What (Not) to Wear as Hijab: Unveiling Fragmented Acculturation in a Muslim American Community

• In Event: 148 - Regular Session. Cultural Studies 1: Identity in Action: Music, Religion and the Everyday

Abstract

The concept of fragmented acculturation provides a useful heuristic for the study of cultural communities; as a theoretical framework, fragmented acculturation encourages the discovery of diverse and complicated beliefs and practices that are ever emerging and evolving within cultural communities. In this paper, I examine responses of 246 male and female members of a Muslim American community to three Islamic Adaptations Questionnaire (IAQ) questions about wearing hijab. Analyses reveal substantial variation in hijab belief and practice within a geographically anchored, Muslim American community. Findings support theorizing acculturation as fragmented (and always fragmenting) at the community level, rather than occurring in a linear, intergenerational fashion.

Author

• Melissa J. K. Howe, NORC-University of Chicago