Fourth International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora Recap (4/8/09)
The Fourth International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora, which took place this past weekend on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, was a great success. Various speakers, scholars, students and members of the Iranian community congregated from diverse parts of the United States and the world, to share in the discussions most important to Iranians in the diaspora today. Some highlights of the event included:
- John Tehranian's discussion of the ambivalent effects of "white" identification among Middle Eastern Americans
- NIAC and PAAIA's discussions on the most effect means of political influence-building
- Round table discussion featuring Ross Mirkarimi, Banafsheh Akhlaghi, Hooman Khalili, and Rudi Bakhtiar on the successes and challenges facing Iranians in the United States
- Gelareh Bassiry's important confrontation with domestic violence and notions of patriarchy that escape most public discourse on the status of Iranian women living abroad
- Taghi Amirani's presentation that caused bouts of laughter and tears through his discussion of the commodification of Iranian expertise and the inherent inaccessibility of Iran, even to Iranians
- Fared Shafinury and Sholi's high energy and virtuosic performances on Saturday night, including a rock cover of Googoosh and legendary percussionist Pezhham Akhavass
Thank you to our community for its support of this amazing project. It was a weekend filled with great ideas, presentations and conversation. Stay posted for more media release on the conference!
For more on the International Conference, please visit Nazy Kaviani's blog on Iranian.com for photos and Saturday and Sunday conference coverage.
