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Woiaftf # a G Master of Arts NOSTALGIC NATIONALISM ONLINE: CONSTRUCTING THE IRANIAN DIASPORA THROUGH VISUAL TEXTS AND AFFECT A thesis submitted to the faculty of San Francisco State University In partial fulfillment of 3£, the requirements for Jon- the Degree WoiAfTf # A G Master of Arts In Women and Gender Studies by Donna Arkee San Francisco, California Copyright by Donna Arkee 2017 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL I certify that I have read Nostalgic Nationalism Online: Constructing the Iranian Diaspora Through Visual Texts and Affect by Donna Arkee, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of Arts in Women and Gender Studies at San Francisco State University. Assistant Professor of Women and Gender Studies 1 (k\ \ nm , \ Kasturi Ray, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies NOSTALGIC NATIONALISM ONLINE: CONSTRUCTING THE IRANIAN DIASPORA THROUGH VISUAL TEXTS AND AFFECT Donna Arkee San Francisco, California 2017 Through tracing the relationships between gender, sexuality, and race I interrogate the ways in which diasporic Iranian subjects negotiate the conditions that circumscribe their legibility as neoliberal citizen subjects. The ability to present and disburse information on the Internet has shaped the Iranian diaspora’s collective identity, thus, I interrogate these relationships through the close readings of visual texts circulated on social media created by diasporic Iranians in protest of the Trump administration’s Executive order 13769 and Executive order 13773. I argue that these visual texts, which deploy Qajar and Pre- Islamic images in tandem with model minority politics and the rhetoric of settler colonialism, are informed by Persian-centric readings of Iranian culture and history that in turn construct a seemingly monolithic and homogenous Iranian diaspora. is a correct representation of the content of this thesis. Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many deeply felt thanks to Professor Savci, who has mentored me throughout the many versions of this thesis. I truly could not have done this without your guidance. I also deeply appreciate Professor Ray and Professor Hua for their steadfast support and their shaping of this thesis. There is no way to quantify the love and thanks that I feel for my family, friends, partner, and my cat Parsnip who have all helped me in their unique and cherished ways that ranged from tangible to beyond any sort of quantification. Finally, many thanks to myself. I am proud of myself and all that I have navigated and negotiated to get to this point. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures................................................................................................................... vii Introduction: A Country Shaped Like a Cat........................................................................ 1 Literature Review................................................................................................... 19 Iranian Modernity..................................................................................................26 The Iranian Diaspora..............................................................................................33 Conclusion.............................................................................................................42 Chapter One: Digital Diaspora, Cyborgian Existences......................................................44 The Internet and the Crafting of the Iranian Diaspora...........................................48 Iranian Weblogistan...............................................................................................53 Ajam Media Collective and Reorient Magazine....................................................55 Conclusion.............................................................................................................67 Ask Iran..................................................................................................................69 Tatyana Fazlalizadeh.............................................................................................71 Chapter Two: The Present Embodying the Past................................................................76 Resist......................................................................................................................84 Trump Got Me Like More Iranian Than Ever.......................................................97 Conclusion........................................................................................................... 115 Chapter Three: The Past Embodying the Present............................................................119 v Shepard Fairey and Hushidar Mortezaie .......................................................... 128 International Woman’s Day.................................................................................141 Conclusion........................................................................................................... 148 Conclusion: Possible Impossibilities, Impossible Possibilities........................................ 151 Works Cited..................................................................................................................... 164 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page 1. Fig. 1........................................................................................................................ 58 2. Fig.2 ....................................................................................................................... 60 3. Fig.3....................................................................................................................... 60 4. Fig.4....................................................... ............................................................... 61 5. Fig.5........................................................ ............................................................... 63 6. Fig.6........................................................ .............................................................. 66 7. Fig. 7........................................................ .............................................................. 72 8. Fig.8........................................................ .............................................................. 85 9. Fig.9........................................................ .............................................................. 91 10. Fig. 10...................................................... .............................................................. 95 ll.F ig .ll...................................................... .............................................................. 96 12. Fig. 12..................................................... .............................................................. 99 13. Fig. 13...................................................... ............................................................ 103 14. Fig. 14...................................................... ............................................................ 105 15. Fig. 15...................................................... ............................................................ 107 16. Fig. 16...................................................... ............................................................ 130 17. Fig. 17...................................................... ............................................................ 137 18. Fig. 18...................................................... ............................................................ 144 19. Fig. 19...................................................... ............................................................ 146 1 INTRODUCTION A COUNTRY SHAPED LIKE A CAT “Iran is the country shaped like a cat,” said my mother in response to my question. I had been trying to figure out where exactly her and my father’s, and by extension, my country was located on the cheerfully pastel map hidden within the covers of an encyclopedia for children. I was very curious, as, Iran was rarely1 mentioned in my children’s books and cassette tapes that, according to their titles, celebrated all the countries in the world and, I wanted to know if the place truly existed. I took my mother’s information very seriously, and searched for the most cat-like country, finding it to be closer to the ocean than I had expected. After my discovery of Iran was confirmed, I grabbed a pencil and carefully drew a mouth, eyes, whiskers, and my best rendition of Hello Kitty’s red hair bow on that tiny but true to scale Iran. What Iran exactly was confused me, yet, this smiling stuffed animal of a nation-state seemed comforting and special. Despite the cuddliness I had bestowed upon my little map Iran became a conundrum. It seemed to be a place where my parents said things could be better for our family, but, 1 From what I recollect, the only representation I encountered was a rendition of “Atal Matal Tootoole,” on the cassette and booklet for “Wee Sing: Wee Sing Around the World.” The counting rhyme, which is used similarly to the song “Eenie meenie miney mo,” about a cow owned by a certain Hasan who isn’t doing well as it has no milk and no nipples, and so, the cow is sent to India. This seems quite politically loaded for a children’s nursery song. I suspect it was included in the tape as the sending of a useless cow to India just seemed like a cute fairy tale frivolity, rather than what I assume to be a protest against
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