Ajam Media Collective
Iranian Diaspora
“This Place Should Have Been Iran”: Iranian Imaginings in/of Dubai
It is precisely the position between an Iran back home and an Iran abroad, or Iran’s present circumstances and possible future, which informs the sense of displacement so widely shared among Iranian expatriates here. For many Iranians, Dubai’s emergence as a global metropolis is imagined to have resulted, more specifically, from the displacement of Iranian modernity. Continue reading
A Nowruz Dedicated to the Iraqi People, 10 Years Later
Iranian-American reflections on the meaning of Nowruz, 10 years after the invasion of Iraq. May we all be inspired this year again by the rebirth and resilience of nature and of love that Nowruz signifies, and may we be reminded of the need to live freely, honorably, and bravely as the ongoing Iraqi struggle for liberation inspires us to do. Continue reading
On the Sanctions Against Iran: Reflections from a Child of the Iran-Iraq War
A guest post by Shahrzad Noorbaloochi, an Iranian-American activist. There is a history that echoes and scratches within my blood. It tells stories of the suffering of my mother, my father, my sisters, my uncles, aunts and their grandparents. It is a story of suffering, sacrifices, resilience and solidarity. Often, I am fooled by the … Continue reading
A Young Diaspora Raises its Voice: Creating Iranian Alliances Across Borders
A guest post by Amy Malek, a board member and conference director of Iranian Alliances Across Borders (IAAB). In 2002, a group of Iranian-American students studying abroad made a wild and exaggerated observation: Iranians are everywhere. Of course, we didn’t mean on TV or in the movies. We meant that all of a sudden, Iranians seemed … Continue reading
How Good Is Arash's Persian? The Politics of Language & Identity in Diaspora Iranian Pop Music
A guest post by Kamyar Jarahzadeh, a student at UC Berkeley focusing on migration and forced migration in Turkey and the Middle East. Like the modern music of most cultures, a survey of the modern Iranian pop scene would produce a pretty standard variety of artists and genres. The Iranian music video (“Clip”) shows that broadcast … Continue reading
The Treacherous Territory of Ta’arof
As a student (and sometimes teacher) of foreign languages, I can attest to the difficulties that learners face in pursuit of that most elusive of second (third, fourth, fifth) language acquisition goals: sociolinguistic competence. Sociolinguistic competence, or the ability to use the appropriate linguistic skills (such as register) to negotiate social situations without causing offense … Continue reading
Chicago’s Siskel Film Center holds 22nd Annual Festival of Films from Iran
October in Chicago was a good time for fans of Iranian cinema. The Siskel Film Center hosted the 22nd Annual Festival of Films from Iran, a month-long event dedicated to showing the latest output from both the who’s-who (Dariush Mehrjui) and the up-and-comers (Maryam Keshavarz) in the world of Iranian filmmaking. This year’s roster boasted … Continue reading
