The Situated Expression of Arab Collective Identities in the United States

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

This qualitative inquiry explores how self-identified Arabs living in the United States express their collective identities in talk. Twenty-one participant observations, 50 interviews, and 4 group discussions were conducted with first- and second-generation Arabs of Druze, Muslim, and Christian faiths. Identity labels were identified as a means of communication for expressing collective identities. The participants in this study identified themselves as a heterogeneous group with intersecting and evolving collective identities that were affirmed and refuted in social interactions. Self-identification as “Arab,”“Arab American,”“Muslim,” or “Iraqi” depended on such situational factors as audience, physical setting, and September 11. Although some respondents dropped the label “Arab” after September 11 to avoid discrimination, others started to self-identify as “Arab American.” The findings add to the literature on culture, identity, and communication by illustrating the importance of identity terms for personal and communal relationships, problematizing the definition of large identity groups a priori as ethnic, national, or cultural, describing the social and communicative consequences of self- and other-ascribed identities, and highlighting the impact of September 11 on Arab identity expressions in the United States.