Leiden University Student Repository

Swarts, Kristine (2017)

The Formation of Arab-American Identity in a Public School in Post-9/11 America: The Case of Fordson High School in Dearborn, Michigan

Bachelor thesis | Midden-Oostenstudies (BA)

In present-day America, the issue of whether or not Arab immigrants and communities will assimilate into mainstream American culture is at the forefront of political discussions and media presentations. By using the school setting of Fordson High School in Dearborn, Michigan—where the student population consists of 95% Arabs of American descent (ArDs) and 90% Muslims—to analyze identity formation in terms of Americanism, ethnicity/race, gender, and religion, the answer to this encompassing question begins to be understood. Using interviews and participant observation, this study analyzes the complexity of an Arab-American identity within a post-9/11 America, drawing attention to the intricacies of how ArDs identify specific attributes, actions, and values and how the school communities shapes these in this post-9/11 era. From this information, I analyzed how Fordson acts both actively and passively to influence the identities of its students and staff.

Arab-American

High School

Identity

Identity Formation

Author

Swarts, Kristine

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

MA

Supervisors

Welmoet, Boender

ECTS Credits

25

Language

en