Table Of ContentFROM SHAHRZAD TO CARRIE BRADSHAW: IDENTITY NEGOTIATION AND
IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT OF AN IRANIAN WOMAN LIVING IN
THE UNITED STATES
A Thesis by
Elnaz Parviz
Bachelor of Arts, Islamic Azad University, 2008
Submitted to the Elliott School of Communication
and the faculty of the Graduate School of
Wichita State University
in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
July 2017
© Copyright 2017 by Elnaz Parviz
All Rights Reserved
FROM SHAHRZAD TO CARRIE BRADSHAW: IDENTITY NEGOTIATION AND
IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT OF AN IRANIAN WOMAN LIVING IN
THE UNITED STATES
The following faculty members have examined the final copy of this thesis for form and content,
and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of
Master of Arts, with a major in Communication.
______________________________________
Deborah Ballard-Reisch, Committee Chair
______________________________________
Richard N. Armstrong, Committee Member
______________________________________
Glyn Rimmington, Committee Member
iii
DEDICATION
To my parents, my husband, my sister, and my brother
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Life is a movie. We all get to be the star of the story of our own life.
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my advisor, Deborah Ballard-Reisch, for her unconditional support,
patience, wisdom, and guidance. I would also like to express my gratitude to my committee
members, Rick Armstrong, and Glyn Rimmington for their useful suggestions and patience
throughout this thesis. In addition, I want to thank the Elliott School of Communication and its
faculty without whom I would not be where I am in life today. Lastly, I would like to say thanks
to my Elliott School support group, my friends, and Hooman for being the emotional support I
needed to accomplish this task.
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ABSTRACT
This thesis is a qualitative autoethnography which analyzes the author’s experiences as a
female Iranian student in the American Midwest during a 3-year period, between 2014 to 2017.
The author takes the readers through the daily challenges she faces adapting to a new culture,
describes the transformation process of the beliefs she had previously formed based on exposure
to American television, and tells the story of reinventing her identity using the new cultural and
political freedom she has gained in the United States. Her epiphanies are analyzed within the
framework of Identity Negotiation Theory (INT) and Impression Management Theory (IMT).
The author uses her journals as data to provide illustrations of her assumptions, and applies
theory to draw insights into her experiences. The narratives are written in the form of plots which
include characters, conversations, and an emotional load. This research is a combination of
science and art. The author hopes that by reading this work, others who are going through similar
experiences can better understand their personal confusions and transformations.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
CHAPTER 1: THE STORY OF THE MAGIC BOX ......................................................................1
From No TV to MTV .......................................................................................................... 1
Once a Cool Kid, Always a Cool Kid ................................................................................. 4
Iranian Girl in Dubai ........................................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER 2: AUTOETHNOGRAPHY- SETTING THE STAGE ...............................................7
Methodology: Autoethnography ......................................................................................... 8
Writing an Autoethnography ............................................................................................ 10
Ellie’s Epic Epiphany ........................................................................................... 11
CHAPTER 3: IDENTITY NEGOTIATION THEORY- SEEING ELLIE ...................................14
Basic Assumptions of the Identity Negotiation Theory .................................................... 15
Identity Negotiation in International Students .................................................................. 17
Identity Security-Vulnerability ............................................................................. 18
Identity Inclusion-Differentiation ......................................................................... 19
Identity Connection-Autonomy ............................................................................ 20
Identity Predictability-Unpredictability ................................................................ 21
Identity Consistency-Change ................................................................................ 22
The First Supper ........................................................................................ 23
Identity Negotiation and Identity Change ......................................................................... 25
Volitional and Non-Volitional Changes ............................................................... 26
Difference in Behavioral Norms and Expectations .............................................. 26
Environmental Changes ........................................................................................ 29
I’m not a racist towards Afghans anymore! .............................................. 30
Developmental Growth and Role Changes ........................................................... 34
Uptown Girl in a Downtown World?........................................................ 34
Strategic Self-Verification .................................................................................... 36
Happy Birthday Ellie. ............................................................................... 36
Self-Initiated Changes ........................................................................................... 37
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TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)
Chapter Page
Ellie, the Olivia Pope. ............................................................................... 37
The New You .................................................................................................................... 38
CHAPTER4: IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT THEORY-THE ONE WOMAN SHOW ..........40
Impression Management Theory (IMT) ........................................................................... 40
Self-Presentation ............................................................................................................... 41
Strategy of ingratiation ......................................................................................... 42
Trying Too Hard. ...................................................................................... 42
Strategy of self-promotion .................................................................................... 43
The Sun Also Announces.......................................................................... 43
Strategy of exemplification ................................................................................... 44
“No Trumping.” ........................................................................................ 44
Strategy of supplication ........................................................................................ 45
All the Heavy Lifting. ............................................................................... 45
Strategy of intimidation ........................................................................................ 46
Who? Me?!................................................................................................ 46
Situated Social Identity ..................................................................................................... 48
Impression Management Model ....................................................................................... 49
Showing Social Competence ................................................................................ 49
Wild Roses at Walmart. ............................................................................ 49
Impression Construction ....................................................................................... 51
The Second First Impression. ................................................................... 51
Protecting Impression Integrity............................................................................. 53
“Hello. I’m your instructor, and I am from...” .......................................... 53
Restoring Impression Integrity ............................................................................. 55
The Finale. ................................................................................................ 56
CHAPTER 5: ANALYSIS OF OBLIVION, DISCOVERY, AND BECOMING ........................59
Oblivion ............................................................................................................................ 59
Do I define my nationality, or does my nationality define me? ............................ 61
Discovery .......................................................................................................................... 67
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TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)
Chapter Page
But You’re Smart!................................................................................................. 72
Becoming .......................................................................................................................... 74
All of Us ................................................................................................................ 75
The Dream Catcher. .............................................................................................. 83
The Last Scene ...................................................................................................... 84
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................................................85
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