Project Details
Description
Middle Eastern and North Africans (MENA) individuals are one of the most visible yet
understudied groups in the United States. They are victims of hate crimes, stereotyped as terrorists, and
subjected to heightened governmental surveillance and restrictive travel policies. Consequently, many are
surprised to learn MENA individuals have been legally classified as white since 1909. Whenever MENA
individuals are asked to legally classify themselves or answer demographic questions on forms, they have
little choice but to choose the white category. This has precluded serious scholarship on MENA
individuals, who are either subsumed into the white category or identified by proxy as Muslims (most of
whom are South and East-Asian). This is also a missed opportunity to isolate how MENA individuals
negotiate their ancestral, racial, and religious identities along with the sources of discrimination they face.
My research shows that MENA identity sits at the intersection between racial and religious lines.
Accordingly, this proposal includes two surveys, in-depth interviews to study this identity from two
different perspectives: the societal and the individual.
Status | Finished |
---|---|
Effective start/end date | 4/19/22 → 9/30/23 |
Funding
- Rapoport Family Foundation (Award Letter 4/19/22)
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