Narrative Identities of Arab American Muslim Women in a Midwestern City

• In Event: Social Considerations in Education: Narrative Spaces for Understanding

Abstract

What happens when the tumultuous period of identity development in adolescence collides with a cultural period in which the wider society begins to view you and/or the group with which you identify as negative and dangerous? This study specifically focuses on one such group and asks, “How do Arab American Muslim women in their 20s and 30s, who lived in the U.S. during “9/11,” narrate their lives and identities?”
Using Narrative Inquiry method, we have conducted lifespan interviews with 10 participants from a Midwestern city. The findings have implications for identity and ecological development theory, as well as use of media in educational practices.

Authors

• Emily Anastasia Hager, University of Missouri

• Lisa M. Dorner, University of Missouri

• Angela B. Layton, University of Missouri - St. Louis