Thesis (M.A.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Arts - Department of English

Arab American literature is commonly described as the literary works written by Arab immigrants living in the United States and/or Americans of Arab descent. Despite their deep- rooted history of immigration in the American history, along with their century-long tradition of literary production, Arab Americans have constantly suffered invisibility and/or racism and prejudice, besides negative categorization in American culture and mainstream media. Contesting such debilitating stereotypes in addition to resolving the composite identities have consequently intrigued Arab American writers to address these key issues in their writings. Furthermore, Arab American Muslim women in particular have had yet a more difficult challenge following the September 11 terrorist attacks; especially with all the attention, curiosity, and criticism they have been subjected to. Through her Paterson Prize nominated first poetry volume, Emails from Scheherazad (2003), contemporary Arab-American Muslim writer and feminist scholar, Mohja Kahf tackles the question of identity and the imposed state of {u2018}othering{u2019} upon Arab American Muslim women in the United States

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