Beginning Politics in the Reproductive Cycle of Children's Tales and Games in Iran

This study focuses on Iranian tales as a medium for the transmission of mode of thought, behavior, and social values in the process of socialization, and in the social reproduction of the superstructure. Comparisons with Turkey, China and Arab countries isolate a complex of motifs that occur only in Iranian tales, and then treat the relation of these pertinent motifs with Iran's socio-historical reality. The historical development of Chess, one of the oldest games popular among Iranians, and its impact on their socialization process is also discussed. The inquiry concludes by comparing the historical process of social rise and the social ambitions of the Iranian political elite on the basis of the games and tales they are brought up with.