SOC 100 UIC Experiences of Arab Americans Palestinians in The USA Paper

This topic is worth studying because Palestine is extremely overlooked in western society Palestinians are being erased from existence and no one is lifting a finger, so when it comes to sociology, I’m really interested in how this situation is affecting Palestinians’ childhoods residing in the united states and part of their adulthood. They are extremely underrepresented and always feel like they don’t belong, and they don’t have the same opportunities as a white person would. On demographic questions, they must pick “white” as their race. They always post information on social media and protest all the time, all with hopes of being seen as equal to everyone around them. This article will focus on what it is like growing up as an Arab and Muslim minority in the U.S. and then also narrow down and focus on Palestinian Americans. It will also discuss how living in the U.S. affects children’s mentality/identity at a young age, their opportunities, and how it shapes their futures.

I have also already found 5 sources out of the 10.

Naber, Nadine. 2000. “Ambiguous insiders: an investigation of Arab American invisibility.” Ethnic and Racial Studies, 23(1): 37–61.

• Examines how Arab Muslims are paradoxically classified within the community.
• Discussions about how Arab Americans are classified as white and non-white, Arabs are all considered muslims even though that is not true.
• They are usually associated with upper class whites, but discriminations makes them fall down the ladder.
• Main finding is that Arabs are on a see-saw between getting their rights and being considered equivalent to whites and being middle-eastern and being denied equal rights.
• Quote: While many Arab Americans have built communities within white middle- and upper-class neighbourhoods, an increasing number are entering the working class (P. 56)

Ghaffar-Kucher, Ameena, et al. 2021. ‘“Muslims are Finally waking up”: post-9/11 American immigrant youth challenge conditional citizenship.’ Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1–21.

• Examines how 9/11 has changed how citizens see muslims, and also changed how they see and identify themselves.
• Methods: This article draws on qualitative data from a nation-wide study about the civic identities and civic practices of youth from Muslim immigrant communities
• Data suggests that many muslims hide their identities to avoid discriminiation
• They found that there have been significant changes in the way young muslims identify themselves and attitudes about their rights, they feel like they’re less than what they are.
• Quote: These youth recognize themselves as people of colour and are more likely than their parents’ generations to link their struggles with those of other racially minoritized communities, thus suggesting a more radical politics of belonging in the United States (P. 1).

Massey, Douglas S, and Mary J Fischer. 2006. “The effect of childhood segregation on minority academic performance at selective colleges.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 29(1): 1–26.

• Examines how segregation and housing during childhood affects college performance.
• Methods:a representative survey of nearly 4,000 men and women entering college in the autumn of 1999.
• Minorities growing up in areas where the major population is minority were less prepared academically than areas where it is dominantly white.
• Statistic/quote: Asians took the most AP courses, with an average of 3.8, followed by whites at around 3.3. Then in descending order came blacks and Latinos from majority dominant backgrounds (2.7), those from mixed backgrounds (2.6) and those from predominantly minority settings (2.4). Thus, although Latinos and blacks were less likely than either Asians or whites to complete advanced placement courses, they were much less likely to have done so if they grew up in predominantly minority as opposed to predominantly majority settings. (P. 11).

Zhou, Min, and Yang Sao Xiong. 2005. “The multifaceted American experiences of the children of Asian immigrants: Lessons for segmented assimilation.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 28(6): 1119-1152.

• Examines how the youth of Asian American immigrants are trying to be on the same level as the Majority non-hispanic whites through assimilation, but at the same time still have to be aware of their minority status.
• Methods: Authors using both the U.S. census data and the CILS data, to extract lessons relevant to segmented assimilation theory and to make assumptions based off the data.
• Findings show that Asian Americans’ future outcomes depend on many diverse factors, but they still always have to work very hard and more than the average white person in order to achieve white level success.
• Quote: Asian American average levels of education are exceptionally high. College graduates among those aged 24/34 are more numerous than among non-Hispanic whites. (P. 1127).

Brocket, Tom. 2020. “From “in-betweenness” to “positioned belongings”: second-generation Palestinian-Americans negotiate the tensions of assimilation and transnationalism.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 43(16): 135-154.

• This articles examines the confused feelings of second generation Palestinian Americans and how they are survivng and assimilating in the united states.
• Methods: This study draws on an eleven-month research project conducted in New Jersey (nine months) and the West Bank (two months) between 2015–2017. The authors Research comprised extensive participant observation with the Palestinian-American community in north New Jersey.
• Even though faced with many struggles with their identities and trying to belong, The second generation Palestinians have learned to assimilate, but also managed to keep a strong sense of identity and never forget who they are and where they come from. They never lost sight of returning one day.
• Quote: “They held the ethos of “remaining Palestinian against all odds” in the context of displacement and dispossession, which has since shaped the lives of their children” (P. 136).