Policy Implications of Participation Field Rules in Arbaeen Foot Pilgrimage
الموضوعات : مجله بین المللی علوم اجتماعی
Sedigheh Ramezani Tamijani
1
(Ph.D. in Sociology, Researcher in Technology studies Institute, Tehran, Iran)
الکلمات المفتاحية: field, collective participation, Arbaeen pilgrimage, policy making,
ملخص المقالة :
With an aim of understanding participation rules in Arbaeen pilgrimage and its policy implications, this project studies participation in Arbaeen pilgrimage especially the service providers and helpers (Mukebdars and Khadems in Persian) who provide the pilgrims with food and accommodation service and other needed services, have the most involvement in the ritual, and prepare the ground for almost all other kinds of participation in the pilgrimage. Population of the study is limited to Iranian pilgrims. At the first step, we explored theoretical and conceptual aspects of the event and reviewed the available literature on collective participation to comprehend the phenomenon. Using the notion of “social field” in sociology literature, we classified Arbaeen collective participation field into three groups of visible, semi-hidden, and hidden. In the second step, after collecting qualitative data through in-depth semi-structured interviews with the Iranian Mukebdars, we described in detail dimensions and elements of “participation flow” and “participation ground”. Finally, we offered the recommendations for policy makers in regard to design and management of crowd participation plans according to the application-oriented aspects of this model.
