Biography
James Barry is an Associate Research Fellow with Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation.
James’ research interests involve the intersections of religious, linguistic and national conceptions of identity in the Middle East, specifically Iran. James speaks Armenian and Persian-Farsi. He has a long standing relationship with the Armenian community in Australia, and has been interviewed for community radio and magazines in both Australia and the United States, and has worked with several Iranian expatriate communities at each end of the Pacific Rim.
In 2013 James received his PhD from Monash University for his thesis ‘My Nation is not Soil, My Nation is Alive: Armenian Christian Identity in the Islamic Republic of Iran’. James’ dissertation was an ethnographic study focusing on the sense of identity experienced by religious minorities in the Islamic Republic. This involved research in social institutions such as sports clubs, ethnic affiliated restaurants and churches, the general sites where identity is formed and reinforced. His fieldwork site was Tehran, though with additional interviews were conducted in Armenia, Australia and the United States. His findings not only have contributed to understandings of how is constructed in Iran today, but also these identities differ between generations and are changed by the process of migration. He is currently preparing the manuscript for publication.
In addition to his work at ADI, James has an ongoing involvement in research on decision-making among irregular maritime arrivals to Australia, particularly migrants from Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. James was a lecturer at Monash University from 2012 to 2014.
Read more on James's profileKnowledge areas
Religion and nationalism in the Middle East
Minorities in the Middle East
Language and identity.
Media appearances
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/centuriesold-dispute-haunts-sochi-olympics-20140101-305w8.html
Publications
Bonding Social Capital, Afghan Refugees, and Early Access to Employment
M Vergani, I Yilmaz, G Barton, J Barry, G Bashirov, S Barton
(2021), Vol. 55, pp. 1152-1168, International Migration Review, C1
A Mozaffari, J Barry
(2021), pp. 1-23, International Journal of Heritage Studies, London, Eng., C1
Instrumentalizing Islam in a 'secular' state: Turkey's Diyanet and interfaith dialogue
Ihsan Yilmaz, J Barry
(2020), Vol. 22, pp. 1-16, Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern studies, Abingdon, Eng., C1
English language learning barriers of Afghan refugee women in Australia
F Sharifian, M Sadeghpour, S Barton, J Barry, G Barton, I Yilmaz
(2020), Vol. 31, pp. 65-78, International journal of applied linguistics, Chichester, Eng., C1
Armenian Christians in Iran : ethnicity, religion and identity in the Islamic Republic
J Barry
(2019), Cambridge, Eng., A1
J Barry, Ihsan Yilmaz
(2019), Vol. 42, pp. 1168-1185, Ethnic and racial studies, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Negotiating popular mandate and the sovereignty of God in Iran
S Akbarzadeh, J Barry
(2018), pp. 159-178, The Politics of Islamism: Diverging Visions and Trajectories, Cham, Switzerland, B1
S Barton, I Yilmaz, F Bezhan, G Barton, J Barry, M Vergani
(2018), Burwood, Vic., A6
Monologue and authority in Iran: ethnic and religious Heteroglossia in the Islamic Republic
J Barry
(2017), pp. 143-158, The monologic imagination, Oxford, Eng., B1
Iran and Turkey: not quite enemies but less than friends
S Akbarzadeh, J Barry
(2017), Vol. 38, pp. 980-995, Third world quarterly, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Re-ghettoization: Armenian Christian neighborhoods in multicultural Tehran
J Barry
(2017), Vol. 50, pp. 553-573, Iranian studies, Abingdon, Eng., C1
The decline and resurrection of Turkish Islamism: the story of Tayyip Erdogan's AKP
I Yilmaz, G Barton, J Barry
(2017), Vol. 1, pp. 48-62, Journal of citizenship and globalisation studies, Warsaw, Poland, C1
Brothers or comrades at arms? Iran's relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan
J Barry
(2016), pp. 59-74, Iran in the world: President Rouhani' s foreign policy, Basingstoke, Eng., B1
J Barry
(2016), Vol. 27, pp. 77-93, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, C1
State Identity in Iranian Foreign Policy
S Akbarzadeh, J Barry
(2016), Vol. 43, pp. 613-629, British journal of Middle Eastern studies, London, Eng., C1
Merchants, mercenaries and monarchs: Christians in Safavid Iran
J Barry
(2015), pp. 184-196, Asian Horizons Giuseppe Tucci's Buddhist, Indian, Himalayan and Central Asian studies, Clayton, Vic., B1-1
'This is not our country': Declining diversity in the Islamic Republic of Iran
J Barry
(2015), Vol. 105, pp. 281-298, Muslim world, Oxford, Eng, C1
Women fleeing Iran: why women leave Iran and seek asylum in Australia
S Pickering, J Barry
(2013), Vol. 19, pp. 79-99, Australian journal of human rights, Abingdon, Eng., C1-1
Funded Projects at Deakin
Australian Competitive Grants
A Documentary on Muslim Veterans
Prof Ihsan Yilmaz, Dr James Barry
Department of Veterans' Affairs - Veteran and Community Grants Program
- 2022: $39,474
Supervisions
Shaheen Whyte
Thesis entitled: Constructions and Contestations of Islamic Religious Authority in Australia
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Rand Almaleh
Thesis entitled: Political Belonging in the Ottoman Empire before the Tanzimat Era
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Denitsa Pirinova Sokolova Shipoli
Thesis entitled: Fiqh al-aqalliyyat in the Sense of Belonging for Muslim Minorities in Contemporary America
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences