Journal for the History of Science

Journal for the History of Science

The Mediatization of Science in the Qajar Era: A Content Analysis of the Periodical "Elmiyeh-ye Dowlat-e Aliyeh-ye Iran"

Document Type : Research/Original/Reqular Article

Author
Assistant Professor in the Research Center for Culture, Art and Communication
10.22059/jihs.2026.419676.371922
Abstract
The present study aims to investigate how scientific knowledge was represented and mediatized in the newspaper "Elmiyeh" during the Qajar era. The main issue of the study is how this publication represented scientific knowledge in the form of print media through the selection of scientific topics, translation and multilingualism, text formulation, and linking science with education, industry, and progress. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the theory of mediatization and the concept of "media logic," which considers the media not merely as a channel for transmitting information, but also as an active institution in selecting, organizing, translating, and giving meaning to knowledge. The study was conducted with a qualitative approach and a directional content analysis method. The findings show that the representation of science in the newspaper was carried out through four major processes: selecting and prioritizing scientific topics in accordance with public needs, translating and interculturally circulating knowledge, publishing and educational reprinting of scientific materials, and linking science and technology with education, industry, and progress. Topics such as astronomy, calendar, natural phenomena, medicine, veterinary medicine, agriculture, geography, and technology, along with translated materials and explanatory and descriptive methods, reflected the publication's efforts to present knowledge in a more understandable format and relevant to social life. Accordingly, the Elmiyeh periodical can be considered one of the media outlets mediating between scientific knowledge and public culture in the Qajar era. By focusing on the historical content of the press, this research helps to understand the contexts in which science became media in Iran.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 25 October 2026