Living in the ‘in-between’ – narrating identity, re-imagining home and negotiating belonging: an ethnographic investigation of the Iranian diaspora in Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Abstract

Using concepts by Homi Bhabha (1994) such as ‘hybridity’, ‘in-betweens’ and ‘third space’ the aim of this thesis is to investigate the tensions between identity, location, culture and belonging in an attempt to understand how Iranians who have moved to Newcastle upon Tyne renegotiate their cultural identity, and create a sense of home and belonging in a new space. A diasporic space, formed in the interstices between their re-imaginings of Iran as home (religious, cultural and national), and their desire to create a home in the UK. In order to explore these ideas further, this thesis used ethnography to access the members’ everyday lives and conducted biographical interviews to gain an in-depth perspective on their lives in Iran, their decision to leave Iran, their process of migration and re-settlement in the UK.
This thesis will demonstrate that although post-modern concepts have moved away from fixed notions of diaspora and identity, towards notions of fluidity and renegotiation; the members of this Iranian community attempt to fix and essentialise their Iranian cultural identity in order to distance themselves from the Islamic Republic on the one hand, whilst embracing their cultural hybridity on the other.