“So, You Wanna Be Free?”: A Rhetorical Analysis of Roya Hakakian’s Neoliberal Conceptualization of Freedom

Abstract

This paper takes as its point of departure the incompatibility of the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement with neoliberalism. The intersectional nature of the movement’s demands is at odds with neoliberalism’s role in perpetuating the subjugation of women (Crenshaw 2017, Rottenberg 2018). Grounded in this perspective, the paper aims to shed light on the neoliberal conceptualization of freedom in the discourses of diaspora writers active in representing the movement. For this purpose, it focuses on Roya Hakakian’s texts and speeches, paying special attention to the author’s narrative strategy in her latest book, A Beginner’s Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious (2021). Here, a second-person narrator addresses a newly-arrived, generic migrant in the United States and guides her through peculiarities of American society. Recounting a tale of historical progress woven through anecdotes of violence and injustice against marginalized communities throughout American history, the narrator represents these episodes as essential milestones on the path to the triumph of ‘neoliberal multiculturalism’ (Reddy 2011; Melamed 2011). Mirroring neoliberal ideology (Hayek 1944, 1960), the narrator teaches the unknowing migrant addressee that struggles for freedom throughout US history were endeavors to submit to the rule of law and constitution. The narratee is then invited to stoically and resignedly wait until her naturalization ceremony whence her liberties will be protected by the constitution. In line with Mohammad Maljoo’s assertion that political Islam is the Iranian face of neoliberalism (Tahririeh 2023), the paper argues that Hakakian’s discourse is reflective of American exceptionalism. This is due to its inconsistency evident in its repudiation of the Iranian mode of neoliberalism as oppressive while conflating American neoliberalism with liberty.