Title:
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Representations of diasporic Iranian identities in commercial food spaces in London and Vancouver
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This thesis is a study of how diasporic Iranian identities are represented in commercial food spaces in London and Vancouver. I look at how these identities are represented in both Iranian and non-Iranian commercial spaces such as grocery stores, restaurants and food stalls. My research compares food practices in the two cities in order to grasp the role of local and national contexts in shaping these relations. The data collection draws upon a qualitative methodology. Empirical materials include photography, field notes and interviews. I also use restaurant websites, social media and restaurant review sites as part of my data collection. The literature review positions the research at the intersection of scholarship on diaspora, the circulation of material cultures, and diasporan interactions with food, with a specific focus to the Iranian diaspora in London and Vancouver, contributing to research agendas in the areas of diaspora and cultural production, and the wider studies on the Iranian diaspora. The first empirical chapter focuses on how Iranian commercial food spaces are marketed in terms of reflecting Iranian identities in terms of food spaces and commercial cultural production and representations. More specifically, it looks at the importance of advertising campaigns through print media, social media, and website advertising. I analyse how Iranian identities are performed and for whom by conducting a content analysis of marketing data. The second empirical chapter focuses on the ways in which these spaces function as sites of cultural production and symbolism (Zukin, 1996) through the ways in which they are designed, organised and decorated. The final empirical chapter focuses on the food (meals and food items) sold in the various commercial Iranian food spaces in London and Vancouver. Chiefly, as elsewhere in the thesis, my focus is on the food provided in variant spaces, including food trucks and commercial supper clubs held at private homes. It reflects on the character of the food sold by diasporic Iranian providers and on how its making intersects with the production of diasporic identities.
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