The keys to the garden
Capital, class, and the repurposing of Persian mystical poetry in Los Angeles
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24215667 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Zia Khoshsirat (0000-0002-2291-0414, University of California California Los Angeles USA) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2026-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Linguistic Anthropology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1055-1360 • E-ISSN: 1548-1395 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/jola.70076 |
| OpenAlex | W7214684063 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 25 |
This article traces the social life of medieval Persian poetry as it is repurposed within Los Angeles's Iranian diaspora. Based on 5 years of immersive ethnography in private erfān classes and mystical assemblies, I argue these gatherings function as contemporary diasporic courts, mobilizing core texts within a spiritual marketplace structured by economic exclusion. While historical scholarship has shown how Persian poetry negotiated status in medieval courts, and anthropological work has grounded these traditions in social life, this study offers the first analysis of how diasporic Iranians monetize this heritage to redraw ethnolinguistic and class boundaries from within. Synthesizing Bourdieu's model of capital conversion with theories of diasporic temporality and the semiotic politics of language, I trace a dual process. Externally, participants leverage poetic mastery to convert economic capital into compound capital of refined civility, positioning the community within Los Angeles's racialized landscape. Internally, through ritualized performances of interpretation and an ideology of pre‐Islamic purity, they forge class boundaries and authenticate a distinct diasporic identity. Ultimately, it reveals how spiritual tradition enables the interconversion of capital through the performance of a purified past.
Bourdieu's capital · class boundaries · diasporic identity · economic exclusion · heritage commodification · Iranian diaspora · Los Angeles · Persian mystical poetry · Racialization · religious market · ritual performance · Sufism · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Social and Cultural Dynamics
The Pearl of Dari
Beholding Beauty
Say What Your Longing Heart Desires
City of Knowledge in Twentieth Century Iran
Irangeles
Indexical order and the dialectics of sociolinguistic life
Introduction
Outline of a Theory of Practice
Words on the lips and meanings in the stomach
High Status Immigrants
Success(ion)
On Semiotic Ideology
Context-sensitivity in conversation
Situated Learning
Temporalities of Community
When Talk Isn't Cheap
Poetics and Performances as Critical Perspectives on Language and Social Life
Secrecy
Learning How to Ask
| Highly cited | No |
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