Global Iranian Studies Review - GlobIS Review is a bilingual website to review works related to Iran in the field of social sciences in Iran and the world

Around the turn of the twentieth century, small yet diverse Iranian emigrant communities had established themselves primarily in neighboring regions. These included individuals who migrated for trade or employment–such as to India or the Caucasus–as well as elite families living in exile in cities like Beirut, and clerics or religious households who settled near sacred shrines…

This article introduces and examines three distinct works that explore the experiences of Iranian migrants, each approaching the subject from a different angle. One is a narrative-driven novel, another a critical travelogue, and the third a guidebook intended to offer practical advice for Iranians considering migration…

In his book, Longing to Leave: Migration in the Iranian Intersubjectivity, Mehrdad Arabestani explores migration as it is experienced mentally and culturally within Iranian society. He seeks to problematize the ways Iranians comprehend the concept of “migration” in their intersubjective mentality…

Migration studies in Iran have predominantly focused on outmigration and the desires of those seeking to leave, thereby marginalizing other subjectivities, practices, and alternative trajectories. In my doctoral dissertation, I seek to move beyond this monolithic lens by foregrounding the diversity of subjectivities, choices, and lived experiences, and by highlighting trajectories that are often marginalized—using a narrative-based approach…

Although migration has been a significant phenomenon in Iran for a long time, it has become a central factor in explaining the country’s political, social, and economic changes in recent years. The increasing influence of migration on Iranian lives does not inherently arise from a rise in migration rates; rather, it is tied to the growth of a population we refer to as “Homo Emigraturus,” who organize their lives around aspirations and preparations for migration…

In the introduction to a field-defining 2011 special issue about Iranian Diaspora Studies, Babak Elahi and Persis Karim register a shift from descriptions of Iranian life outside of Iran as ‘exile’ to ‘diaspora.’ ‘Exile’ was the stock phrase used during the 1980s when large waves of expatriates settled abroad without tangible prospects for returning to Iran…

I had always thought my confusion about my own racial identity had more to do with the light skin and blue eyes I inherited from my white mother than with the fact that my accented, olive-skinned, and “Middle Eastern”-looking father told me that Iranians are considered white. I never believed or internalized the whiteness of Iranians, given the crude circulating images of Iranians and the reactions my own Iranianness elicited from white Americans…

It’s nearly impossible to attend an Iranian celebration—whether a wedding, party, or Nowruz gathering—anywhere in the world without hearing the infectious rhythm of “6/8” (shesh-o-hasht). This exuberant, dance-oriented music, though often associated with Tehran, was largely born in Los Angeles…

This conversation between Iranian-American scholars Dr. Amy Malek and Dr. Persis Karim in July 2025, reflects on the emergence, development, and future directions of Iranian diaspora studies as a scholarly field…

Iran’s Migration Observatory had a short lifespan. Launched in 2017 at Sharif University in Tehran, it was effectively shut down in 2024, after its building was confiscated by the new administration at the university. We were interested in learning more about its trajectory and its role in shaping migration narratives in Iran…