Michele Dougherty EDR 519 Personal Narrative Sharing 1a.

Oct. 22, 2013

Malek, A. (2009). A country called Ameerka: Us history told through arab-american lives. New York, Ny: Free Press. 1b. I believe A country called ameerka is authentic for many reasons. One of the reasons I believe this text is authentic is because of the many perspectives and accounts of ArabAmericans throughout US history. According to Fang, Fu, and Lamme, one concern in multicultural education is representation (2002). Minorities often do not have the economic or political power to represent themselves and as a result, they have to be represented by others (Fang, 2002). This novel is written by Alia Malek, however she is telling the stories of countless Arab-Americans. The fact that she wrote each story does limit the authenticity; however it gives provides readability and structure to the book. The many perspectives also gives readers genre accessibility (Yardell 2006), readers are able to experience, various styles of writing and patterns of text organization. Some of the narratives feature textual elements like flashbacks and incorporate unique writing styles that are different than the other narratives presented; however there is enough structure in all of them that they still present a cohesive story. Another avenue to consider in regards to authenticity is how culture and life of a community is represented through the author. Writers who present a culture of which they are not a part is the difficulty dealing with dialects and cultural authenticity (Fang 2002). Malek is part of the Arab-American culture, her parents immigrated to the states, but she was raised to understand and live the culture. Her understanding is important to the retelling of the stories, just as the life that goes with the culture is important to the actual story teller. The previous Arab and Arab-American history is important to understand current day tensions or bias that they may receive. Each personal narrative is supported through the gradual passing of time from one narrative to another, in addition to additional information about the context of the story, politics, wars, and events that were not directly included in the narrative. The content accessibility (Yardell 2006) presents familiar American landscapes and major events in American history, but ties those familiar events with things that drastically effected the lives of Arabs within and outside of America. 1c. Quote 1 The ideas presented in A Country Called Ameerka related to many ideas that we have discussed in class, especially The Color of Fear video. The people in the video discussed why they referred to themselves as Americans or Asian Americans and how it eliminates their own culture and differences for the white American culture. In the novel by Malek, one of the characters discusses her feelings toward being American.

Yet though they had been in America for more than eight years and more than a year had passed since they acquired citizenship, she herself still did not feel like an American. She was an Arab living in America. And America is for the Americans, America is not for the Arabs, Luba believed. Where did that leave her daughters? Luba wanted to know, what about the survival of Palestine? Luba wanted to know, what about the survival of Palestine? She did not hear voices in the mainstream media lamenting the loss of her country, of its cities, its traditions, and its existence upon this same land now so easily assigned to the Israelis. (Malek 45). What makes you or any person American? Are her daughters considered American because they were born here? Does being American mean they are no longer Arab or have no culture other than American culture? The identity crisis of this character goes down to her roots, making her question what/who she is. Mohammed was another character that dealt with an identity crisis. Would he deny who he is and what his culture has given him to exchange his family name for a name that is more accepted in the US? He looked at the name John on himself. He felt as if he been stamped and branded like cattle. Here was a different name, a Christian name, a different him. He started to feel guilty, like he had betrayed his upbringing and his status as ibn al-mughayyam, a son of the refugee camps. Many looked down on them, but it was a badge of honor for him. (Malek 84) Quote 2 Mohammed was another character in the novel that experienced strife in America. When the media represents only one perspective, or a biases, the attitude of the nation ignorantly takes that attitude as well. Exclusion and alienation can take many shapes and forms, as experienced by Mohammed. Sometimes that exclusion and alienation can be verbal or physical, other times it is institutional. As soon as the standoff at the American Embassy in Iran began, Mohammed was asked: Why do people like you take Americans hostage? What the hell are you doing here? Why dont you go back to where you came from? Yelled out at him were the names: foreigner, camel jockey nigger, fucking Persian. He discovered all the places a person could be hated: the grocery, classroom bar, restaurant, street, soccer field, dentists office, shopping mall. He learned the ways revulsion could be communicated in a glare, a tone of voice, a shudder, a menacing invasion of his space. He had not known this pain before. (Malek 95) Quote 3 The personal narrative of Mohammed presented an interesting perspective on Americans that was beneficial to see from another angle. Mohammed discussed how he would choose when to speak when he knew he was in company it was safe to voice his own opinions in. Most people didnt care what he had to say, or take the time to differentiate who he was or where he was from in contrast to their own misconceptions of current events.

When Mohammed engaged in dialogue to give a voice to the face, to explain he was Palestinian and not Iranian- not as an excuse but to inform- he was disappointed. There were people who didnt need to know anything about him other than he was Middle Eastern and Muslim; with those bits of information they could confidently surmise everything they needed to know about him even though most of the could not place on a map where he came from. Americans seemed not to really know, care to known, or even try to know who they were, where they came from, what circumstances had brought them here, or what role their own American governments polices might have played in their coming here. Mohammed was shocked. Americas knowledge was so technologically scientifically vast- Americas were exploring the moonyet they knew so little about the people with whom they shared this planet. He found it so frustrating that this one of a kind country that he admired so much was basically illiterate about anyone elses history and current reality. (Malek 97) 1d. This book is a compilation of personal narratives from a variety of Arab-Americans. I get a unique perspective of diverse people and situations; however it does not follow one direct story line. Following a history among a family of fathers/mothers and their children may be more beneficial because I could understand the constructs around that family. Some of the characters live in privilege and main culture, while others are have limited education and finances. Sometimes it is difficult to understand the unique situations presented with each voice. The lives of Arab-Americans were affected by life in America, events in their homeland, and the actions taken by government. Many stories connect and build on the war with Israel and Palestine for land and religious discovery. While details are given, I feel my understanding of the situation is limited because I am missing foundational knowledge about the start of this quest for the holy land. This war caused them much suffering, forcing many to become refugees or emigrate. 1e. According to Lewison and colleagues (2002), there are four dimensions to critical literacy and multicultural education. The first dimension is to disrupt the commonplace, then to interrogate multiple viewpoints. Next, focus on sociopolitical issues and then take action to promote social justice. The book lends itself well to incorporate multiple viewpoints. There are many characters in each narrative, students can think about the same story from another family members perspective or take one on from the bias. Why did the factory owners not want the immigrants to form a union? Why would the local law enforcement and political leaders want to limit the financial gain and political voice of the Arab-American people? The highest level of instruction would be getting students to take action in regards to Arab-Americans. While I cannot require students to take large scale political action, I can build action within the classroom at least. Discussing profiling and what that means, even when people are just kidding. We can discuss and learn about the invisible privileges (Mcintosh) we have and how they are different than the privileges others have to work for.

Tension points in the text should be part of a close read, reading and rereading to analyze word choice and structure. No word is innocent, an author makes choices with writing to further their own purpose and influence the reader in whatever way they need it. The tension of the text can be analyzed as a point of purpose for the author or revelation for the character. Particular tensions can be used to teach empathy and understanding to someone who would have never paused to consider anothers perspective before. 1f. The actions post September 2011 shook the country as a whole. The resulting discrimination against Arab-Americans was degrading and unnecessary. In one quote from A country called Amereeka, Polls in September found that a majority of Americans favored the profiling of Arabs, including those who were American citizens and subjecting them to special security checks before board planes (Malek 238). American people felt safer when others were signaled out and profiled in public areas, regardless of their citizenship and reasoning for flying. A common theme running through many of the narratives involved the Israel and the Jewish plight for the home land. The politics and warfare going on in other countries, directly affected our citizens and immigrants here in the US. Our government gave financial support to Israel to take into war against the families of our citizens. Their families were forced out of their homes or murdered. Many Americans did not know that their tax dollars went towards funding those incentives, but even if it were covered on the news, apparently, it was a limited perspective. The media only represented one angle of the news and Americas took on perspectives and biases similar to the news, even though it was ignorant of major events.