UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE Caucasians on Camels: Iranian American Intergenerational Narratives and the Complications of Racial & Ethnic Boundaries DISSERTATION submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Sociology by Sheefteh Khalili Dissertation Committee: Professor Ann Hironaka, Co-Chair Professor Rubén G. Rumbaut, Co-Chair Assistant Professor Glenda Flores 2017 © 2017 Sheefteh Khalili DEDICATION To my mother for her unwavering support, and To the memory of my father for too many reasons to count. Seek not water, seek thirst. -Rumi ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v CURRICULUM VITAE vi ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION x CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1 Organization of the Dissertation 12 CHAPTER 2: Will The Real Caucasian Please Stand Up? Negotiating 16 Intergenerational Racial Narratives CHAPTER 3: Once Upon A Time In Iran…Intergenerational Immigrant 40 Narrative and Ethnic Boundaries CHAPTER 4: Selectively Racialized, Selectively Politicized? Politicized Ethnic 65 Identity Among Second Generation Iranian Americans CHAPTER 5: Conclusion 100 Directions for Future Research 105 REFERENCES 106 iii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1.1 Map of Caucasus Mountain region in Central Asia 3 Figure 1.2 Protestors in Washington D.C. during the Hostage Crisis 9 Figure 2.1 Iranian American Census Campaign Material 21 Figure 4.1 Typology of Politicized Ethnic Identity 79 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank all of the individuals who generously shared their life stories with me during our interviews. Without their willingness to talk about difficult memories of revolution, loss, and displacement, this dissertation would not have been possible. I would like to thank the members of my committee, Ann Hironaka, Rubén G. Rumbaut and Glenda Flores-- their insights greatly improved the development of this dissertation, and I wish to thank them sincerely for pushing me as a scholar and a sociologist. I am also thankful for the advice and support from Roxanne Varzi, Francesca Poletta, Jennifer Lee, Katie Bolzehdahl, Stan Bailey, Cynthia Feliciano, Judy Stepan-Norris and John Sommerhauser. I am especially indebted to Ann Hironaka, my mentor and unofficial advisor since my first quarter at UCI. Ann taught me to be a sociologist and I am deeply grateful for her unwavering support of my non-traditional path throughout the Ph.D. program. Also a special thanks to Natalie Schonfeld and Sherwynn Umali for their mentorship for the past 13+ years; you have both provided more guidance, friendship, and support than I could have ever asked for. I would also like to thank my UCI graduate school friends and colleagues for their support. To the original members of the Race Research Workshop, thanks for helping me find my home within Sociology. I am especially grateful for Lila Faz, Pedro Morgado, Mariam Ashtiani, Edelina Burciaga, Dana Nakano, Kelly Ward, and Matt Pearce for being my constant support system and offering feedback (or distraction) whenever I needed it. Special thanks goes to my dissertation writing partner Jessica Kizer, who spent countless hours with me at coffee shops throughout Orange County in our final year of graduate school. Jessica, you are a real DAB and I’m forever grateful I was able to go through this chapter (Chapters!) of my life with you. I could not have completed this project without the personal support of my family and friends, who have encouraged me throughout the ups and downs throughout my years at UCI. I would especially like to thank Pam Augustus for keeping me in check and focused on what is important these past 15 years. Thank you to Alex Bradshaw Yerby for more support and cat videos than I ever deserved. Mommy jan, thank you for your unending support, love, and faith in me, I cannot begin to express my gratitude for having you as my north star. Thank you to my brother Dastan for creating space for me to pursue this dream and for supporting me in every possible way. To my sister Jessica Cauffiel, and of course my beautiful niece Moxie, I love you both dearly and this journey would have been incomplete without you in my life. To my Khalehs and my cousin Arian, thank you for your love and patience, I would also like to thank all my family in Iran and throughout the Iranian diaspora. Finally, I need to thank my father and everyone at Cal-Earth. My father passed away just before I finished my first graduate program in 2008, and he would have been so thrilled I managed to find a way to carry forward both of our dreams at the same time. Thank you to my Cal-Earth family for allowing me to find my way through this journey these past nine years. We have accomplished so much and I am honored to be part of something so important and meaningful. We are all on our own journey, and I am so grateful to have had you all be a part of mine. v CURRICULUM VITAE Sheefteh Khalili EDUCATION Ph.D Sociology, University of California, Irvine 2017 Dissertation: Caucasians on Camels: Iranian American Intergenerational Narratives and the Complications of Racial & Ethnic Boundaries Committee: Ann Hironaka, Rubén G. Rumbaut, Glenda Flores Field Exams: Race and Ethnicity, Immigration M.A. Sociology, University of California, Irvine 2013 Thesis: Politicized Ethnic Identity Among Second Generation Iranian Americans M.A. Ethnic Studies, San Francisco State University 2008 Honors Distinction Thesis: Hostile Homelands: How Second Generation Iranian Americans Construct Identity B.A. Social Science- Multicultural Studies, University of California Irvine 2006 Magna Cum Laude Honors Thesis: Impact of Multicultural Curriculum in a Freshman Living/Learning Community RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS Race and Ethnicity, Immigration, Collective Memory, Identity, Political Consciousness, Qualitative Methods. FELLOWSHIPS, AWARDS & HONORS 2017 Graduate Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship, declined 2017 Associate Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship 2016 DECADE Research Fellowship 2016 President’s Year Dissertation Fellowship (honorable mention) 2015 Educational Partnership Award: Outstanding Academic Presenter, Global Connect, UC Irvine School of Social Sciences 2015 UCI Sociology Department, Summer Research Fellowship 2014 Educational Partnership Award: Outstanding Academic Presenter, Global Connect, UC Irvine School of Social Sciences 2014 UCI Sociology Department, Summer Research Fellowship 2014 DECADE Research Fellowship, 2 Quarters 2013 UCI Sociology Department, Summer Research Fellowship vi 2012 UCI Sociology Department, Summer Research Fellowship 2008 Distinguished Graduate Student, San Francisco State University 2006 Magna Cum Laude, University of California, Irvine Phi Beta Kappa, University of California, Irvine Honors Distinction, University of California, Irvine Golden Key National Honor Society National Society of Collegiate Scholars 2005 Minority Undergraduate Fellowship Program (NASPA) 2004-2005. PUBLICATIONS Khalili, Sheefteh. 2008. "Against Gravity: A Review of Farnoosh Moshiri's Latest Novel." MELUS Journal: A Special Issue in Iranian American Literature. Volume 33 (3). Karim, P. and Rahmieh, N. EDs. TEACHING EXPERIENCE Lecturer University of California, Irvine Freshman Edge Program Pathways to University Success Uni Stu Summer 2014, 2015, 2016 Bridges to University Success Uni Stu Summer 2014, 2015, 2016 Adjunct Faculty Everest College (Online Division) Department of Sociology & Student Life Skills Principles of Sociology Soc 2014 - 2015 (8 sections) Strategies for Success SLS 2011-2013 (24 sections) Critical Thinking SLS 2013-2014 (8 sections) Teaching Assistant University of California, Irvine, School of Social Science 2011-2016 Courses in Sociology, Anthropology, Chicano/Latino Studies, and International Studies Latinos in the Workplace US Race & Ethnic Relations Sociological Lens on Religion Global Entrepreneurship Modern Iran International Business Sociology Majors Seminar Capstone San Francisco State University, College of of Ethnic Studies 2006-2008 Courses in Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, and Sociology Graduate Research Methods Sociology of Race Women, Politics, Citizenship vii PRESENTATIONS “Will the Real Caucasian Please Stand Up? Negotiating Intergenerational Racial Discourse.” American Sociological Association, Montreal August 2017 (panel presentation on comparative US Racial Formation) “Selective Racialization: Reactive Ethnic Options Among Iranian Americans” Society for the Study of Social Problems, Seattle August 2016 “Selectively Racialized, Selectively Politicized? Politicized Ethnic Identity Among Second Generation Iranian Americans.” American Sociological Association, Chicago August 2015. “Genocide: Globalization and Political Violence.” UC Irvine Global Connect High School Outreach Program: Mission Viejo High School, Laguna Hills High School, March 2015. “Policing ‘Authentic’ Ethnic Identity: An Ethnographic Study of a Persian Language Class.” Department of Sociology, University of California, Irvine. March 2014. “Race, Culture, Identity.” Guest Lecturer, Social Ecology 199: Moral Development and Just Community. University of California, Irvine, November 2013. “Appreciating Cultural Diversity.” UC Irvine Global Connect High School Outreach Program: Mission Viejo High School, El Toro High School, Laguna Hills High School. October 2013. “A Road Map from Student Leadership to the Real World.” University of California, Irvine Spring Leadership Conference. 2011, 2012. “Hostile Homelands: How Second Generation Iranian Americans Negotiate Identity”