Arab American literature
Later generations also contained the major theme of homecoming; finding an intermediate identity that incorporates aspects of both their Arab origin and upbringing in American society.
[2] The development Arab American literature underwent is strongly related to the historical and sociological factors that accompanied immigration to the United States.
[3] Academics have categorized Arab-American immigration into three waves, each characterized by different political conditions, levels of assimilation into U.S. society, and degree of involvement in the Arab world.
[2][7] The first Arab group to immigrate to the United States around 1880 consisted largely of Christians (Maronite, Greek Orthodox, and Melchite) from Mount Lebanon, accompanied by some Syrians and Palestinians.
[1][2][7] The war dwindled the chances that the Christian Arabs would return home, causing them to surrender sectarian prejudice between their respective sects and begin exploring the prospects of establishing an American identity.
[1][2] Similarly, early Arab-American literature reveals attempts at gaining approval from the U.S. society, either by demonstrating mastery of its accepted literary style or by actively accentuating the Christian and/or Western-like aspects of their identity.
[1] Because the perception of Arabs by non-Arab audiences is heavily colored by the notion of Orientalism, Arab-American texts are often concomitantly obliged to engage with Orientalist stereotypes as well.
Professor Steven Salaita explained the limits placed on Arab-American literature in the publishing industry on the basis of repeating the same kinds of narratives and themes.
[4][10] On the other hand, Diana Abu-Jaber's novel Crescent calls for stronger communication between minority groups to uncover the simultaneous commonality and diversity of ethnic experience and overcome its homogenization into the monolithic ‘other’.
[2] Most prominent was the attempt to emphasize their similarity to Western culture and understate any resemblance or association to Islam - a practice that become common in context of the court cases negotiating Arab Americans’ citizenship rights.
[1] Examples of the latter include Elmaz Abinader's Children of the Roojme: A Family's Journey from Lebanon[2] as well as Naomi Shihab Nye's collection of poetry.
[1] Editors Gregory Orfalea and Sharif Elmusa's anthology Grape Leaves: A Century of Arab-American Poetry supports the rise of self-critique, while also representing the first comprehensive text that introduces Arab American culture to non-Arab audiences.
[1][4] The anthology Food for Our Grandmothers, edited by Joanna Kadi, employs this critical method to gender dynamics in Arab American culture.
Albeit not the first feminist work, it acts as a space that simultaneously gives Arab women the chance to craft their own version of female empowerment and tackles preconceived notions of gender oppression in Western audiences.
[1] Contemporary literature interrogates the politics of racial categorization and minority alienation in the U.S., such as works by Lawrence Joseph, Diana Abu-Jaber, and Pauline Kaldas.
While third wave texts have received more extensive critique, University of Connecticut Professor Tanyss Ludescher claims that more professional criticism (such as that by Lisa Suhair Majaj, Evelyn Shakir, and Amal Amireh) is still needed.
On the other hand, Majaj finds that wistful accounts of community or dramatic descriptions of war are the most fruitful application of poetry's lyric, limiting authors to these two alternatives.
