ARAB 219
Arabs in America: A Survey Spring 2013
Division I
Cross-listed AMST 219 / COMP 219
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

Arabs have been a part of the tapestry of the United States since the early 19th century. As immigrants to the new world, the identity of this community has largely been defined by changing American understandings of race, ethnicity, and religion. The in-betweenness of this minority group–not exactly white or black, claiming Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths–and the often contradictory nature of U.S. involvement in the region, has only further confounded Americans in their understanding of this diverse community. This course will use an interdisciplinary approach to explore the rich histories, representations, and cultural production of this American minority group. For the purposes of this survey, we will also consider the narratives of other Muslim minority groups (i.e., Iranians, Pakistanis, Indians, and African American Muslims) within the scope of the Arab American experience. We will look at poems and stories from Arab immigrants in the early to mid 20th century (e.g., the Mahjar poets) and consider, in the context of these writings, issues of xenophobia, assimilation, linguistic, and cultural difference, and Arab American identity in the context of other ethnic groups. Throughout this course we will continue to think about how changing U.S. geo-political interests in the region alter perceptions of Arabs and Muslims in our midst (considering, for example, the 1979 Revolution in Iran and the subsequent hostage crisis, the two Gulf Wars, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, 9/11, Afghanistan, the War on Terror, and Guantanamo). In addition, we will examine representations of this minority and Islam more generally in the media and popular culture (print and broadcast journalism, films, cartoons, popular songs, and videos), as well as Arab cultural forms that seek to self-narrate the Arab experience for an American viewer. At the heart of this course is a desire to not only shed light on what it means to be an Arab or a Muslim or an immigrant, but also to understand the multiple ways in which we conceptualize and seek to define what it means to be American.
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 25
Expected: 15-20
Class#: 3300
Grading: yes pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: active participation, two shorter papers, occasional responses, a presentation, and a final paper
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: Arabic Studies majors, Comparative Literature and Literary Studies majors, and American Studies majors
Unit Notes: meets Division 1 requirement if registration is under ARAB and COMP; meets Divistion 2 requirement if registration is under AMST
Distributions: Division I
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
ARAB 219 Division I AMST 219 Division II COMP 219 Division I
Attributes: ARAB Arabic Studies Electives

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