Rachel Tan

Arab-Am. Culture
2/24/13
Option 1
Arab-American Culture: Midterm I
1. Explain the causes of early Arab immigration to the United States.
Early Arab immigration to the United States began around the 16th century, and has
continued to increase over the years. The causes of this early immigration included making
political and commercial missions, avoiding the power of the Ottoman army, escaping natural
disasters, looking for economic opportunities, pursing education, and following the inspiration
from the Protestant missionaries. The political and commercial missions were originally
temporary reasons to travel across the ocean with no intent of staying in America, but the
opportunity was so great that many stayed and immigration increased. A second reason was the
power of the Ottoman was overwhelming the citizens. The army needed more members (no
matter the age), and many people feared their families would be forced to give up their husbands
and sons to the draft. A third reason was natural causes; the amount of earthquakes, civil
disturbances, and epidemics were disastrous in many areas of Greater Syria. A fourth reason was
economic opportunity. The Arab immigrants were searching for ways to support their families,
and Americans reacted with enthusiasm to the cultural products of the peddlers. Many
immigrants were able to make a decent living that they could share with their families back home
to pay debts or even to bring more family over to America. A fifth reason could be seen as a
combination of the pursuit of education and inspiration from the Protestant missionaries.
Missionaries were sent to Lebanon and Palestine, and there they built more centers of learning.
This inspired many Arabs to immigrate to the U.S. to continue to expand their education. In
addition to these causes, an unintentional cause of the increased immigration was the Protestant
missionaries created a curiosity within the Arab people to want to know more about the
American culture and experience it first-hand.
2. What effect did the activities of American missionary groups in the Arab World have on
Arab immigration?
The activities of American missionary groups in the Arab World had a huge impact on
Arab immigration in several ways. For example, there were Protestant missions sent to Lebanon
and Palestine. These missionaries respected and heavily interacted with the people of different
religions in Greater Syria and were non-exploitive to the people; they only wanted to do good for
them. Their contributions were new schools and hospitals, sponsored translation of the Bible
into Arabic, and the bringing over and perfection of the Arabic printing press. All of these
contributions inspired and influenced the Arabic people. The focus on learning increased the
want for education in the people. This meant many more people wanted to go where the
Protestants received their education so that they would be able to obtain it at the same level.
Also, the people wanted to know more about the American civilization so that they would be
able to assimilate to the culture better. The pursuit of education increased immigration, and once
the people learned more about American culture, they felt more comfortable about actually
making the journey to America. Even the simple idea of American culture increased
immigration because many people wanted to experience the American-life first-hand without just

Rachel Tan
Arab-Am. Culture
2/24/13
Option 1
hearing and learning about it. The missionaries inspired the Arabic people to immigrate and look
at America as a source of opportunity.
3. How did the American Civil War and the 1862 Homestead Act affect Arab immigration?
The American Civil War and the 1862 Homestead Act affected Arab immigration by
increasing it. Both of these major events in U.S. history created more opportunity for
immigrants to succeed in a new life, but they did this in different ways. The 1862 Homestead
Act granted the opportunity for anyone older than 21 who had never taken up arms against the
U.S. government to apply for a federal land grant. This land was meant to be used for farming,
and the Arab immigrants could create a new life with the new land. There was a good
opportunity to make a living off the land. On the other side of the spectrum, the American Civil
War was a time of Northern versus Southern hostility, and many who participated in the fighting
were killed by their fellow citizens. With many people off at war and in the fighting, the number
of workers in the factories decreased. This created room for more Arab immigrants to have jobs
in the factories and become factory workers. Through the creation of easily accessible federal
land grants and vacancies in factory positions, the Arab people were given more of an incentive
to move to America. The incentive gave them comfort to believe that they would be able to find
a way to support their family after they moved.
4. Explain the advantages of peddling by early Arab men and women immigrants and the
reasons for its eventual decline.
Early Arab men and women immigrants took up peddling as their job because of the
advantages that it provided. Peddlers created exhibits to sell things, and walked around from
house to house with bags of goods on their shoulders to sell. The advantages of peddling
included the number of possible customers, the enthusiasm of the customers to buy cultural
products, and it was a means of making money. Since the peddlers could move from house to
house, they were able to cover many areas and sell to many different types of people. The
Americans were interested in the peddlers because the goods they sold were different than the
American goods. The people were interested in the cultural products, so the response was
usually successful. It gave an opportunity for the Arab immigrants to make a living by selling
their homemade products, and the American people were able to buy a variety of things.
Peddling was advantageous for women because it allowed them to immigrant and make a life of
their own instead of depending only on men. These advantages included the exposure to
American culture that helped the peddlers/immigrants to better assimilate. However, there was a
decline in peddling because of the arrival of department stores and mail orders. The department
stores offered items, gadgets, and commodities that interested the American people who were
originally the customers of the peddlers. Mail orders also gave people an easier way to buy
things. These two factors eventually ran the peddlers out of business.

Rachel Tan
Arab-Am. Culture
2/24/13
Option 1
5. Explain how the English language can serve as a metaphor for cultural diversity in the
United States.
The English language can serve as a metaphor for cultural diversity in the United States
because it consists of a mix of foreign influence, just like how the United States is an ethnically
diverse country. Foreign influence means that other countries have affected the development of
the history of both the language and the countrys population. Several words in the English
language have been borrowed from other languages. Many stems of English words are Latin,
French, German, or Greek. Other than just parts of words, complete words have been intermixed
into the English language. For example, the words checkmate and a check from a restaurant
were borrowed from Arabic. These words started off as Arabic words, were borrowed by the
French in the Old French language, and then the English language adopted these words. As these
words were transferred between languages, small changes were made to better suit the people
speaking them. This is why the words did not directly transfer over as having the exact same
structure, spelling, and sound. They do have similar meanings, however, because the Arabic
word that sounds like checkmate means the king is dead and the Arabic word that sounds like
check means bill. The foreign influence that has helped develop the English language can be a
metaphor for cultural diversity in the United States because there is a highly diverse population
here. The United States has been called the melting pot of the world because there is no set
American ethnicity. In the U.S., populations of different ethnicities can be found anywhere all
living in the same general vicinity. In many other countries, a few ethnicities at most (other than
the native ethnicity) can be found in large portions. The melting pot of cultures in the U.S. is just
like the melting pot of languages in the English language.
6. Explain the role of civic participation in the process of assimilation.
The role of civic participation has had a huge role in the process of assimilation.
Assimilation into a different culture has put stress on immigrants because they may not
understand the same social cues and languages that their new country uses. However, civic
participation can help to ease the discomfort that many immigrants feel during this process.
Civic participation means participating in the actions that citizens have rights to. For example,
many immigrants will clump together and form their own political groups. By doing this, they
are able to represent those groups of people that are similar to them. They can help to pass laws
that will benefit the needs and wants of their fellow citizens. Also, through this representation,
they can give a voice to the groups of immigrants and foreigners that may be discriminated
against on a day-to-day basis. Another way to take part in civic participation is by voting. Those
who are trying to assimilate can use their right to vote to elect someone who they believe can
take action on the issues that they feel will better their lives. They may vote for someone of their
similar ethnicity because they know the struggles that the immigrants are facing, or they may
vote for a different candidate whose platform involves fixing issues that the immigrants face. By
participating in these activities, the process of assimilation could become more comfortable and
less tiresome.

Rachel Tan
Arab-Am. Culture
2/24/13
Option 1
7. Explain the differences in the approaches of the isolationist and integrationists to
stereotyping and identity.
There are several differences in the approaches of the isolationists and integrationists to
stereotyping and identity. For starters, isolationists are generally considered to be the most
recent immigrants, and integrationists are generally considered to be the mostly assimilated
immigrants such as the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generations. They have different approaches because the
isolationists are new to the country and plan to maintain their ethnic traditions, while the
integrationists have already tried to assimilate and plan to try and stay blended into American
culture. The isolationists are driven by their desire to transmit their cultural identity to the next
generation, and integrationists are driven by their desire to gain acceptance by mainstream
American through cultural and political institutions. The isolationists follow the stereotypes of
being Arabic because they work to keep their traditions of marriage patterns and family structure.
The integrationists follow the stereotypes of being American because they try to blend in with
mainstream culture. Many have gained the acceptance they wanted; they have made several
contributions to the American society and hold powerful, influential leadership positions.
Isolationists follow the identity keeping their ethnic backgrounds known, while integrationists
follow the identity of conforming to American culture and not outwardly showing their ethnic
traditions.
8. What is the positive implication in the Department of English at Ohio Wesleyan
University rejecting the proposal to have Arab American literature taught in the
Department of Humanities and Classics?
The positive implication in the Department of English at Ohio Wesleyan University
rejecting the proposal to have Arab American literature taught in the Department of Humanities
and Classics is that they considered it to be mainstream English literature. By rejecting this
proposal, there was the implication that the Arab American literature would be taught in an
English class. The writings by Arab American authors would be represented in the same fashion
as all of the English novels, essays, articles, and other texts. This is a big deal because it shows
that the Arab American culture has greatly influenced the English culture. Without the
separation between English writings and Arab American authored writings, the university
recognized the importance of keeping the two taught together. The recognition of the two as
falling under the same category shows that the gap between the two cultures has begun to close.
There is less acknowledgement of the differences and more of a realization that they can be
grouped together. The mainstream American literature has accepted the Arab American authored
literature to be part of itself, rather than as completely separate things.
9. How does the Ahmad anecdote/joke [whats in a name?] discussed in class relate to the
short story The Spiced Chicken Queen?
The Ahmad anecdote/joke discussed in class relates to the short story The Spiced

Rachel Tan
Arab-Am. Culture
2/24/13
Option 1
Chicken Queen because the main characters in both stories used the discrimination and
suspicion of the Arab culture by American citizens in a beneficial way; they twisted the harsh
treatment of their cultures in a way that ended up solving their problems. In the Ahmad
anecdote/joke, the two main characters were a father and a son that were sending letters and
emails back and forth. The father was talking about his garden with his son and how he needed
to have the dirt moved around and dug up so that he could successfully grow his tomatoes. His
son was not able to personally show up and help his father, but he called the police and said that
a weapon was buried in the old Arab mans backyard. The police, hearing that the Arab man
had a weapon, were afraid that the man was plotting something destructive, so they rushed to the
house and dug up the backyard. There was no sign of a weapon and they left. However, the old
man was able to grow his garden now because his backyard was dug up and the dirt turnover,
just like he needed it to be. In The Spice Chicken Queen, an Arab woman was trying to get out
of an abusive relationship with her husband with the help of a psychologist and the police. She
decided she did not want to press the charges against her husband anymore because she feared he
would still harm her, and he did not end up changing his ways either. This story takes place
during the time of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, so the clever wife called the police and accused
her husband of being affiliated with the attacks, so he was taken away and she was free of him.
Both of these stories play on the suspicion of the Arab American people. In the first story, the
son knew the police would be concerned of an Arab man with a possible hidden weapon, and in
the second one, the wife knew the accusation of affiliation with the terrorist attacks would be
taken very seriously.
10. How do American politics/foreign policy and the media/film industry impact upon the
identity of Arab-Americans? How does the concept of Orientalism explain this impact?
American politics/foreign policy and the media/film industry impact upon the identity of
Arab-Americans by portraying them as terrorists, bombers, the bad guys, relentless, and
dangerous to American society. Politics and foreign policy deal with the war over in the east and
the laws passed in our country. These create suspicions among the American people, and
discrimination ensues. In the war, the Arab countries are viewed as the bad guys, so people are
afraid of even the innocent Arabs living in the United States. There have even been
discrimination laws passed. This harsh treatment and uncalled for suspicion has also impacted
the media/film industry on the portrayal of the identity of Arab-Americans. With the fear of
Arab people and the war going on, movies heartlessly show Arab people as always being the
terrorists that are ruthless and warlike, always plotting against America. However, these
portrayals are not true to the actual identity of the Arab-American people that do not have any
participation in these harmful events. The accusations made by American politics/foreign policy
and the media/film industry lead people to believe that all Arab people, including ArabAmericans, are anti-America. Also, the concept of Orientalism clearly explains the impact
described above. Orientalism pertains to how western writers see the East. The portrayal of
Arab people in these orientalism writings add to the suspicion that there is no evidence for. The
country needs to learn that not every Arab person is against the American lifestyle and mean
harm toward the American people.