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The Role Arabic Literature Can Play to Redress The READ TO CHANGE: THE ROLE ARABIC LITERATURE CAN PLAY TO REDRESS THE DAMAGE OF STEREOTYPING ARABS IN AMERICAN MEDIA A dissertation submitted to Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Mohammed Albalawi May 2016 © Copyright All rights reserved Except for previously published Dissertation written by Mohammed H. Albalawi B.A., King Abdulaziz University, 2001 M.A., King Abdulaziz University, 2010 Ph.D., Kent State University, 2016 Approved by Babacar M’Baye , Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Mark Bracher , Members, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Sarah Rilling Richard Feinberg Ryan Claassen Accepted by Robert Trogdon, Chair, Department of English James L. Blank, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences ii TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................. v DEDICATION .............................................................................................................................. vi CHAPTERS I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 II. UNDERSTANDING STEREOTYPES ....................................................................... 19 III. REPRESENTATIONS OF ARABS IN MEDIA ........................................................ 55 IV. REDUCING STEREOTYPES DAMAGE THROUGH MEN IN THE SUN ............. 86 V. IMPROVING ATTITUDES THROUGH THEY DIE STRANGERS ........................ 115 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 137 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 164 APPENDICES A. LIST OF ARABIC NARRATIVES ............................................................................. 183 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. What Literature Can Do ................................................................................................. 50 Figure 2. Francine’s Arrest ............................................................................................................ 67 Figure 3. Advertisement Poster for The Dictator .......................................................................... 78 Figure 4. The Fictional Flag of Wadiya ........................................................................................ 81 iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My dissertation would not have been possible without the support of my committee, friends, and family. My committee was excellently steered by Dr. Babacar M’Baye who worked tirelessly with me to improve all aspects of my work. Babacar, I am very much indebted to you. Dr. Mark Bracher is the professor with whom I took the class that defined my scholarly goals. His extensive knowledge on everything from literary studies to cognitive science continues to impress and inspire me. I also thank Dr. Richard Feinberg and Dr. Sarah Rilling who have graciously improved my writing and arguments with their invaluable suggestions. I also would like to express my deep gratitude to Dr. Ryan Claassen for his advice and assistance. My grateful thanks are also extended to the English faculty at Kent State University with whom I took classes. You were always supportive and offered help when needed. I have learned a lot from you. Finally, I thank my family for their unconditional love and unwavering support over the years. I would like to thank my dear mother has been supportive throughout my sojourn in the States. v DEDICATION To my late father, who I wish from the bottom of my heart could have lived to see me grow academically. vi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION This dissertation draws heavily from the works of Mark Bracher to redress the stereotyping of Arabs in American media. While it is also inspired by other scholarship, as cited elsewhere in the manuscript, this project is particularly indebted to Bracher’s important contributions in studying literature, stereotypes, empathy, schemas, and other aspects of human psychology that I have extensively drawn on to understand the nature of stereotyping Arabs in American media and the role literature can play to address negative stereotypes. Notable works to which this study is also indebted include David J. Schneider’s The Psychology of Stereotyping (2004) and Gordon B. Moskowitz’s Social Cognition: Understanding Self and Others (2005), each of which studies stereotypes and the role that cognitive processes play in social behavior. Moreover, Martin Hoffman’s Empathy and Moral Development: Implications for Caring and Justice (2007) and Becky Lynn Omdahl’s Cognitive Appraisal, Emotion, and Empathy (1995) are significant works to which this dissertation is indebted with regard to discussing theories of empathy. The subjects of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination have engaged the interests of social psychologists, but also educators, ethnic minority activists, and scholars in many fields. For example, there has been a wide range of research in the study of the stereotypes of African Americans (Gaertner & Dovidio 1986), women (Deaux & Major 1987), homosexuals (Herek 1987), and Muslims (Suleiman 1999), to list just a few. The study of stereotyping and prejudice 1 is important for understanding how people react to each other and how they might experience negative outcomes.1 One can pose a simple question: Where exactly do stereotypes come from? Rupert Brown notes that stereotypes “are embedded in the culture in which we are raised and live, and that they are conveyed and reproduced in all the usual socio-cultural ways” (69). These “socio-cultural” ways include school (for example, through privileging certain individuals and ignoring others), parents (through forbidding their children to play with specific children), and media (through the representations of ethnic groups).2 These are potent sources for stereotypes. David Schneider states that not only does culture provide the content of stereotypes, but it also boosts them, causing us to stereotype people (322). However, the fact that stereotypes derive from different cultural records does not necessarily mean that the media cannot be held accountable for significantly spreading and perpetuating the stereotypes of various groups.3 In an age of heavy exposure to media, Hollywood (the American film and television industry) has portrayed people of various ethnic groups, religions, races, sexualities, and more in both positive and negative lights. However, the negative images are prominent.4 Even though the positive portrayals of Arabs have appeared in media in many features, Arabs have suffered from negative media coverage and stereotyping in the United States for over 100 years, but most notably within the last few decades. This distorted media image resulted in many people seeing Arabic people as dangerous and Arabs being treated as outcasts. These negative images can be ascribed to the lack of knowledge and proper education regarding this group. Such portrayals in American media shape the perceptions of the twenty-two countries that constitute the Arab world. 2 Because literature has the potential to change our perceptions of others, this dissertation endeavors to show that carefully crafted Arabic literature can mitigate the harm done by the negative stereotyping of Arabs as presented in American media. This project explores two basic themes. The first discusses the psychology of stereotyping—What is a stereotype? How, When, and Why are stereotypes formed? What harm do stereotypes cause? To show how stereotypes affect us, this dissertation analyzes representations of Arabs in American media, more specifically in “Stan of Arabia” (2005) and The Dictator (2012).5 The second theme discusses how negative representations of Arabs may be alleviated through Arabic literature. More particularly, this project argues that Ghassan Kanafani’s Men in the Sun and Mohammad Abdul- Wali’s They Die Strangers can be used to promote a better understanding of Arabic people in American society. These novels use imagery and concepts that educators can use to invite readers to understand Arabs—their beliefs, conflicts, and views, which may ultimately correct the faulty representations of Arabic cultures that have appeared in American media for over a century. Situating the Project and Methodology This project is broken into five chapters. Following the introduction, the second chapter provides a general discussion of what stereotypes are, how they work, what cognitive structures and processes are involved, and how they affect people’s perceptions, judgments, emotions, and actions regarding others. This chapter also examines the theoretical schools of thought in the representations of Arabs, as these representations will all be relative to our eventual discussion of the use of Arabic literature to ameliorate them. The third chapter discusses how Arabs have been represented and how stereotypes are formed by offering analytical examinations of two features from the media: one from TV (“Stan of Arabia”) and one from film (The Dictator). The fourth 3 and fifth chapters offer close readings of Men in the Sun and Die Strangers respectively,
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