Paper short abstract:

Data collected through ethnographic interviews with Iranians in northern California in 1990 are used to examine, in light of recent migration theories and research, the social and cultural reconstruction of family, nuclear and extended, in the new economic, political, and social setting.

Paper long abstract:

Anthropological studies of migration have increasingly focused on continuities as well as ruptures, on variability in modes of adaptation, and on the agency of migrants in the (re)creation of social organizations and cultural understandings. This paper explores the extent to which data collected through ethnographic interviews with Iranian origin parents and youth in northern California in 1990 can be used to address questions more recently raised by anthropologists concerning the migration process. In particular, the social and cultural reconstruction of family, both nuclear and extended, in the new economic, political, and social setting is examined in light of recent migration research, including studies of transnationalism. The original study focused on the academic performance of 100 Iranian origin youth in the context of their families' migration histories and their return migration prospects, their parents' relative satisfaction with their situation in the U.S., and their families' extent of involvement in an ethnic community. In the process, much information on family organization was also collected, and on parents' and youths' conceptualization of family, often articulated in terms of contrasts—between Iran and the U.S. and between past and present. Analysis of these data provides additional illumination on the situation of these Iranian families and the paths they were pursing in 1990. In addition, this analysis and recent perspectives on migration may suggest useful guidelines for Iranian immigrants in the 21st Century and as well as adding to anthropological understanding of migration processes.