The Center’s Blog: “With A Trace”

A blog to read and share about Iranian diaspora experiences and culture by the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University.

“With a Trace” is a new blog established to share stories, feature diaspora studies scholars and their work, as well as to identify and share the rich cultural landscape produced by Iranian immigrant communities as well as second and third generation hyphenated Iranians from around the globe. 

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With a Trace: Documenting and Sharing the Experiences of the Iranian Diaspora

Mural of people on a boat crossing stormy seas

"Sinbad Voyage" by Mokhtar Paki

Pouneh Shabani-Jadidi’s Deep and Abiding Love for Persian Language and Literature and the Art of Translation

Drawing Freedom: Marjane Satrapi and The Voices of  Revolution Through Art and Storytelling

Reflections on the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies and its Influence on Donna Fotoohi’s Intellectual Path 

The River’s Song — Taraneh Mousavi and the Fluid Harmonies of Home

Sirvan Manhoobi on The Power of Music to Unify a Divided World

Mathematics as Art — Researching the Influences of Math Education in Scholars of the Iranian Diaspora

Gordafarid and Niloofar Asadi’s Portrayal of the Female Body and Resistance

Through the Smoke — Yalda Moaiery’s Photographic Odyssey in the Face of Oppression

Exploring the Labyrinth of Narrative — The Literary Odyssey of Iranian Writer Shahriar Mandanipour 

From Angst to Acceptance — Adib Khorram’s Metamorphic Storytelling 

Unlocking Cultural Prisons with Poetic Keys — Sahba Aminikia’s Melodies Bridge Cultural Divides

Porochista Khakpour and the Glittery Iranian-American Pandemic Novel That Will Give You Fomo 

A Conversation with Poets Armen Davoudian and Saba Keramati on “Two-Sidedness” and the Power of Language to Name

A Remembrance of Musician and Composer Faramarz Aslani 

“Saint Saffron” and Pantea Karimi’s Artistic Homage to the Queen of Spices

Hanif Sadr and Celebrating the Dream of the Bay Area’s “Komaaj” Restaurant  

Norooz and Food — Inseparable Since the Beginning

Claiming and Embracing a Complex Iranian-Chinese Heritage — A Conversation with Bay Area Filmmaker, Actress, Writer, Sarah Tadayon

A Belated Reunion — Pouneh Rahnema and Peter Stine, Old San Neighbors Meet After Sixty Years of Separation  

Playing with the “Home” of the Imagination — The Life and Writing of Moniro Ravanipour

Sara Nodjoumi and Till Schauder on the Making of “A Revolution on Canvas” — a Film about Art, Nikzad Nodjoumi and Nahid Hagigat and Iran’s Long History of Artistic Suppression

Mahsa Vahdat On Leaving Iran and Finding A Home in Music

Berkeley-based Artist and Muralist Mokhtar Paki on Depicting the ‘Voyages’ of Immigrants, Refugees, and their Contributions to the US

Recognizing the Life and Work of Shahrnush Parsipur — An Iranian Writer Who Belongs to the World

What the Latest Census Results Reveal about Iranian Americans

Let Her Sing 2023: Empowering Women’s Voices

Confronting Mystery and Poetry with Darius Atefat-Peckham

Embracing Identity Through the Body and Poetry — The Vision of Artist Mobina Nouri

Building Community and Making Music among Older Members of the Iranian Diaspora

Atlanta Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari and the Many Facets of Iranian-American Resilience

PRIDE MONTH in the Bay Area — A Wrap Up 

Yaas Farzanefar, A Bay Activist for Women’s and LGBTQ+ Rights in the Context of “Woman. Life. Freedom.” Movement

Transcending the Expectations of Grief in Writing — A Conversation with Shideh Etaat

Embodying Love and the Divine with Dr. shawndeez

Nurturing the Next Generation — Conversing with Sam Alavi-Irvine, Educator and Community Activist and One of the Leaders of the New Ayandeh Initiative

Making Queerness Visible in the Arts—A Conversation with Novelist and Screenwriter Abdi Nazemian

The Subject of Objects — Parmida Mostafavi and Consumerism Within the Iranian Diaspora Community 

Beyond Canons and Tokenization — A Conversation with Actor, Amir Malaklou

A Conversation with Poet Rooja Mohassessy on Healing Through Poetry and Art

Celebrating Norooz at the White House

A Tale of Two Worlds — Ana Maria Raietparvar, and the Iranian Diaspora in Brazil

SF State’s Professor Hafez Modirzadeh on Amplifying the Struggle for Freedom through Music

Ariana Vafadari and the Power of Weaving Connections Across Musical Traditions

Sepehr Haddad On Making Art from Life and On Making a Life in the Arts

Abdi Soltani, Director of the Northern California ACLU on Being ‘Good’ Iranian Americans and Building a Culture of Human and Civil Rights

Dr. Catherine Sameh On Finding the Bonds of Solidarity in the Transnational Feminist Frame

Sanaz Fotouhi on Connecting through Stories, Film, Literature, and Her Own Storytelling

Iranian-American Author Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi — Writing Through and About the Complexities of Otherness

Being Without Belonging — Iranian Diaspora Subjects in the Transnational Research of Professor Sahar Sadeghi

“Joonopanir” — or How We Speak “Finglish” in the Iranian Diaspora

‘The Savage Muse’ — Building Community Across the Artful Dinner Table

Author Olivia Abtahi on Giving Voice to the Marginalized in YA Fiction

From the Granular to the Sweeping: Reflecting on the Evolution of a Diaspora

Vancouver’s Chef Hamid Salimian — Finding His Way through Food

Telling Stories from Tehran to Rome to Vancouver to Los Angeles with Chef and Cookbook Author Naz Deravian

California-Based Artist Keyvan Shovir and Movement Between Tradition, Modernity, and Diaspora

Atossa Soltani on Being a “Planetary Citizen” and Defending the Amazon

Forging a Progressive Future with Yasmin Radjy

Chef Hoss Zaré — A Tale of Persian Hospitality, Cooking Innovation, and Culinary Evangelism

Milad Odabaei — On Transitioning to the United States and Conducting Fieldwork in Iran

Sara Saedi — On Growing up Undocumented and Becoming a YA Novelist

“Daring to Look” – Pouran Jinchi and Re-Writing Women into the Great Calligraphic Traditions of Iran

Building A Bay Area Iranian-American Queer Community One Person-at-a-Time

Dr. Claudia Yaghoobi and the Importance of Making the Marginalized Visible