Introduction to Special Issue: Translating Iranian Migration and Diaspora Studies

Abstract

Reflecting the ongoing migrations of Iranians and the truly global reach of the Iranian diaspora, social scientific research on the lives of Iranians in diverse global locations has been published in many languages beyond English and Persian. Despite the unprecedented accessibility of scholarship in the digital age, research in these languages nevertheless remains unevenly visible. This special issue of Iranian Studies focuses on Iranian migration and diaspora and presents six research articles originally authored in languages other than English or Persian from an array of (inter)disciplinary perspectives and geographic locations. The issue seeks to not only make these studies accessible to a wide readership, but also to bring them into meaningful conversation with ongoing discussions in Iranian studies, encouraging an expansive view of the Iranian diaspora that requires geographic breadth, a range of methodologies, and a broad temporal scope. If Iranian migration has long been a global phenomenon, then Iranian diaspora studies—and indeed, Iranian studies more broadly—must also become more intentionally global in its questions, conversations, and sources.