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ethnicstudies2-blog · 8 years ago

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Ethnic Studies 2 Peer Feedback for Ellen

By: Severine Soltani

TA: Omar Padilla

ETHN 2; Section: Wednesday 2:00-2:50 PM

Peer Feedback

a. I think your ‘Zine is about pizza and how it connects to broader themes of citizenship and immigration and labor circulations. Their immigration into the United States made the Italians into an “othered” laboring class. Through the distribution of pizza from Italy to the United States, the Italians managed to find their “whiteness” as pizza became more mainstream, no longer seen as grimy ethnic food. Even though the Italian women who crafted these pizzas in the United States were discriminated against, pizza still ended up gaining traction. Italians and Black people faced discrimination in “white” America, and Italians were sometimes considered as lowly as them. The Italians and the Irish had Catholicism in common and faced religious discrimination in the United States. Overall, I think your focus on pizza appeals to any audience, but teens or young adults may enjoy reading your ‘Zine because those two groups love pizza. b. This quote of yours about how Americans viewed Italians would be great in the ‘Zine: “a little worse than the Negro, being if anything filthier in [their] habits, lawless, and treacherous.” I feel like this quote is powerful, especially in relation to blackness and anti-blackness since it depicts the hate directed towards the Italians as worse than the animosity towards Black people. Even though Italians were much less frequently the target of this hate, this quote would still be great in bold, maybe in the center of a page in your ‘Zine that talks focuses on relationality to Black people c. I like your mini history lesson on how pizza became mainstream. Maybe you could include that history in a short paragraph on a page in your ‘Zine that talks about transnational binds and whiteness and perhaps include a “whiteness” timeline for the Italians that shows how they became more mainstream “white” over time due to the influx of pizza into the United States. d. This pizza picture looks delicious! feel like it could go on a page of your ‘Zine that talks about transnationalism and how pizza is an example of that (also throw in Italian immigration onto that page). For the picture to not violate copyright laws, you could add some kind of cool looking border to the picture. Maybe a brick border so it looks like the pizza is kind of coming out of a brick oven? Or maybe you could add little annotations onto the picture that point out what the toppings are on the pizza or aspects of the pizza that make it authentic and Italian.

e. i. Italians and the Irish, both traditionally Catholic, were initially discriminated against in the United States due to Americans’ fear of Catholicism. These two groups became “othered” based on both ethnicity and religious beliefs. In order to gain their “whiteness” both groups had to overcome their religious and ethnic hurdles. ii. This analysis is powerful and the comparison between Italians and the Irish work because it shows that one can be “othered” for reasons other than skin color, such as religion. iii. To improve this analysis, maybe you could add a quote about how Americans saw Catholic Italians or Irishmen as lesser beings due to their religion? Also, maybe you could clarify why there was a “fear of Catholicism” in the United States during that time period just for clarity?

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ethnicstudies2-blog · 8 years ago

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Notebook 3

1. Focus? Changes?

Neither my object nor my focus has changed. My object is still a maroon Iranian passport.

Information/Research:

“...Trump, a week after his inauguration, issued an executive order that triggered protests at airports nationwide. The Jan. 27, 2017 order temporarily prohibits from entering the United States virtually all people traveling on passports from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.”

Source:http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/article/2017/feb/03/donald-trumps-executive-order-muslim-ban/

In this instance, If I were to travel to Iran, I would not be let back into the United States. This is definitely immensely problematic not for me in particular but for people whose families will be fragmented across nations due to this rash ban.

“Iran has now banned all U.S. citizens from entering the country according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic of Iran this morning [January 28th].”

Source:http://www.politicususa.com/2017/01/28/iran-responds-trumps-muslim-ban-banning-citizens.html

Being a citizen of both the United States and Iran, I have no clue how Iran’s ban of U.S. citizens would affect me. Would I be recognized as a citizen of Iran or the United States? And if I somehow managed to gain entry into Iran, would I be able to return to the United States in spite of Donald Trump’s restriction on people traveling from Iran to the United States? But maybe I am getting ahead of myself here. Could I possibly be detained by Iranian authorities who have a history of detaining dual nationals? These are the questions I asked myself--- theoretically, of course--- before Trump’s executive order was suspended. I currently have no intention of traveling to Iran, but I feel that these are crucial questions to ask for dual nationals like me who do intend to travel to Iran.

“The Department of Homeland Security has suspended all enforcement of the immigration ban signed into effect by President Donald Trump.”

Source:http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-muslim-travel-ban-seattle-judge-dhs-suspend-order-muslims-seven-countries-revoked-visas-a7562991.html

Everything seems to be back to normal, at least for some time, after this freeze on Trump’s immigration restriction. If the White House challenges this freeze and succeeds in overturning the Department of Homeland Security’s suspension, how soon would the restrictions be reenacted? It seems as though people from those seven previously banned countries are trying their hardest to get into the United States while they can.

2. Relational Analysis: Iranians in Relation to Whiteness

While Iranians are considered white by the United States Census Bureau, they do not see themselves as the “ideal” kind of white. Their racial formation does not fit into one of everyday American “whiteness” but neither a minority “othered” race; however, Iranians identify American and European whiteness as the ideal and strive to fit into these categories. One such way of “whitening” their racial formation includes plastic surgery. Iran boasts one of the highest percentages of rhinoplasties per capita as Iranians attempt to obtain smaller, stereotypically white noses. By physically altering how they present themselves to the world, they slightly mold their racial representation into one of greater American or European whiteness--- the “desirable” types of whiteness as opposed to “undesirable” Middle Eastern whiteness. Looking less stereotypically Middle Eastern comes with the benefit of being less likely to be associated with what Americans most rapidly associate with Middle Easterners: terrorism. In the wake of the recent ban (and subsequent freeze on the ban) on people entering the United States from seven Muslim majority countries, being conventionally “whiter” can only be beneficial to Iranians. To further show that some Iranians put “whiteness” on a pedestal, some Iranians are infatuated with the idea of their “Aryanness.” They link themselves to this idea of Aryanism by claiming that Iran translated into “land of the Aryans.” By invoking stereotypical imagery of fair-eyed and fair-skinned people descending from Europe, Iranians can distance themselves from their Middle Eastern whiteness and latch onto European whiteness. Through embracing European whiteness and discarding their Middle Eastern whiteness, Iranians assert that European (also American) whiteness is the only desirable type of whiteness and are willing to alter their representation within their racial formation to come closer to achieving that European whiteness.

3. Zine Cover

4. Zine Page

Sources:

http://www.politicususa.com/2017/01/28/iran-responds-trumps-muslim-ban-banning-citizens.html

http://muftah.org/irans-nose-surgeries-desiring-white-button-nose/

http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/article/2017/feb/03/donald-trumps-executive-order-muslim-ban/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/08/post-2.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-muslim-travel-ban-seattle-judge-dhs-suspend-order-muslims-seven-countries-revoked-visas-a7562991.html

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ethnicstudies2-blog · 8 years ago

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Notebook 2

Severine Soltani

TA: Omar Padilla

ETHN 2; Section: Wednesday 2:00-2:50 PM

Notebook 2: Focusing Object/Context and Intersectional Analysis

1. Focus

I am sticking to my maroon Iranian passport as my “object.” This is the last Iranian passport I have received with its date of issue being May 4, 2007 and its date of expiry being April 4, 2012. Obviously, it has long expired.

2. Sources and Details

The first image is an old Iranian passport from 1975 (pre-Islamic Revolution). The next one is mine, issued in 2007 (post-Islamic Revolution). The last one is a contemporary Iranian passport, first issued in 2011 (also post-Islamic Revolution). One notable difference between the pre- and post-Islamic Revolution passports is the transition from “Empire” to “Islamic Republic” on the cover.

Sources:https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16973640

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/OldIranPassport.jpg

“I was certainly surprised of her arrest, because of that fact that she is not a political activist or organizer.”

The above quote refers to an instance of Iranian authorities detaining an Iranian-American dual national. Because Iran does not recognize dual citizenship, dual nationals can be arrested as if they were Iranian citizens. These arbitrary arrests can be attributed to Iran trying to appear intimidating and its desire to distance (in a sense sabotage relations) itself from the West.

Source:https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/another-american-has-been-detained-in-iran-the-fourth-dual-national-in-five-months-to-be-arrested/2016/07/26/84ab02fa-52a7-11e6-88eb-7dda4e2f2aec_story.html

Iran, alongside Eritrea, Ethiopia, Nepal, Palestine, and Sudan, ranks 98th on the Visa Restrictions Index, meaning that the number of countries an Iranian citizen can visit visa-free is limited to only 37 countries. In comparison, Germany ranks 1st on the Index, which means its citizens enjoy the greatest travel freedom with the ability to travel to 177 countries visa-free.

Source:https://www.henleyglobal.com/files/download/HP/hvri/HP%20Visa%20Restrictions%20Index%20160223.pdf

3. National Binds

Theocracy: In 1979, the increasingly secular government of Iran under Muhammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown in what became known as the Iranian Revolution. This revolution ushered in an Islamic theocracy that placed the “ayatollah,” a high-ranking religious scholar, at the helm of Iran. All Iranians are bound by this Islamic theocracy.

Religion: Approximately 98-99% of Iranians identify as Muslim with about 89-90% of them practicing Shia Islam. Being surrounded by predominantly nations that practice Sunni Islam, religion is a cohesive aspect of Iranian society. I am drawing a distinction between “theocracy” and “religion” in national binds because I believe religion in government and politics differs from personal religion.

Protest: Iranians, students in particular, have protested the religious fundamentalist government that came in power after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. For example, in 1999, more than 10,000 students protested the shutting down of Salaam, a reformist newspaper. Feeling that their freedom of expression was being infringed upon, students engaged in peaceful demonstrations; however, the spark that triggered six days rioting and protests was the raid on a Tehran University dormitory and the subsequent death of a student in the process. While not all Iranian civilians take part in these protests, they are all affected by the changes in domestic policy and social climate that may arise as a result of protests.

4. Intersectional Analysis

Transnational context: Iran

Gender: Being female means submitting to a patriarchal society and being sexually modest. Being a man also means being sexually conservative but with more leeway in terms of sexual promiscuity than women. Being a man also makes you the religious head of your household. Furthermore, gender exists on a binary scale: only male or female. To clarify, consider an Iranian woman who is sexually attracted to other women. She would not be considered a woman since many religious clerics would claim that she is, in reality, a man trapped in a woman’s body rather than simply being a lesbian. She would be urged to undergo sexual reassignment surgery to become a man so her attraction to woman can be justified.

Sexuality: Influenced greatly by Islam, Iran is sexually conservative. While sexually conservative, sexuality and promiscuity is seen as being more inherent to men while women are expected to be sexually passive. The Quran mentions men being able to enjoy their sex lives (within marriage, of course) but mutes female sexuality. Being a proper woman means being sexually modest. Also, the LGBT community is looked down upon by the theocratic government, and its members are often arrested, tortured, or even executed. Heterosexuality is the only acceptable sexual orientation.

Religion: The Quran emphasises men’s power over women and reinforces a patriarchal society. It also dictates appropriate sexual conduct for both genders.

Class: Class is most directly influenced by income, financial status, or family lineage. Affluent folk, having been more exposed to westernization and modernization, are more likely to strive for equality and elimination of discrimination and double standards (regarding, for example, sexual promiscuity) among men and women. The poor and uneducated are more likely to abide by traditional gender roles that emphasize women’s place in the home and men being the breadwinners.

Immigration and Citizenship Theme: Being a proper Iranian citizen requires everyone to fit within a strict gender binary, subdue (hetero)sexuality, and allow religion to rule social interaction.

5. Sources

http://www.irantracker.org/basics/islamic-republic-iran-0

http://postcolonialist.com/civil-discourse/feminist-critique-and-islamic-feminism-the-question-of-intersectionality/

http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/262809/islam-and-sexuality-sex-men-not-women-dr-majid-rafizadeh

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/religion.htm

http://www.iranchamber.com/culture/articles/codes_behavior.php

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/another-american-has-been-detained-in-iran-the-fourth-dual-national-in-five-months-to-be-arrested/2016/07/26/84ab02fa-52a7-11e6-88eb-7dda4e2f2aec_story.html

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/11/world/student-protests-shake-iran-s-government.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shirin-sadeghi/today-is-the-anniversary_b_228547.html

https://www.henleyglobal.com/files/download/HP/hvri/HP%20Visa%20Restrictions%20Index%20160223.pdf

http://observer.com/2015/05/how-iran-solved-its-gay-marriage-problem/

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16973640

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/OldIranPassport.jpg

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ethnicstudies2-blog · 8 years ago

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Notebook 1: An Object That Circulates/Circulated Transnationally

1. An Iranian passport.

2. My object is my maroon Iranian passport, which I believe relates to immigration and citizenship since it allows for travel between nations and is a telltale sign of Iranian citizenship.

Context 1

Place: Shemiran, the capital of Shemiranat Country, which is a district in Tehran, Iran.

Time: Pre-October 2001

Events

1995, United States imposes oil and trade sanctions on Iran amid allegations of sponsoring terrorism and human rights abuses.

July 1999 Students at Tehran University protest after reformist Salaam newspaper was closed by the judiciary. Protests raged for six days. Over 1,000 students were arrested.

April 2000, Iranian judiciary begins to restrict freedom of the press as it banned 16 reformist newspapers.

Social Conditions

Less freedom of expression.

Conservative theocracy.

Context 2

Place: Initially Mira Mesa in San Diego, then Poway in San Diego

Time: Post-October 2001

Events

September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks still fresh in American minds.

January 2002, George W. Bush claims Iran is part of an “axis of evil” and is pursuing weapons of mass destruction.

2003, Iran admits to plutonium production, yet there was no proof of pursuit of nuclear weapons.

July 2016, Iran’s judiciary has confirmed that an Iranian-American from San Diego has been detained; Iran’s tendency to detain dual nationals persists.

July 2015, UN Security Council plans for the suspension and eventual lifting of UN sanctions on Iran

Social Conditions

Americans view Middle Easterners in a more negative light.

Increasingly progressive social views.

In the pre-October 2001 context, the maroon Iranian passport meant a great deal to me (or would have meant a great deal to me had I been cognizant of what a passport was) since it’s the only form of citizenship I had, even if it’s citizenship for a nation that has rather hostile relations with the rest of the world. In an immigration context, it meant little to me since an Iranian passport cannot buy much mobility between nations since it is a passport with weak “purchasing power” and requires a visa to visit most countries.

In the post-October 2001 context, the object still remains a maroon Iranian passport but is increasingly losing its worth since I obtained United States citizenship and immigrated to the United States in 2001. Iran currently ranks 98th on the Visa Restrictions Index, meaning that an Iranian citizen may visit 37 countries without a visa. To show how worthless an Iranian passport is, citizens of the United States, which ranks 4th on the Visa Restrictions Index, may visit 174 countries without a visa. That’s almost four times as many countries someone with only an Iranian passport is able to visit. With a United States passport and citizenship, my Iranian passport basically became obsolete; I could travel to all the places my Iranian passport allowed and more. Ironically, one place I shouldn’t travel to is Iran. Iran does not recognize dual citizenship and considers dual nationals as only Iranian citizens and reserves the right to detain them. The United States, lacking diplomatic or consular relations with Iran, cannot protect detained United States citizens in Iran, making a trip to Iran a bigger risk than I’d be comfortable taking.

The meaning of the passport differs to me because in post-October 2001, it became apparent how useless my Iranian passport was in regards to immigration between countries and how its value was continuing to decline. The Iranian citizenship that comes with the passport also seems dangerous to me now that I am not only a citizen of Iran anymore but also a United States citizen who could possibly be detained upon visiting family in Iran.

5. Hyperlinked Sources:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/middle_east-jan-june10-timeline/

https://www.henleyglobal.com/files/download/HP/hvri/HP%20Visa%20Restrictions%20Index%20160223.pdf

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/11/wai.html

http://www.dualcitizenship.com/countries/iran.html

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2016/jul/25/iran-confirms-iranian-american-has-been-detained/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctions_against_Iran

#ETHN2A14

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