Arab American Youth in Perspective

The September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States brought new attention to Muslim Arab American communities and highlighted how little we know about these communities, the Middle East, our own foreign policy, and national and local security. Although these issues are beyond the scope of our scholarly activities, many of us conduct research in schools that include Arab American students, or deal with issues of diversity in our work. Drawing on my experience as an educational anthropologist whose research centers on youth cultures and literacy studies, I provide in this column a brief overview of Arab immigration from the Middle East to the US and describe the impact Muslim Arab youth have had on public schools