Post-9/11 Representations of Arab Men by Arab American Women Writers

379 Pages·2016·5.99 MB·English

Post-9/11 Representations of Arab Men by
Arab American Women Writers: Affirmation
and Resistance

Marta Bosch Vilarrubias

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Departament de Filologia Anglesa i Alemanya
POST-9/11 REPRESENTATIONS OF ARAB MEN
BY
ARAB AMERICAN WOMEN WRITERS:
AFFIRMATION AND RESISTANCE
Marta Bosch Vilarrubias
Tesi doctoral en el Programa de Doctorat:
Construcció i Representació d'Identitats Culturals
Co-directors de la tesi:
Dra. Àngels Carabí
Dr. Josep M. Armengol
Tutora de la tesi:
Dra. Àngels Carabí

Acknowledgements
This dissertation would not have been possible without the companionship,
inspiration, and support of many people.
I dedicate this thesis to my late grandfather, Francesc, or Frank as he would
put it, a self-taught historian, the first person in my family to publish a book. He
was a source of inspiration and I will forever be indebted to him for his
unwavering belief in me. I am also particularly grateful to my parents, for their
love and support throughout the long process of writing this dissertation.
To my significant other, Aaron, for his unflinching love, affection, and his
invaluable readings of my work. And also to his family, for adding an American
perspective to my thought process in writing this dissertation.
My most sincere thanks go also to Dr. Àngels Carabí, without whom my
research would not have culminated in this dissertation. Thank you for believing in
me and my research project from the beginning, and allowing me to become a
member of the research projects “Construyendo nuevas masculinidades: la
representación de la masculinidad en la literatura y el cine de los Estados Unidos
(1980-2003),” and “Hombres de Ficción: hacia una historia de la masculinidad a
través de la literatura y el cine de los Estados Unidos, siglos XX y XXI.” The
learning experience resultant from being part of these groups has been inestimable
in my career.
I am mostly grateful also to both of my supervisors, Dr. Àngels Carabí and
Dr. Josep M. Armengol, for their complementary and useful insights into my work.
Their belief in my project and their encouragement have been invaluable in the
completion of this PhD thesis. I also wish to thank them for including me in their
publications, as well as for proposing my research to be published as a subsidized
book within the Masculinity Studies Collection of Peter Lang International
Academic Publishers. Thank you for believing in my work.
Additionally, this dissertation would not have been completed without the
support of the English and German Department of the University of Barcelona.
Thank you Olga and Mercedes for always being there when needed. I am also
especially grateful to all of those professors with whom I have shared courses and
who have aided in my teaching. I am also particularly indebted to the professors
from the American Studies area (in alphabetical order, Cristina Alsina, Rodrigo
Andrés, Mercè Cuenca, and Teresa Requena), whose classes spurred my interest in
the area as an undergraduate student. A special thanks to Teresa Requena for her
help as coordinator of the literature section of the department, and for her
companionship in recent years. Rosa González also needs to be mentioned here, as
the supervisor of my Master's Thesis (DEA), her comments have aided in the
structure of this dissertation. Also thanks to Gemma López, who was part of my
Master's Thesis committee and was eager to share helpful insights on my work
with me after its defense. I would also like to acknowledge Mireia Aragay here,
who provided me with a first approach to poststructuralism in the course on
literary theory that the department used to offer, as poststructuralism has
unquestionably influenced this dissertation. I am also thankful to other scholars
with whom I have worked on in research projects or who I have met in
conferences. Amongst these, I wish to thank Dr. Bárbara Ozieblo, Dr. Sara Martin,
and Dr. Begoña Simal, for sharing their experience with me especially at the
beginning of my research career. Also Dr. William Charles Philips, for his work as
Head of the Department. I wish to thank too Dr. Mercè Viladrich for giving me the
opportunity to publish in the fourteenth edition of the journal Lectora.
I am grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science who
granted me a graduate scholarship (FPU) which allowed me to start working on
my PhD. I would also like to thank those who have believed in my work in IPSI
(Institució Pedagògica Sant Isidor) and EIM (Escola d'Idiomes Moderns), for
having provided me with the economic means to finish this dissertation and great
work environments in which to do so.
This journey would not have been possible either without the great
friendship of my dear colleagues Dr. Mercè Cuenca and Maria Isabel Seguro, for
the many coffees and conversations that we have shared throughout the years, and
for their unconditional support. The office we shared for many years would not
have been the same without you, and will never be again. Thank you for always
being there.
The camaraderie of other professors in the university also needs to be
noted. Professors such as Dr. Júlia Baron, Clara Camps, Dr. Elena Fraj, Inés
Garcia, Dr. Maria Grau, Sonia Haiduc, Dr. Joseph Hilferty, and Dr. Bernat Padró
have been there throughout the process of writing this dissertation and have
provided me with invaluable advice by sharing their experiences about writing a
dissertation as adjunct faculty. Amongst these, Gemma Ventura has a special place,
as she has been there through thick and thin since my childhood. As a scholar
specialized in Arab (francophone) Studies, the fruitful conversations we have
shared have been inestimable to the completion of this thesis.
Other friends need a special mention here. Those who have accomplished a
PhD in their own fields, like Dr. Clara Llebot and Dr. Carlos Delclòs, have been a
source of inspiration. I would also like to thank Dr. Marianna Nadeu, for all the
articles you have helped me find, for always being there when needed, and for
inspiring me through your work ethic. To those other friends who have been there
in support of my endeavor throughout the years, I am glad to be able to tell you
that it is finished. First of all, thanks to Gemma Xiol, for being always there. Also,
a big thank you to Isabel Mestre, Marta Paúls, Marta Llardén, and Noemí
Cortejosa. Without each and every one of you, this dissertation and my life would
have not been what it is.
My sincere thanks to you all.
Resumen
Esta tesis proporciona un análisis de la representación de los hombres árabo-
americanos en novelas escritas por mujeres después del 11 de septiembre. La tesis
contribuye una novedosa investigación en relación a la literatura árabo-americana
al juntar el estudio de la literatura escrita por mujeres y el análisis de las
masculinidades árabo-americanas. La tesis explora la construcción de las
masculinidades árabo-americanas, al mismo tiempo que explica la historia de los
feminismos árabo-americanos, situando a las mujeres árabo-americanas en un
privilegiado espacio de contestación y crítica en su lucha tanto contra el sexismo
como contra el racismo. Esta tesis quiere visibilizar la matizada representación de
los hombres árabes y árabo-americanos ofrecida por mujeres árabo-americanas
después del 11 de septiembre, mujeres influenciadas por el feminismo desde los
años noventa. En su lucha contra el sexismo y el racismo, estas mujeres
proporcionan representaciones ambivalentes de hombres árabes que contrarrestan
los discursos estereotípicos que se han arraigado en la psique norteamericana y
recurrentes después del 11 de septiembre. Además, esta tesis también proporciona
un análisis de la ficción como representación de la realidad, entendiendo la
literatura como conductor potencial de cambio en los discursos culturales. Para
ello, esta tesis se estructura en cuatro partes que examinan los contextos, razones y
potenciales consecuencias de las representaciones específicas de las
masculinidades árabo-americanas publicadas por mujeres después del 11 de
septiembre. El primer capítulo cubre la vilificación y racialización históricas del
hombre árabe en los Estados Unidos, tomando las teorías de “biopolitics”
(Foucault, Chow), “necropolitics” (Mbembe, Puar), y “monster-terrorist” (Puar y
Rai) para entender la experiencia traumática del 11 de septiembre. El segundo trata
sobre los discursos que ayudan a la construcción social de las identidades y
masculinidades árabo-americanas, dando especial énfasis a las teorías de
“neopatriarchy” (Sharabi), “heterotopia” (Foucault) y “thirdspace” (Soja, Bhabha).
La construcción de identidades árabo-americanas también se analiza (David), así
como las masculinidades árabo-americanas (Harpel). El tercer capítulo examina el
desarrollo y características de los feminismos árabo-americanos (Hatem), así como
su influencia para las escritoras árabo-americanas. Finalmente, el cuarto capítulo
recoge las teorías expuestas en los capítulos previos y proporciona un análisis
literario de los personajes masculinos en un grupo de novelas publicadas después
del 11 de septiembre: Crescent (2003) de Diana Abu-Jaber, West of the Jordan
(2003) de Laila Halaby, Towelhead (2005) de Alicia Erian, Once in A Promised
Land (2007) de Laila Halaby, The New Belly Dancer of the Galaxy (2007) de
Frances Kirallah Noble, The Inheritance of Exile: Stories from South Philly (2007)
de Susan Muaddi Darraj, A Map of Home (2008) de Randa Jarrar, y The Night
Counter (2009) de Alia Yunis.
Abstract
This dissertation provides an analysis of the representation of Arab American men
in post-9/11 writings by Arab American women. This thesis contributes a new
inquiry regarding Arab American literature in joining the subject of literature
written by women and the study of Arab American masculinities. It delves into the
construction of Arab American masculinities, at the same time as it expounds on
the history of Arab (American) feminisms, placing Arab American women writers
in a privileged space of contestation and critique in their fight against both sexism
and racism. This dissertation visibilizes the nuanced depiction of Arab and Arab
American men provided by Arab American women writers after 9/11, who have
been informed by feminism since the 1990s. In their attempt to fight both sexism
and racism, Arab American women provide ambivalent representations of Arab
men that counter stereotypical discourses historically entrenched in the American
psyche and also recurrent after 9/11. Furthermore, this thesis also intends to
provide an analysis of fiction as a representation of reality, while also
understanding literature as a potential conductor of change in cultural discourses.
To do so, the dissertation is structured in four main parts which examine the
context, reasons, and potential consequences of the specific portrayals of Arab
American masculinities published by Arab American women after 9/11. The first
chapter covers the historical vilification and racialization of Arab men in the
United States, by taking on theories on biopolitics (Foucault, Chow), necropolitics
(Mbembe, Puar), and monster-terrorist (Puar and Rai) in relation to the traumatic