Overview

Iranian Diaspora Identities: Stories and Songs combines oral history, storytelling, theories of communication, and performance studies into a unique study of an immigrant community. This book is the result of collaborative work between two Iranian-American immigrants, one a musician and artist and the other a professor. Using ethnographic, dramatistic, and oral history approaches, Ziba Shirazi gathered these stories of diaspora journeys of Iranians living in California and Toronto in the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The editors transcribed these stories and developed them into short performance pieces that include lyrics and songs and were performed in the United States and Canada to thousands of people in theater venues and libraries. These stories constitute a unique archive of the history of contemporary Iranian diaspora experiences. They are autobiographic vignettes that have helped constitute an artistic vision of Iranian exiles’ own sense of community and their migratory experiences that inform the transformations they experienced in family, gender, and spiritual beliefs. In addition to providing an archive of experiences, the book uses social drama and storytelling to advocate for a new methodology for documenting Iranian diaspora accounts. It constitutes a new contribution to the existing literature on Iranian diaspora and furthers an exciting contribution to scholarship in qualitative research in communication studies.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ziba Shirazi ,  Kamran Afary ,  Ziba Shirazi ,  Fariba Boghraty
Publisher:   University Press of America
Imprint:   Hamilton Books
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 1.60cm , Length: 23.00cm
Weight:   0.313kg
ISBN:  

9780761871705

ISBN 10:   0761871705
Pages:   206
Publication Date:   11 June 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments A Note on Translations, Monologues, and Stories Introduction: Revolution, War, and the Making of an Iranian Diaspora Literature . Monologues 1.My Rite of Passage and Unexpected Fate Ziba Shirazi 2.The Outsider Fariba Boghraty 3.The Pain of Language Barrier Farrokh Boghraty 4.Senior Life Massy Alavi 5.Lost Identity Nasrin Almasi 6.A Girl with an American Husband Shahla 7.Made in America, Delivered in Iran Shahrzad Safinya 8.Unfulfilled Dreams Shervin 9.A Simple Dream Valentina Nazaretian Stories 10A Dream of Hope Mahvash Dareshi Gheytanchi Levi 11.Asal (Honey) Homayoun Houshiarnejad 12.Living a Full Life Iran 13.A Space to Design Manijeh Teymouri 14.A Small Suitcase for a Great Escape Modjgan Rashtian 15.The Teacher Sorour Nayeri 16.The First Kiss Vida Ghahremani 17.The Doorbell Ring Zohreh In Place of a Conclusion. A Selective Analysis of the Themes of Iranian Diaspora Bibliography Index About the Editors

Reviews

Starting with a deceptively simple question, “When and why did you leave Iran?” Ziba Shirazi uncovered a trove of compelling, heartbreaking, loving, and funny stories that belie the western stereotypes of Iranian diaspora and their experience. This compelling work of Afary and Shirazi goes beyond the academic, esoteric, sanitized investigation of culture, migration, and global conflicts to examine the lived experiences of the sojourners’ struggles, triumphs and rebirths authentically by using the Persian cultural bedrock-medium of poetry and storytelling. This book brings intercultural communication, Diaspora Studies, immigration research and cultural studies theory alive providing scholars, students and instructors a wealth of material to consider, examine, discuss and explore. -- Nancy Grass, Santa Monica College A unique collection of engaging and moving migration stories of diverse groups of Iranians to the US after the Islamic revolution of 1979. Shirazi and Afary provide an informative introduction to the revolution and its subsequent social-political conditions that led many to leave the country. The authors offer an in-depth analysis of the themes of migration and the processes of acculturation and identity transformation that help the reader gain a better understanding of the experiences and challenges of Iranian diaspora in the US. An important work of aural history and unforgettable stories. -- Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa, Columbia College Chicago

Starting with a deceptively simple question, When and why did you leave Iran? Ziba Shirazi uncovered a trove of compelling, heartbreaking, loving, and funny stories that belie the western stereotypes of Iranian diaspora and their experience. This compelling work of Afary and Shirazi goes beyond the academic, esoteric, sanitized investigation of culture, migration, and global conflicts to examine the lived experiences of the sojourners' struggles, triumphs and rebirths authentically by using the Persian cultural bedrock-medium of poetry and storytelling. This book brings intercultural communication, Diaspora Studies, immigration research and cultural studies theory alive providing scholars, students and instructors a wealth of material to consider, examine, discuss and explore. -- Nancy Grass, Santa Monica College A unique collection of engaging and moving migration stories of diverse groups of Iranians to the US after the Islamic revolution of 1979. Shirazi and Afary provide an informative introduction to the revolution and its subsequent social-political conditions that led many to leave the country. The authors offer an in-depth analysis of the themes of migration and the processes of acculturation and identity transformation that help the reader gain a better understanding of the experiences and challenges of Iranian diaspora in the US. An important work of aural history and unforgettable stories. -- Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa, Columbia College Chicago

Starting with a deceptively simple question, When and why did you leave Iran? Ziba Shirazi uncovered a trove of compelling, heartbreaking, loving, and funny stories that belie the western stereotypes of Iranian diaspora and their experience. This compelling work of Afary and Shirazi goes beyond the academic, esoteric, sanitized investigation of culture, migration, and global conflicts to examine the lived experiences of the sojourners' struggles, triumphs and rebirths authentically by using the Persian cultural bedrock-medium of poetry and storytelling. This book brings intercultural communication, Diaspora Studies, immigration research and cultural studies theory alive providing scholars, students and instructors a wealth of material to consider, examine, discuss and explore.--Nancy Grass, Santa Monica College A unique collection of engaging and moving migration stories of diverse groups of Iranians to the US after the Islamic revolution of 1979. Shirazi and Afary provide an informative introduction to the revolution and its subsequent social-political conditions that led many to leave the country. The authors offer an in-depth analysis of the themes of migration and the processes of acculturation and identity transformation that help the reader gain a better understanding of the experiences and challenges of Iranian diaspora in the US. An important work of aural history and unforgettable stories.--Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa, Columbia College Chicago

A unique collection of engaging and moving migration stories of diverse groups of Iranians to the US after the Islamic revolution of 1979. Shirazi and Afary provide an informative introduction to the revolution and its subsequent social-political conditions that led many to leave the country. The authors offer an in-depth analysis of the themes of migration and the processes of acculturation and identity transformation that help the reader gain a better understanding of the experiences and challenges of Iranian diaspora in the US. An important work of aural history and unforgettable stories. -- Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa, Columbia College Chicago Starting with a deceptively simple question, When and why did you leave Iran? Ziba Shirazi uncovered a trove of compelling, heartbreaking, loving, and funny stories that belie the western stereotypes of Iranian diaspora and their experience. This compelling work of Afary and Shirazi goes beyond the academic, esoteric, sanitized investigation of culture, migration, and global conflicts to examine the lived experiences of the sojourners' struggles, triumphs and rebirths authentically by using the Persian cultural bedrock-medium of poetry and storytelling. This book brings intercultural communication, Diaspora Studies, immigration research and cultural studies theory alive providing scholars, students and instructors a wealth of material to consider, examine, discuss and explore. -- Nancy Grass, Santa Monica College

Author Information

Ziba Shirazi is a poet, singer, songwriter and storyteller best known for her poignant songs and storytelling through poetry. Shirazi created the ongoing project of Story & Song, a lyrical storytelling series of performances, set to live music with video projections featuring stories of Iranian diaspora experiences. Kamran Afary is assistant professor of communication studies at California State University Los Angeles and a registered drama therapist (RDT). He is the author of Performance and Activism: Grassroots Discourse after the Los Angeles Rebellion of 1992.

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