Classroom Activities and Assessments

Activity 1: Two Sides to the Story: Media and Reality

This lesson is paired with the essay, "Iraynians Need Not Apply" and puts students in the position of having to contend with multiple sides of a single story; namely, the story of Iranians conveyed by the media in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution/hostage crisis and the story of Iranians as told by Iranians.

Objectives:

Students will not only understand the role the media plays in promoting a one-dimensional image of an entire community of people, but how those images impact the lives of those whom they target. As a result of headlines that characterized Iranians as anti-democratic criminals, hate crimes against Iranians grew; Dumas and her family had to hide their cultural identity and her father lost his job. Public opinion of Iranians is especially striking when compared to who Iranians really are, for Dumas characterizes her father as someone who believed it a privilege to live in a democratic society like America and possessed a "staunch devotion to freedom and fairness" (119). By comparing these dichotomies, students should recognize how generalizations are formed and become more critical of their validity.

"Perhaps the greatest irony in the wave of Iranian-hating was that Iranians, as a group, are among the most educated and successful immigrants in this country. Our work ethic and obsession with education make us almost ideal citizens. Nobody asked us our opinion of whether the hostages should be taken, and yet every single Iranian in America was paying the price. One kid throws a spitball and the whole class gets detention"

- Dumas, "I-Raynians Need Not Apply"

Procedure:

Step 1:

In small groups, students will locate at least 2 passages from the essay that indicate how Iranians were treated in America directly following the American hostage crisis.

As students locate and analyze the passages with their group members, the the teacher should create a chart labeled, "Impact of media on how Americans perceived Iranians" and "Impact of the media as told by Iranians."
Students should be encouraged to record their answers on the appropriate side of the chart, followed by a whole-class discussion on their responses.
Then, the teacher will ask students to return to the chapter and look for passages that demonstrate what impact the media's response to the Revolution and hostage crisis had on Dumas and her family.

Step 2:

In addition to locating passages from this chapter, students can also sift through previous chapters to locate passages where the way Dumas describes herself and her family are incongruent with the representations of Iranians by the media.

Just as before, students should record their responses on the chart and engage in a whole-class discussion where they compare the media's response to the hostage crisis with what Dumas and her family experienced.

Activity 1 Extension: Podcast

Time permitting, the teacher can end the lesson by playing "Around the Nation: A Personal Look Back at the Iranian Hostage Crisis," a 7-minute NPR podcast episode with Dumas about her experience meeting one of the American hostages years after the crisis.

Activity 2: Opinion Over Facts

This lesson is paired with the essay "With a Little Help from My Friends" and engages students in a discussion about stereotypes.

Objectives:

The objective of this lesson is primarily an exercise in building empathy. Over the course of the memoir, but especially in this chapter, Dumas has to defend herself against a series of stereotypes that Americans pick up through movies or TV shows, such as whether her family owned camels, slept in tents, and had access to electricity back in Iran. Although Dumas admits that Americans were always kind when they asked questions about Iran, she grows tired of trying to be a "worthy representative of her homeland" and gives in to the stereotypes so that people can "hear what [they] wanted to hear" (34). By putting themselves in her position, students will be able to better connect with and understand Dumas' frustration over having to constantly defend her country to people who are more concerned with sharing their opinions than contending with facts.

Procedure:

Step 1:

At each group's desk, the teacher will place a stereotype often associated with American culture and ask students to discuss the validity of the stereotype with their group members (the stereotypes chosen are up to the teacher's discretion and can also be changed depending on student demographics, but some examples include obsession with guns, racism, arrogance and nationalism, unintelligence).

One student in the group will be responsible for agreeing with the stereotype; this student should be reached out to by the teacher in advance, unbeknownst to the other students in the group.
After the discussion, students will quickly reflect on their experiences in writing and do a whole-class share-out to discuss; it is to be expected that at least some students will have experienced anger or discomfort at trying to defend against negative stereotypes associated with their national identity.

Step 2:

Following the discussion, students will turn their attention to "With a Little Help from My Friends."

In their groups, they will reread/skim the chapter and discuss it with their group members (guidelines for this discussion are listed below).
Once students have had a chance to speak in their small groups, the teacher will invite them to share their thoughts in a whole-group discussion.

Teaching Resource: For "With a Little Help from My Friends" discussion questions, click here.

"We remember the kindness more than ever, knowing that our relatives who immigrated after the Iranian Revolution did not encounter the same America. They saw Americans who had bumper stickers on their cars that read 'Iranians: Go Home' or 'We Play Cowboys and Iranians.' The Americans they met rarely invited them to their houses. These Americans felt that they knew all about Iran and its people, and they had no questions, just opinions."

-Dumas, "With a Little Help From My Friends"

Activity 3: Food is the Window to the Soul

This lesson is paired with the essay, "Swoosh Swoosh" and invites students to learn about Iranian culture through their food.

Objectives:

The objective of this lesson is to invite students to think about how examining aspects of another culture, such as their traditional cuisine, can enable them to better understand that culture and its people. Firoozeh writes about her family's experience trying to understand American culture through their delicacies, like fried chicken wings and hot dogs. Food, too, is a large part of Iranian culture; not only do most dishes have an elaborate recipe and require hours of preparation, but, as she notes, the practice of cooking and serving food is representative of the Iranian people's belief in the importance of family and community.

Procedure:

Step 1:

In small groups, students will read the article, "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Persian Food" by Orly Minazad, where she discusses how learning to make Persian food strengthened her relationship with her mother and her Iranian background.

After students have read the article, they should turn to discuss their thoughts with their group members, which will be followed by a whole-class share out (discussion questions are listed below).

Step 2:

Students will turn their attention to "Swoosh Swoosh."

In their groups, they will reread/preview the chapter with particular attention to Firoozeh's description of food preparation in Iran and how her family comes to learn about America through its food.

Once students have had a chance to speak in their small groups, the teacher will invite them to share their thoughts in a whole-group discussion.

"There was no such thing as canned, frozen, or fast food. Everything, except for bread, which was purchased daily, was made from scratch. Eating meant having to wait for hours for all the ingredients to blend together just right. When the meal was finally ready, we all sat together and savored the sensuous experience of a delicious Persian meal. Upscale restaurants in America, calling themselves 'innovative and gourmet,' prepare food the way we used to. In Iran, it was simply how everybody ate."

- Dumas, "Swoosh, Swoosh"

Teaching Resource: Discussion Questions

For "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Persian Food" and "Swoosh, Swoosh" discussion questions, click here.

"Swoosh, Swoosh" Discussion Questions

Teaching Resource: Persian Ice Cream Recipe

For a recipe for Persian ice cream - a famous delicacy in Iranian culture - to share with students, click here.

Persian Ice Cream Recipe

Assessment of Student Learning

As much as Funny in Farsi is a story about Firoozeh trying to make sense of America as an immigrant, it is just as much about her trying to make sense of the many Orientalist-esque stereotypes and generalizations made by Americans who understand her only through the limited window afforded to them by Western media.

As such, the following two assessments invite students to reflect on what it means to be misunderstood and the forces that contribute to misinformation. These assessments do not necessarily have to be assigned directly after reading Funny in Farsi; they could serve as potential avenues that students may want to take for their final curriculum project.

Assessment Option 1: A Single Memoir about a Single Story

There are instances throughout Funny in Farsi where Firoozeh is turned into a Middle Eastern stereotype; some people ask her whether she rides on camels across the Sahara Dessert, while others blatantly accuse her of being an undemocratic terrorist.

For this project, students will write a "memoir" of 7-10 pages about their "single story" experience; they could either

reflect on a moment where they were misrepresented or victim to stereotype and how it impacted them
discuss a moment where they wrongly stereotyped someone else and how - or whether - they were able to reevaluate their bias.

In addition to their memoir, students should write a 1-2 page reflection paper that addresses the following questions:

How did reflecting on a personal experience with stereotype help you better empathize with Firoozeh's experiences as an immigrant?
Based on your experience, what do you think are the dangers of a "single story" and how does this connect to Adichie's Ted Talk?

Assessment Option 2: Contemporary Representations of the "Other"

Although Edward Said wrote Orientalism over thirty years ago, the role that media plays in "Othering" communities and cultures is just as, if not more, palpable in the 21st century.

For this project, students will practice "reading" the media with a critical eye.

They must either watch the evening news for five nights and record any information they see about the Middle East or search the internet for at least five recent news articles on the Middle East.
As they watch or read, they should take note of how the Middle East is framed across these news stories, paying attention to images and/or language.

Questions to keep in mind while researching include:

What is the purpose of the news story?
Is it a positive or negative depiction of the Middle East and how do you know?
What images or language is used in the news story?
Who published this news story and how does that play any role in how the Middle East is depicted?

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