Table Of ContentContemporary Arab-American Literature
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Contemporary
Arab-American Literature
Transnational Reconfigurations
of Citizenship and Belonging
carol fadda-conrey
a
New York University Press
new york and london
new york university press
New York and London
www.nyupress.org
©2014 by New York University
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fadda-Conrey, Carol.
Contemporary Arab-American literature : transnational reconfigurations of
citizenship and belonging / Carol Fadda-Conrey.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4798-2692-6 (hardback)
ISBN 978-1-4798-0431-3 (pb)
1. American literature—Arab American authors—History and criticism.
2. Identity (Psychology) in literature. 3. Alienation (Social psychology) in
literature. 4. Homeland in literature. 5. Arab Americans in literature. 6. Arabs
in literature. 7. Arab countries—In literature. I. Title.
PS153.A73F34 2014
810.9’8927—dc23
2013049739
References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs
that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their
binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. We strive to use
environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the greatest extent
possible in publishing our books.
Manufactured in the United States of America
10987654321
Also available as an ebook
A book in the American Literatures Initiative (ALI), a collaborative
publishing project of NYU Press, Fordham University Press, Rutgers
University Press, Temple University Press, and the University of Virginia
Press. The Initiative is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
For more information, please visit www.americanliteratures.org.
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: Transnational Arab-American Belonging 1
1 Reimagining the Ancestral Arab Homeland 28
2 To the Arab Homeland and Back:
Narratives of Returns and Rearrivals 65
3 Translocal Connections between the US and the Arab World 105
4 Representing Arabs and Muslims in the US after 9/11:
Gender, Religion, and Citizenship 139
Conclusion: Transnational Solidarity and the Arab Uprisings 177
Notes 189
Works Cited 217
Index 237
About the Author 244
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Acknowledgments
This book has traveled with me from one home to another, crisscrossing
back and forth between Beirut, Indiana, Philadelphia, and Syracuse. I
have been extremely fortunate to have the support of many people in
these different places, without whom this project would not have been
possible. I am grateful for the thoughtfulness and generosity of Apara-
jita Sagar, who first guided me through this project when it was still at
the dissertation stage, and for the input and feedback of John Duvall,
Shaun Hughes, and Nancy Peterson at Purdue University. Special thanks
go to Siobhan Somerville, who was instrumental in helping me survive
my first year of graduate school and who encouraged me to write about
Arab-American literature.
Several colleagues and friends offered advice and feedback on various
drafts of the book, enriching and focusing my arguments every step of
the way. For that I thank Keith Feldman, Amy Kallander, Nouri Gana,
Lisa Suhair Majaj, Susan Muaddi Darraj, Jesse Nissim, Dana Olwan,
Therí Pickens, Steven Salaita, and the English Department Faculty
Writing Group at Syracuse University, including Manan Desai, Susan
Edmunds, Mike Goode, Roger Hallas, Chris Hanson, Kevin Morrison,
Patricia Roylance, and Stephanie Shirilan. Any errors in the book, how-
ever, are completely my own. I would like to thank Crystal Bartolov-
ich, Steven Cohan, Mike Goode, Roger Hallas, Claudia Klaver, Scott
Lyons, and Erin Mackie for their professional advice and guidance.
Scholars and artists in the Arab and Arab-American community pro-
vided me with a much-needed sense of connection that prevented me
viii / acknowledgments
from writing in isolation, and for that I am especially grateful to Rabab
Abdulhadi, Maysa Abu Youssef Hayward, Layla Al Maleh, Deborah Al-
Najjar, Evelyn Alsultany, Amal Amireh, Zeina Azzam, Carol Barden-
stein, Lana Barkawi, Leila Ben-Nasr, Yussef El Guindi, Sirène Harb,
Waïl Hassan, Syrine Hout, Pauline Homsi Vinson, Amira Jarmakani,
Randa Jarrar, Mohja Kahf, Randa Kayyali, Jamil Khoury, Khaled Mat-
tawa, Phil Metres, Susan Muaddi Darraj, Nadine Naber, Hedy Sabbagh
Habra, Steven Salaita, Laila Shereen Sakr, the late Michael Suleiman, and
Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán. A big thank-you goes to Lisa Suhair Majaj,
whose kindness and thoughtfulness pulled me through some difficult
moments. I am much indebted to her pioneering scholarship on Arab-
American literature. I would also like to acknowledge the generous spirit
of the late Evelyn Shakir, whose encouragement and groundbreaking
work I am deeply grateful for.
The time provided by a Future of Minority Studies Fellowship in spring
2011 was crucial, allowing me to think and to focus on my writing. I am
deeply grateful for the mentorship of Chandra Talpade Mohanty and Sil-
vio Torres-Saillant during and well beyond the fellowship period. Silvio’s
questions helped me think deeper about minority labels and racialized
positionings, and Chandra’s support helped me build crucial solidarity
ties with other feminist and minority scholars within as well as outside
the Syracuse University community. A National Endowment for the
Humanities Summer Stipend in 2010 allowed me to make progress on
chapter 3, and the feedback I received on various sections of the book
that I presented at the Radius of Arab American Writers’ conferences,
as well as the Modern Language Association and Middle East Studies
Association conferences, were immensely helpful. I am also grateful to
the two anonymous reviewers whose feedback and suggestions helped
me produce a stronger book. Jesse Nissim’s discerning eye, editing skills,
and unfailing encouragement helped me make it through the final stage
of the book revisions. Many thanks go to Ruma Sinha and Sarah Barkin
for their work on copyedits and the index, respectively, and to the other
students in my graduate seminars who helped me think through many
of the ideas in this book. Much gratitude and thanks go to Eric Zinner at
New York University Press for believing in the manuscript and to Ciara
McLaughlin and Alicia Nadkarni for their diligence in seeing the project
through till the end.
The time I spent researching and writing this book would have been
much less bright and enjoyable were it not for the support and com-
panionship of friends and family members. For warmly opening their
acknowledgments / ix
homes to me and my family, and welcoming us into new communities,
I thank Jenny Spinner and Peter McGahey, Violette Farha Humsi and
Amal Humsi, Farha Ternikar and Travis Vande Berg, Mike Goode and
Jolynn Parker, and Amy Kallander. Their friendship has been crucial in
helping my family and me restart our lives in new places. For always hav-
ing her door and ear open to both good and bad news, for her art days,
and for her intellectual rigor and sense of wonder and fun, I thank Susan
Edmunds, who read and commented on every chapter of the book. The
late nights spent on campus writing would have been intolerable were it
not for the presence and friendship of Stephanie Shirilan. I owe much
to her and Ryan Howlett, as well as Katie Beckstrand, Amber Lough,
and Jim Lough, for granting me precious periods of uninterrupted work
while they entertained my kids. Much thanks and gratitude go to Lisa
Bunghalia, Jesse Nissim, Dana Olwan, and Gretchen Purser, whose food
and laughter enabled me to see the light at the end of the tunnel as I
finalized this project. Dana Olwan’s fierce sisterhood and sharp intel-
lect kept me grounded, reminding me that we make our own families
as much as we inherit them. Warm thanks and appreciation go to Farha
Ternikar, who always made sure that I left the work behind every once
in a while to have some fun and relax. I am also grateful for old friends
who continue to anchor me in the present while sharing a lot of the past.
Tamara Sawaya, Mona Rouayheb, Danielle Khouri, Zeina Misk, I am
so thankful for growing up with you physically, emotionally, and intel-
lectually. Tamara, your deep regard for the meaningful shaped my views
in formative ways.
My parents and sister were the first to believe in and support this jour-
ney. For showing me the beauty of books and reading early on, and for
teaching me the importance of humor, I thank my sister, Nada Fadda,
whose love and support are a huge part of my accomplishments. The
unconditional love of my parents, Wadad (Odette) Wehbe Fadda and
Nahi Fadda, is a constant source of encouragement. Their hard work
during long years of war and uncertainty taught me the value of per-
severance and integrity. Much appreciation goes to my in-laws, Phyllis
Conrey and Jim Conrey, as well as to my extended family in Lebanon
and in the US, whose support and love are always present with me despite
geographical distances.
The love and selflessness of my partner, Sean Conrey, are reflected in
every part of this book. Whether through reading various drafts, shoul-
dering parental duties, or journeying back and forth between the US and
Lebanon, Sean enabled me to inhabit this book in multiple ways, sharing
