“Prejudice Towards Arabs/Middle Easterners”, Dr Germine Awad

Although discrimination towards Arabs and individuals of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) descent in the United States was reported as early as the 1900’s (Naber, 2000), the events of September 11th, 2001 led to a sharp increase in prejudice and discrimination towards persons of Arab and Middle Eastern descent (Ajrouch, 2005; Ibish, 2003).   Instances of prejudice and discrimination toward other minority groups in the United States have been well documented throughout U.S. history (Dovidio & Gaertner, 1986; Jones, 1997; Nelson, 2002).  Due to the fact that Arabs and individuals of Middle Eastern descent are not recognized by the U.S. government as a minority group many instances of discrimination fail to get recorded. Furthermore, the lack of recognition may increase feelings of invisibility and isolation for Middle Eastern Americans.   Previous studies have found a link between instances of discrimination and psychological variables such as psychological distress (Moradi & Hasan, 2004).  Additionally, differences in the experience of discrimination for Middle Eastern Americans have differed based on acculturation level and religious identification (Awad, 2010).  This talk will examine how psychological research may serve as an indispensable resource for deepening the understanding of experiences of discrimination for individuals of Middle Eastern descent.

Germine Awad, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Human Developments, Culture and Learning Sciences and Counseling Phsychology Programs in the Department of Educations Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She is co-editor with Mona H. Amer of the 2017 Arab American Book Award non-fiction winner, The Handbook of Arab American Psychology (Routledge, 2016).

Sponsored by: the Provost’s Office; the CAHSS Dean’s Office; the Social Science Forum; the Depts. of Political Science and Psychology; and the Global Studies Program.

For questions and additional information, please contact:

Dr. Mejdulene Shomali mshomali@umbc.edu.

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