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Beyond the Label: Arab American Faces, Places, and Traces

Fri, 04/04/2014 - 3:00pm to Mon, 04/07/2014 - 12:45pm

About the Conference:
The label “Arab American” is imbued with layered meanings within both academic settings and public arenas. Variously embraced, sometimes contested, often redefined, Arab American identity constructions have been influenced by historical factors, discourses of self-identification, and normative processes of data collection. Foremost in promoting understanding of the changing nature of the Arab American label have been influential works by archivists and historians such as Alixa Naff, whose contributions to archiving Arab American history include a collection of oral histories and artifacts that she catalogued and donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History in Washington DC. Her preeminent publication, Becoming American: The Early Arab-American Experience, remains a pioneering and influential history of Arab Americans.

Panel themes include:
Arab American Feminist Studies; Early Visions of Arabs in America; Arabs on Screen and Stage; Arabs as Ethnic Minorities in the United States; Arab Americans Writers; Religion, Race, and Class; and Transnationalism in Aram American Identity

Keynote Address:
Suad Joseph, Distinguished Professor, University of California, Davis

Lodging:
A discounted conference rate of $89.00/night is available by calling the award-winning Comfort Inn Near Greenfield Village (20061 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, MI, 48124) at 313.436.9600 and asking for the “AANM rate.” Complimentary ground transportation will be provided between the hotel and the museum.

Registration:
Conference Registration $125.00 / $35.00 for students*

*Students presenting at the conference can receive a further discounted rate of $25. Please contact Matthew Jaber Stiffler (mstiffler@accesscommunity.org).

Student registration fees subsidized by a generous donation from Prof. Suad Joseph

The registration fee includes a Friday evening reception, breakfast and lunch on Saturday and Sunday, and the keynote dinner on Saturday evening.

Download the conference program.

Complete conference program available in March.

Other conference highlights:

  • A presentation about the AANM’s free digital educational resources.
  • A special Friday evening cultural event (separate ticket required).
  • Book vendors from NYU and Syracuse Univ. Presses.

To become a member of the Arab American Studies Association, please click HERE.