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

In the light of Gloria Anzaldua{u2019}s Borderlands theory, the proposed dissertation aims at conducting a comparative study of Naomi Shihab Nye{u2019}s poetry and Manal El Deeb{u2019}s paintings, scrutinizing their personal experiences as Palestinian American artists living between borders. The study will focus on their representations of homeland and their multi-cultural identities, examining the process of crossing borders between their ancestral homeland and the current country they live in, and their historical identities and their daily-lived experiences in different cultures. The dissertation will seek to highlight how both artists destabilize fixed notions of identity, exile, belonging and homeland, while creating and rewriting their own identities/stories to map the homeland. Hence, the phrase 2crossing the border3 used in this study is not a physical act of crossing from one side to another, but rather, it is more of crossing it out as it becomes a bridge connecting both sides, and claiming existence within both{u2014}or more{u2014} realities/cultures. This study will utilize an interdisciplinary approach that will combine cultural studies, border theory, postcolonial theory and exile studies

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