Highlighting Diverse Collections: Arab American Heritage Month
April is National Arab American Heritage Month, and this year the Arab American Foundation has chosen “Celebrating Arab American Resilience and Diversity” as the theme of the month.
Across the United States, cultural institutions, school districts, municipalities, state legislatures, public servants, and non-profit organizations issue proclamations and engage in special events that celebrate the Arab American community’s rich heritage and numerous contributions to society. The following are some excellent works from the UT Libraries’ collections that highlight the creativity, dedication, and––oftentimes––struggle of the Arab American community.
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A Map of Home is the coming-of-age tale of Nidali, the rebellious daughter of an Egyptian-Greek mother and a Palestinian father, in Kuwait, Egypt, and Texas. Set during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, and with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as a larger backdrop, the novel depicts the struggles of Nidali and her family, exploring the question of what "home" means.
Telling Our Story is a rich visual and narrative collection celebrating the history, culture, and diversity of the Arab American community. The volume chronicles the founding of the Arab American National Museum from several viewpoints, and offers a detailed tour through the museum's three thematic installations in words and photographs. "Coming to America" examines the history of Arab American immigration from 1500 until the present, with an emphasis on immigration since the 1880s. "Living in America" focuses on the life of Arab Americans in the United States during different historical periods. Finally, "Making an Impact" tells the story of hundreds of Arab American individuals and organizations whose contributions have influenced our way of life.
The Arab American Almanac is a comprehensive reference book about Arab Americans. A project led by Joseph R. Haiek, the Almanac is sponsored by the Arab American Historical Foundation and seeks to provide accurate and practical reference sources about Arab Americans, including acknowledgment and perpetuation of their culture, history and society. It is worth noting that the word “Almanac” is an Arabic word (al-manākh), meaning climate or state/condition. The Almanac includes twelve chapters: Arab American history, Arab contributions to world civilization, the Kahlil Gibran literary group, organizations, religious institutions, the press, Who’s Who among Arab Americans, profiles of the Arab world and the U.S.A., Arab American achievements and contributions, Arabic language, bibliography, tables, addresses, websites and hundreds of photos.
Steven Salaita highlights the development of several best-selling Arab American authors’ writing and how each has influenced Arab American fiction. He examines common themes including the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Lebanese Civil War of 1975-90, the representation and practice of Islam in the United States, social issues such as gender and national identity in Arab cultures, and the various identities that come with being Arab American. The authors explored in this volume include Rabih Alameddine, Mohja Kahf, Laila Halaby, Diana Abu-Jaber, Alicia Erian, and Randa Jarrar.
“Four Arab American Plays is the first published collection of plays by contemporary Arab American playwrights. Based on true stories from her life as the daughter of a Lebanese mother and American diplomat father, Leila Buck’s ISite invites the audience on an intimate journey in search of identity, home, and the space in between. Jamil Khoury’s drama Precious Stones boldly examines the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the ‘safe’ yet turbulent terrain of the American Diaspora. Yussef El Guindi’s Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat is a darkly humorous and sensual look at identity, media-representation, love and lust in the Arab American community. In Lameece Issaq and Jacob Kader’s Food and Fadwa, a Palestinian family living under occupation fights to hold onto their culture and traditions while still celebrating love, joy and hope. A preface by Arab American scholar Michael Malek Najjar and a new essay titled ‘Towards an Arab American Theatre Movement’ by Silk Road Rising’s artistic director, Jamil Khoury, concludes the book—a valuable expression of Arab American life and theatre in the United States.”
Black-Arab political and cultural solidarity has had a long and rich history in the United States. In Breaking Broken English, Michelle Hartman explores the historical and current manifestations of this relationship through language and literature, with a specific focus on Arab American literary works that use the English language creatively to put into practice many of the theories and ideas advanced by Black American thinkers. Hartman shows how language is the location where literary and poetic beauty meet the political in creative work. She shows how political and cultural ideas of solidarity are written in creative texts and emphasizes their potential to mobilize social justice activists in the United States and abroad.
These two books by comic artist and writer Huda Fahmy are funny and intimate explorations of what it means to ask: who am I? In Huda F are you?, Huda and her family have just moved to Dearborn, Michigan, a small town with a big Muslim population. In her old town, Huda knew exactly who she was: She was the hijabi girl. But in Dearborn, everyone is the hijabi girl. Huda is lost in a sea of hijabis, and she can’t rely on her hijab to define her anymore. She has to figure out who she is for herself.
In the sequel, Huda F cares?, Huda and her sisters nearly burst with excitement when her parents announce their family vacation to DISNEY WORLD! Unfortunately, it doesn’t turn out to be a totally perfect vacation. First, Huda has to deal with her annoying sisters for the whole car ride from Michigan to Florida. Then, she can’t help but notice the people staring at her and her family when they pray in public. Back home in Dearborn, she and her family blend in easily because there are so many other Muslim families; but not so much in Florida and along the way. Huda is forced to examine why she cares so much about what people think about her and her family.
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