Representation of Iran and Iranians in Australian Literature

This thesis, entitled “Representation of Iran and Iranians in Australian Literature”, examines the way Iran and Iranians are represented in Australian literature from a postcolonial perspective, with particular attention to Said’s theory of Orientalism. It investigates the impact of cultural shifts in Iran and also the relationship between the two countries in the way knowledge about Iran has been constructed in Australian literature, and how this representation has changed from colonial times to the present. After examining this representation in writing by non Iranian Australians, I analyse Iranian Australian writing to find out whether the themes are similar to or different from the themes in works by non Iranian Australian writers. This research also shows the position of Iranian Australian literature in multicultural Australia, and Australia’s ability to incorporate new literatures and new cultural influences into its national body of writing.