into an everyday item among some Lebanese. For Hezbollah militants, the AK-47 is an object of humour and fun despite its lethal potential. The weapon is saturated with representative qualities-both material and semiotic, so the author explores its materiality as a crucial nodal point from which to sketch the difficult terrain of subject-object relationship in the life of Lebanese Shi'i Hezbollah militants. He seeks to identify the material culture of a weapon that consolidates myths, reifies identities, stages propaganda and advertises threats. With this in view, the author follows the AK-47 to explore its 'enchanting' qualities and speak of the relationship it forms with a militant's body. He locates the body of militants between three questions: what does the AK-47 signify, how does it arrive at that signification, and finally, how have its materiality and dynamic physicality made it the weapon of choice?

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The shadows of knowability: Reading between opaque narrative and transparent text

Cited by 2 publications

References 7 publications

Lamenting the real and crying for the really real: Searching for silences and mourning martyrdom amongst Iranian volunteer militants

Lamenting the real and crying for the really real: Searching for silences and mourning martyrdom amongst Iranian volunteer militants

Enchanted by the AK-47: Contingency of body and the weapon among Hezbollah militants

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