Conference 2005

April 23 - 24, University of Maryland, College Park
Second Annual Conference on the Iranian Diaspora

Sponsored by the Center for Persian Studies and hosted by the Iranian Students' Foundation

Conference Schedule

Day 1: Saturday, April 23, 2005

8:30 - 9:20 Registration and Breakfast

9:30 - 10:00 Opening Remarks
Narges Bajoghli, Nikoo Paydar (IAAB), Saman Behbehani (ISF). Dr. Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, Director of the Center for Persian Studies, University of Maryland

10:00 - 11:40 - Panel 1 - Expressing our Immigrant Experiences: Writing Ourselves into History
Moderator: Sogole Moin, Wellesley College

• Taraneh Hemami, artist
  Hall of Reflections
• Dr. Persis Karim, San Jose State University
  Writing Ourselves into History: Literature and the Construction of Iranian-American Identity
• Roya Hakakian, writer
  Journey from the Land of No
• Tara Bahrampour, writer
  To See and See Again
• Niloufar Talebi, The Translation Project
  Translating the 21st Century Iranian

11:50 - 12:50 Lunch

1:00 - 2:20 - Panel 2 - Hyphenated Iranians Since 9/11: Civil Liberties, Activism, and the Meaning of "Multiculturalism"
Moderator: Shabnam Sharbatoghlie

• Mahdis Keshavarz, activist and vice president of Riptide Communications
  Civil Liberties and Socio-Political Responsibilities
• Babak Hoghooghi, Iranian American Bar Association
  Image, Politics and the Law; Thoughts on Empowering the Iranian-American Community

• Dr. Nahid Mozaffari, PEN
  Notes from the Underground of Treacherous Translating and Criminal Editing
• Jian Ghomeshi, musical artist, writer, producer, and CBC television personality

2:30 - 4:00 Workshops (in smaller groups)

• Connecting to Iran: NGO and Grassroots Efforts*
  Led by Roshanak Ameli-Tehrani, Mosaic International, and Farshad Rastegar, Relief International-Schools Online
  Sponsored by Children of Persia

• "Contemporary Diaspora Poetry in Collaborative Performance," The Translation Projec t DVD screening
  Led by Niloufar Talebi, The Translation Project

• Is Language the Foundation of Identity?
  Led by Roozbeh Shirazi, Iran Amin, and Vida Nazemian

• Iranian Americans and Political Campaign Contributions: Grass-roots Method of Political Campaign Fund-raising, a Proven Method that Works for our Community
  Led by Elahe Enssani, Iranian American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), San Francisco State University

• "Red Lines and Deadlines," film screening 
  Led by Taghi Amirani

4:10 - 6:15 - Panel 3 - Double Vision: Returning to Iran, Reflecting in the West
Moderator: Taraneh Matin, Wellesley College

• Roshanak Ameli-Tehrani, Mosaic International and Harvard University
  
  
• Roxana Pope, director, writer, and singer 
  Taking the UK to Iran: Using the Arts as a Vehicle for Expression, Cultural Exchange, and Peace Building

• Afshin Molavi, Journalist 
  Persian Pilgrimages

• Ramin Bajoghli, Boston University
  Film screening: "Only in Iran"

• Negin Farsad, Comedian
  Bootleg Islam

• Taghi Amirani, Independent Filmmaker 
  Making "Red Lines and Deadlines"

9:30pm Evening Event: Shab-e Irooni! Included performances by Maz Jobrani, comedian, and Robert Karimi , spoken word artist, at Dream Night Club, Washington, DC

Day 2: Sunday, April 24, 2005

10:00 - 11:15 Brunch and Discussion Tehrangeles: Defining "Iranian" Pop Culture?

• Taghi Amirani, Independ ent Filmmaker
  Film screening: "Tehrangeles"
• Farzaneh Hemmasi, Columbia University
  Moving Bodies, Moving Images: Khordadian and Exile Popular Culture in Iran

11:30 - 1:20 - Panel 1 - Second Generation Irani ans Looking Inward: Religion, Gender, and Sexuality
Moderator: Amy Malek, New York University

• Dr. Haideh Moghissi, York University
  Exile as Home: Memory and Agency in the Diaspora
• Dr. Fereydoun Safizadeh, Boston University
  Children of the Revolution: Transnational Identity Among Young Iranians in Northern California
• Amir Baradaran, Concordia University
  Sexuality and the Diaspora
• Sima Shakhsari, Stanford University
  Iranian Queer Diaspora and the Discursive Construction of the Iranian Hamjensgara
• Dr. Arlene Dallalfar, Lesley Univer sity
  Negotiating Allegiances and Identities: The Iranian Jewish Diaspora
• Dr. Shideh Hanassab, University of California, Los Angeles
  Double Standards in Dating and Marriage: Young Iranians in the Diaspora

1:30 - 3:00 - Panel 2 - The Politics of Representation: Putting Ourselves on America's Political Map

Moderator: Mani Parcham, George Mason University

• Farzan Parsinejad, Iranian Studies Group (ISG)
  Who Are We? A Socioeconomic Survey of Iranian-Americans
• Trita Parsi, National Iranian-American Council (NIAC)
  Iranian-Americans in the 2004 Elections
• Sima Shakhsari, Stanford University
  Iranian Diaspora and Transnational Governmentality: Representational Practices and Production of Democratic Subjects
• Nahal Naficy, Rice University
  The City of Washington, Iranians, and Politics in a Persian Miniature Landscape

Closing Remarks

3:30 - 5:30 pm Special Event: Book Launch and Signing Reception

Launch of new PEN Anthology, Strange Times, My Dear: an Anthology of Contemporary Iranian Literature (Arcade Publishing: New York, 2005). Featured editors Nahid Mozaffari and Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, and selected authors Goli Taraqqi, Nasim Khaksar, Roya Hakakian, and Niloufar Talebi.