Do our stories shape our identity? A case study of narratives and discourses among Iranian immigrants in Sweden.

Abstract

Global migration movements are a daily occurrence in our globalized world. Immigrants’ identities evolve and are affected by the cultural norms, policies, and practices in host countries during their journeys. Throughout this paper, I examine how Iranian immigrants’ narratives affect the subjectivities of immigrants in Sweden and how they negotiate these narratives to construct their experiences and form identities. This study has taken a qualitative approach and utilized transcripts of in-depth interviews of nine educated Iranian immigrants to Sweden to compile its findings. It aims to understand how self-perception and identity are represented through discourse and narrative. The focus is on immigrants’ discourses and identities, which reflect the complexity of immigration realities and experiences and the reasons for the identity transformation of immigrants.