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Children in the field and methodological challenges of research in Iran

My desire to visit Iran began between 1980 and 1982, when the Iranian Revolution was constantly in the news. Through an Iranian friend from college, I became close to the entire family of recent immigrants, four women and seven children. The women attended English classes; their children tried to escape the taunts and hostilities of their classmates. I spent my time studying, helping the children with their homework, practicing English with the women, and learning my first Persian words and dishes. This domestic scene contrasted with images of violence: one, flashing television images of American hostages and mobs of angry, rioting Iranians; the other, my Iranian friends running from angry teenagers intent on beating people up because of their presumed country of origin. My Iranian friends shifted their ethnicity to “Italian,” changed their names to those more familiar to Americans, and learned to dodge potentially violent situations. I began to see my own culture as one not so distant from the images of the “enemies” on the five o’clock news. These experiences charted me on a course to become an anthropologist. My connection to Iran andmy connection to anthropology are intrinsically linked.