Iranians in Vienna

When talking about Iranians living in Austria we are basically dealing with a `white spot` on the map of community research. Also scientific research on Viennese Iranians has been scarcely conducted and whatever has been written usually focused on only a small sample of Iranians or a small section of the Iranian communities. No research whatsoever focused on the interplay of varying Iranian communities in Vienna - depicting and analyzing the dynamic interrelations of individual Iranians assessment, public discourses and communities` appearances. Instead researches displayed generalized assumptions about `the Iranian women`, `the Iranian refugees` or `the Iranian 2nd generation` neither acknowledging the heterogeneity of Iranians and their various communities in Vienna nor their situational context of identification. With the research project `Iranians in Vienna: The Discursive Construction of Ethnic Identities` we will fill the gap and focus on a very heterogenic sample of Iranians living in Vienna to explore networking strategies, community politics and individual strategies of identity formation. Hence this project will focus upon three central questions: 1) To what extend do Austro-Iranians constitute as ethnic- and social groups in Vienna?; 2) How do Austro-Iranians experience the ascription of social identities and the categorization thereof within social interactions?; and 3) How do Austro-Iranians experience the public image of themselves in relation to the various self-images they have? In this research, and in correspondence with cognitive approaches, ethnicity is treated as a way of understanding, interpreting, and framing experience. Within our project we will highlight how, when, and why social actors interpret social experiences in certain ethnic, or national terms and when do they identify persons, actions, problems, threats, obligations, opportunities, interests and loyalties in ethnic or national terms rather than in terms of some other interpretive scheme

When talking about Iranians living in Austria we are basically dealing with a "white spot" on the map of community research. Also scientific research on Viennese Iranians has been scarcely conducted and whatever has been written usually focused on only a small sample of Iranians or a small section of the Iranian communities. No research whatsoever focused on the interplay of varying Iranian communities in Vienna - depicting and analyzing the dynamic interrelations of individual Iranians assessment, public discourses and communities` appearances. Instead researches displayed generalized assumptions about "the Iranian women", "the Iranian refugees" or "the Iranian 2nd generation" neither acknowledging the heterogeneity of Iranians and their various communities in Vienna nor their situational context of identification. With the research project "Iranians in Vienna: The Discursive Construction of Ethnic Identities" we will fill the gap and focus on a very heterogenic sample of Iranians living in Vienna to explore networking strategies, community politics and individual strategies of identity formation. Hence this project will focus upon three central questions: 1) To what extend do Austro-Iranians constitute as ethnic- and social groups in Vienna?; 2) How do Austro-Iranians experience the ascription of social identities and the categorization thereof within social interactions?; and 3) How do Austro-Iranians experience the public image of themselves in relation to the various self-images they have? In this research, and in correspondence with cognitive approaches, ethnicity is treated as a way of understanding, interpreting, and framing experience. Within our project we will highlight how, when, and why social actors interpret social experiences in certain ethnic, or national terms and when do they identify persons, actions, problems, threats, obligations, opportunities, interests and loyalties in ethnic or national terms rather than in terms of some other interpretive scheme.