"A landmark work in an important and emergent field."—Leila Ahmed, The Divinity School, Harvard University
"This must-read volume aims to set the foundation for Arab American women’s studies as a multidisciplinary study covering history, literature, culture, and women’s studies. Essential."—Choice
"Arab American Women reclaims and elevates the identities, contributions, physical and emotional labors, and everyday experiences of Arab American women through nearly two hundred years of history, recuperating them from both past invisibility and post-9/11 hypervisibility."—Journal of Arabic Literature
"A unique and invaluable collection for readers across academic disciplines."—Mashriq & Mahjar
"This remarkable volume provides the single best account of Arab American women’s lives in the United States, including their history as migrants, workers, family members, writers, community leaders, and activists."—Marcia C. Inhorn, Yale University, author of America’s Arab Refugees: Vulnerability and Health on the Margins
"This rich and wide-ranging collection is essential reading for anyone interested in the histories, politics, and cultures of Arab American women. It is also an exemplar of intersectional scholarship, linking and speaking to American Studies, Middle East Studies, and Women and Gender Studies."—Lisa Hajjar, professor of sociology, University of California – Santa Barbara
"A masterpiece. This is the most impressive, comprehensive, and courageous scholarly undertaking. Never before the experiences of Arab American women, spanning over a century, had been explored from such a wide variety of disciplines and perspectives. A must reference to all those interested in the field of women, gender and sexuality, as well as the intersection of these fields with the politics of the deep-rooted racism, anti-immigration, and Islamophobia in our nation."—Anan Ameri, Ph.D. Founding Director of the Arab American National Museum (retired)
"With rigor, precision, and care, this highly-anticipated anthology amplifies and builds upon decades of multidisciplinary work in Arab American Studies. . . . A touchstone collection!”"—Keith P. Feldman, author of A Shadow over Palestine: The Imperial Life of Race in America
"This impressive and beautifully organized volume breaks new ground in defining and crystallizing the field of Arab American women studies. . . . A must read and a key reference point in the field."—Mounira Maya Charrad, associate professor, University of Texas in Austin
"This thought-provoking collection will leave readers with a deeper understanding of issues including immigration, war, surveillance, and community. It will spark important conversations about the interplay of ethnicity, class, and gender for many years to come."—Nadine Sinno, associate professor of Arabic, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
"Through innovative approaches to archival research, keen analysis, and incisive theoretical frameworks, this collection offers new insights into the lives and labor of Arab American women, the gendered discourses about them, and their feminist activism and literary production. . . .an indispensable contribution to Arab American studies."—Pauline Homsi Vinson, co-founder Arab American Studies Association
"With new archives, new analyses, and an unparalleled collection of scholars, this volume is a critical intervention into the growing field of Arab American studies."—Matthew Jaber Stiffler, Research Manager, Arab American National Museum
"An outstanding volume on Arab American Women -- their labor histories, writing, activism and struggles. This volume is indispensable for scholars of gender and immigration."—Fida Adely, Clovis and Hala Maksoud Chair in Arab Studies, Georgetown University
Description
Arab American women have played an essential role in shaping their homes, their communities, and their country for centuries. Their contributions, often marginalized academically and culturally, are receiving long- overdue attention with the emerging interdisciplinary field of Arab American women’s studies. The collected essays in this volume capture the history and significance of Arab American women, addressing issues of migration, transformation, and reformation as these women invented occupations, politics, philosophies, scholarship, literature, arts, and, ultimately, themselves. Arab American women brought culture and absorbed culture; they brought relationships and created relationships; they brought skills and talents and developed skills and talents. They resisted inequities, refused compliance, and challenged representation. They engaged in politics, civil society, the arts, education, the market, and business. And they told their own stories. These histories, these genealogies, these narrations that are so much a part of the American experiment are chronicled in this volume, providing an indispensable resource for scholars and activists.
About the Author
Michael W. Suleiman was a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Political Science at Kansas State University. He is the author of numerous books, including Arab Americans: Continuity and Change.
Suad Joseph is Distinguished Research Professor of Anthropology and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at the University of California, Davis. She is the editor of Arab Family Studies: Critical Reviews.
Louise Cainkar is Professor of Sociology and Social Welfare and Justice at Marquette University. She is the author of Homeland Insecurity: The Arab American and Muslim American Experience After 9/11, and co-editor of Sajjilu Arab American: A Reader in SWANA Studies.
Related Interest
December 2021