Examining Muslim American Adolescents' Identity and Resistance to Negativities Through Out-of-School Book Club Program

• In Event: Adolescents and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Depression, Identity, and Coping

Abstract

To cope with all the pressure on Muslim adolescents, students need a place to be able to be themselves, use literacy, and demonstrate their literacy practices. I encourage participants’ literacy practices and explore their identities through the program. I examine Muslim American adolescents' identity and resistance to negativities through an out-of-school book club program. Statistics showed that 75% of Muslim American adults had experienced discrimination (PEW, 2017). The responses to my study (e.g., “My mom was discriminated against because of her ethnic clothing connected to Islam”) were exactly the same as those found in the research (Sirin & Fine, 2008, p. 112), which indicates that similar issues, whether overt or covert, real or perceived, continue to exist in the 2020s.

Author

• Fatima Seyma Kizil, Syracuse University
  Presenting Author