Janan Shouhayib ’16 is a psychology major and an English and global Islamic studies double minor. Her thesis, “Narratives of Biculturalism: Arab-American Identity Negotiation Post 9/11,” looks at “the identity development of Arab-American youth” in an “environment where the Arab World is demonized and ‘Othered,’ especially after 9/11.” The College Voice was able to speak to Shouhayib about her work over the past year.
The College Voice: So what inspired you to research on this topic?
Janan Shouhayib:
When we turn on the news, we are constantly flooded with stories of Islamic terrorism and Western victims. We see this in the presidential elections of 2016 and pop culture as well, such as the movie Argo, which won 3 Academy Awards in 2012. These antagonized relations can be internalized by the Arab-Americans and affect their identity development. Since I am an Arab-American myself, I was interested in how Arab-Americans are forced to negotiate their bicultural identity and their psychological welfare.
The thesis was separated in two main parts: background research and looking into the identities of Arab-Americans through surveys, interviews and artwork. So I first looked into different texts on identity development, starting with mid-20th Century thinkers. They perceived identity development as universally similar. However, the postmodern thinkers claimed identity development as, in fact, deeply affected by the socio-political context through their development. In the end, I decided to settle with the framework that identity development was not a universal process, but rather culturally contextualized.
The second part of my research involved looking into the history of Arab-Americans, focusing on immigration policies and what it means to be an Arab, because the term is a heavily contested one. There are 22 Arabic speaking countries, and the term is usually conflated with Middle-Easterners and Muslims. One of the texts my research is centered around is Edward Said’s Orientalism. In the text, he describes the East, particularly the Middle-East, as having been described in Western discourse as being exotic and feminine, based on larger power structure based on Western colonialism and hegemony. This “Othering” intensified post 9/11, where the media constantly depicted the Arab world as enemies of the US.
I interviewed 14 Arab Americans. I was able to gather a fairly diverse group of people, from Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Iraq. The interview included discussion of the quantitative parts from surveys and an examination into the harmony of bicultural identities; the qualitative interview featured open-ended questions on how Arab Americans perceive their own identity. I also conducted a qualitative artwork study where I asked participants to draw a visual representation of their Arab-American identity. Since I expected everyone to feel a sense of tension in being Arab-American, it surprised me that about half of the participants said that they felt ease being Arab-Americans. Participants seemed proud of their identity. So the conclusion I reached was the importance of not homogenizing the immigrants because there is huge diversity within these communities. It is not only that they are Arab-American that affects their identity development, but gender, sexuality and race (not just physical/phenotypical, but experiential) play a role.
TCV: What was the experience of writing an honor’s thesis like?
JS: It was amazing because, as Dean Singer described it, the thesis was a “MeSearch” rather than research, especially in my case because I researched my own history and identity and got a chance to look into where I fit in a larger political narrative and historical context. Also, because Arab-American history is often not taught in classes, it was nice to feel that I was doing something that is lacking in academia. Actually, this semester, all the courses I am taking are studies of the Arab-World, and the experience of being able to finally discuss about myself is amazing.
TCV: Any advice for people thinking about doing an honors thesis?
JS: I would say do something that you are mad passionate about. While 100 pages may sound like a lot, because you have almost the whole year to do it, if the topic you are doing is something that you are extremely motivated in doing, it is not difficult at all. I mean, it was a lot of work, but at the same time it was thoroughly enjoyable. If you have the chance, I think you should definitely do an honors thesis.
TCV: Thank you for sharing an amazing and inspiring story.
JS: Thank you for interviewing me. It’s a pleasure to talk about something I feel so passionate about. •
