Constructing identity in Iranian-American self-narrative
"Defined by the Iranian Revolution, forced migration and diaspora, Iranian-American autobiographies center in the experience of rupture and discontinuity. Taking autobiographical writing as performance of identity, this study identifies their narrative patterns and communicative functions in the interaction of author, diaspora and American market. Especially authors' disidentification with traditionalism and politicized Islam and their construction of a 'Persian' instead of Iranian identity speaks not only to the diaspora, but is also geared towards greater acceptance in American society. What is more, self-orientalization aims to satisfy the expectations of American readers. However, this seems to be the price that Iranian-American autobiographers need to pay if they want to work as cultural brokers on behalf of a country that has become largely demonized. Tracing these dynamics of individual and collective identity construction within one of the youngest minorities in the USA, this study offers insights that are not only of scholarly but also of political importance"-- "Defined by the experience of the Iranian Revolution and diaspora, Iranian-American autobiographies center in the multilayered experience of rupture and discontinuity. Taking autobiographical writing as performance of identity, this study identifies their narrative patterns and traces their communicative functions in the interaction of author, diaspora and book market"--