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A Case Study of Arabic Heritage Learners and Their Community

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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by South East Academic Libraries System (SEALS) “SPEAK AMERICAN!” OR LANGUAGE, POWER AND EDUCATION IN DEARBORN, MICHIGAN: A CASE STUDY OF ARABIC HERITAGE LEARNERS AND THEIR COMMUNITY BY KENNETH KAHTAN AYOUBY Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Education, the University of Port Elizabeth, in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor Educationis Promoter: Prof. Susan van Rensburg, Ph.D. The University of Port Elizabeth November 2004 ABSTRACT This study examines the history and development of the “Arabic as a foreign language” (AFL) programme in Dearborn Public Schools (in Michigan, the United States) in its socio-cultural and political context. More specifically, this study examines the significance of Arabic to the Arab immigrant and ethnic community in Dearborn in particular, but with reference to meanings generated and associated to Arabic by non- Arabs in the same locale. Although this study addresses questions similar to research conducted on Arab Americans in light of anthropological and sociological theoretical constructs, it is, however, unique in examining education and Arabic pedagogy in Dearborn from an Arab American studies and an educational multi-cultural perspective, predicated on/and drawing from Edward Said’s critique of Orientalism, Paulo Freire’s ideas about education, and Henry Giroux’s concern with critical pedagogy. In the American mindscape, the "East" has been the theatre of the exotic, the setting of the Other from colonial times to the present. The Arab and Muslim East have been constructed to represent an opposite of American culture, values and life. Through the agency of conflation, Arab (and Muslim) Americans are accordingly lumped together with people from abroad, making for their status as permanent outsiders. Thus, if the American Self represents an ideal, the inhabitants of this oppositional world of Arabs and Islam (an Anti-world) represent an Anti-self. A source of fear and object of hate and prejudice, this Anti-self is the object of derision and anything connected with it (e.g. language, customs, religion, etc.) becomes suspect and is devalued by association. This document has two objectives: First, to present an historical account of this context, and, secondly, to shed light on how and why things that are associated with Arab Americans in Dearborn are devalued. This is achieved by addressing the developments of meanings (of actions and symbols) in their American context, and how they have shaped (and still shape) the local culture's depiction of and understanding of Arab (and Muslim) Americans. Therefore, Arab American issues of language, culture and societal interactions should be understood as constituting a stream of American life, which represent a dimension of the total American experience, past and present, that is best understood through the paradigm of American studies. Viewing this experience as a cultural whole rather than as a series of unrelated fragments (e.g. immigration waves and settlement patterns, religious and state affiliations, assimilation and preservation debates), Arab American culture and issues begin to shine through as an organic and holistic experience whose characteristics are shared with other groups, suggesting research on this community is equally generalisable to others. i As an academic work, this document promotes an understanding of the Arab American experience from an interdisciplinary point of view through focusing on the phenomenon of language in the community with emphasis placed on the AFL experience at school. Therefore, it is a broadly-framed outlook that permits, in an introductory way, a view of the richness of the Arab American experience, particularly in Dearborn, Michigan, as part of the American experience. Data were collected using two surveys, one for AFL students at a high school, and another was administered to adults in the community—in Dearborn. In addition, an action-research-based effort, individual personal interviews and focus groups were conducted with stakeholders in the community: parents/community members, teachers/school personnel and students, utilising personal involvement in understanding and analysing the data. Also, the study referred to archival and documentary evidence available in the school system. Four hypotheses regarding importance/significance and utility of Arabic were offered and tested by means of qualitative, interpretive analysis. Findings included: (1) Arab Americans valued Arabic as an emblem of their community in Dearborn, suggesting its employment as an indicator of political empowerment. (2) Conversely, in the non-Arab community Arabic was observed as a mark of the Other, and an artefact of ethnic retrenchment and rejection of assimilation. (3) Interestingly, however, development of English language competence emerged as a major concern in the community, outweighing Arabic language preservation. (4) While, language maintenance efforts in the community were observed as minimal, especially at the organisational level, and support for such programmes was marginal to nil. (5) Additionally, Arabic, while not the object of a desire to master as a medium of communication, was observed to signify a special symbol of heritage for Arab American youth in the Dearborn community, who may have rejected their parents’ ideas about learning Arabic, but had developed their own. (6) What is more, Arab American youth were observed developing a viable hybridised identity, whose mainstay is being “Arabic”, despite the dominance of English and Euro-Anglo cultural norms. (7) At the institutional level, Arabic was observed devalued in the school setting due to its association with Arabs, Islam, Arab Americans, and immigration. (8) Moreover, relations between Arab Americans and non-Arab Americans in the school system seems to have been equally impacted by this process of devaluation, furthering the cause of stigmatisation, prejudice and racism. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS No work is ever the product of one mind. Directly or otherwise, I am in debt to many people for their devoted support, good counsel and thoughts. While they are responsible for what is good about this document, I take responsibility for its shortcomings. It is with deep gratitude and appreciation that I acknowledge the professional guidance and friendship of Dr. Susan van Rensburg of the University of Port Elizabeth- cum-Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Her constant encouragement and support helped me to achieve this goal. I offer her my thanks and undying gratitude. I also owe a debt of gratitude to my friends who remained constant in their support while I withdrew to focus on this work. My gratitude goes to Dr. Rifaat Dika, Dr. Gary David and Mr. Abdul Hamid Mackie and a few others for their honest friendship. Their advice and good humour have made these years a great learning experience and an unforgettable journey. Thank you! I am grateful to those of my co-workers at Dearborn Public Schools for believing in my project and for their moral support. I wish to thank in particular Dr. Wageh Saad and Mr. Paul A. Smith for their commitment to excellence in the service of children. Also, I wish to acknowledge Dr. Aleya Rouchdy of Wayne State University for her moral support and mentoring since the beginnings of my undergraduate studies. Credit is hers for setting me on my academic way. I wish to express my undying gratitude for my “dialogic partner” and “critical friend”, Ms. Madona N. Mokbel, for her relentless critique and dissection of my work. Her friendship and scholarly input were central and indispensable to the success of this project. Sincere gratitude is also expressed to the members of my reading and examination committee. Last but not least, I would also like to thank my family: my sister, Batoul, for her long years of sacrifice and support; my brother-in-law, Mounir, for his good humour and friendship, and my mother, Salam Irene, for being my first teacher. My heartfelt thanks are due to my wife, Elizabeth, whose love and support made this work possible. And to my children, Benjamin (“Booboo”) and Suhaylah Razanne iii (and those who might come after them), I offer my hopes for a better tomorrow and my thanks for their loving hearts. Alhamdulillah! iv DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my mother, Salam Irene Kurdy-Ayouby, who taught me how to read. And, To my sister, Batoul Ayouby-Karam, and my brother-in-law, Mounir Karam, who are the best family one can hope for. And, To my wife, Elizabeth, and to our children, And, To all my good friends. v DECLARATION I, Kenneth Kahtan Ayouby, do hereby certify and declare that this document is my original work, except for quotations and citations, which have been duly acknowledged. I also declare it has not been previously presented to attain another qualification. ________________________________ Date: November 15, 2004 vi Table of Contents VOLUME I Page Abstract ......................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements....................................................................................................... iii Dedication..................................................................................................................... v Declaration.................................................................................................................... vi Chapter One: Introduction to the Study 1.1 Orientation
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