Narrating Arab American History

The Peddling Thesis

Bibliographic Data

ID11660944
AuthorsCharlotte Karem Albrecht (0000-0001-8701-0348, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume37
Issue1
Publication date2015-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArab Studies Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0271-3519 • E-ISSN: 2043-6920
PublisherPluto Journals (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.13169/arabstudquar.37.1.0100
OpenAlexW834905651
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited17

Alixa Naff's book Becoming American: The Early Arab Immigrant Experience is a foundational text for Arab American studies. Becoming American centered the voices of first- and second-generation Arab Americans through Naff's extensive use of oral histories. In large part due to Naff's work, pack peddling has had a central place in Arab American historical narratives as being the key to the early Syrian immigrants' integration into US society. This article shows how the claim that peddling facilitated assimilation is dependent upon certain ideological currents regarding race, class, gender, and sexuality. Then, I situate Naff's work within the context of US immigration history and liberal multiculturalism. I revisit the importance of Naff's work in order to show how the study of race, gender, class, and sexuality is crucial for understanding early Arab American history

Art · Context (archaeology · Human sexuality · Ideology · Immigration · Literature · Multiculturalism · Narrative · Oral history · Political science · Politics · Race (biology · Sociology · Anthropology · Asian American and Pacific Histories · Gender Studies · History · Latin American and Latino Studies · Law · Race, History, and American Society

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