Research Guides

Middle Eastern Americans

• Subject Headings.
• Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Handbooks.
• Indexes, Abstracts, and Full Text Sources.
• Bibliographies.
• Statistics.
• Directories.
• Internet Sources.

Subject Headings.

Representative subject headings for locating books in the Boston University online Catalog include the following:

Arab American artists Arab American authors Arab American poetry Arab American women Arab Americans Arab Americans in literature Arabs United States Chaldean Catholics Iranian American women Iranian Americans Iranians California Los Angeles Iranians United States Islam North America Islam United States

Islamic sects North America Israelis United States Lebanese Americans Lebanese United States Muslim families United States Muslim women Muslims United States Palestinian Americans Shiites United States Sunnites Illinois Syrian Americans Syrians United States Women in Islam Yemenite Americans

Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Handbooks.

American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation. 2 vols. 1997.

Encyclopedic essays on 161 non-indigenous cultural groups in the United States. Mugar Ref. X E184 A1 A63448 1997.

Arab-American Almanac. 5th ed. 2003.

A comprehensive reference on the Arab-American community in America, this work includes a historical chronology of Arab-Americans, chapters on Arab-American literary contributions, organizations, press and media, religious institutions (Christian, Druze, Muslim), a who's who of Arab-Americans, a bibliography, and information on the Arabic alphabet. Mugar Ref. X E184 A65 A45

Encyclopedia of Arab American Artists. 2008.

Alphabetically-arranged encyclopedia profiling the lives and works of approximately 100 Arab American visual artists. Mugar N6538 A73 O94 2008

Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. 2000. (ChRiv-px).

More than 150 essays on ethnic and ethno-religious groups (e.g., Amish) in the U.S., including native American groups and more recent arrivals, such as the Hmong.

Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. 1980.

Contains lengthy histories of ethnic groups in the U.S., as well as entries on subjects such as prejudice and discrimination. Mugar Ref. X E184 A1 H35.  

Islam in North America : A Sourcebook. 1992.

Consists of essays on Islam in North America. Chapters include Arab Americans and Arab Muslims. Also contains a directory of organizations and mosques. Mugar BP67 A1 I82 1992.

The Muslim Almanac: A Reference Guide on the History, Faith, Cultures and Peoples of Islam. 1996.

Contains essays on Islam. See the chapter on Islam in North America. Mugar BP40 M83 1996. Storage: Use Request Form

A Nation of Peoples: A Sourcebook on America's Multicultural Heritage. 1999.

Collection of bibliographic essays providing an overview of America's ethnic cultures. See the chapter on "Middle Easterners and North Africans." Mugar E184 A1 N2866 1999.

New Immigrant Literatures in the United States: A Sourcebook to our Multicultural Literary Heritage. 1996.

Collection of essays on post-World War II immigrant literature in the United States. Includes a chapter on Arab-American Literature. Essays conclude with selected primary and secondary bibliographies. Mugar PS153 M56 N475 1996.

Indexes, Abstracts, and Full Text Sources.

 

America: History and Life. 1964 - . (BU-px).

Indexes and abstracts the periodical literature and dissertations on North American history and culture, from prehistoric times to the present.

Anthropological Index. 1957 - . (BU-px)

"The Anthropological Index Online is based on the journal holdings of The Anthropology Library at the British Museum (formerly Museum of Mankind) which receives periodicals in all branches of anthropology, from academic institutions and publishers around the world."

Anthropological Literature. Late 19th century to the present. (ChRiv-px).

Comprehensive international index to articles and essays on anthropology and archaeology, including art history, demography, economics, psychology, and religious studies. Updated quarterly, Anthropological Literature indexes articles two or more pages long in works published in English and other European languages from the late 19th century to the present.

Anthrosource. Late 19th century to the present. (ChRiv-px).

Developed by the American Anthropological Association (AAA), Anthrosource brings 100 years of anthropological material online, including: a complete electronic archive of all AAA journals through 2003; seamless access to archival content housed at JSTOR for 6 key AAA publications including American Anthropologist; and current issues for 15 of the AAA's most critical peer-reviewed publications.

Congressional Quarterly Researcher. (ChRiv).

A full-text resource offering basic background information on many contemporary issues of interest to Congress. An excellent starting point for research into major public issues, this source gives summary coverage to all sides of the issues along with extremely useful bibliographies.

Contemporary Women's Issues. 1992 - . (ChRiv-px).

Full-text database, international in scope, covering such topics as health and reproductive issues, development, human rights, arts and media, customs, family life, violence, and legal issues. Includes journal articles, newsletters, fact sheets, proceedings, and the alternative press. An Instruction Guide is available.

Ethnic NewsWatch. 1990 - . (BU-px).

A comprehensive full-text database of the newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority, and native press. Includes the Arab-American press.

FRANCIS. 1984 - . (ChRiv-px).

Multilingual, multidisciplinary index to journals in the social sciences and humanities.

Historical Newspapers: The New York Times. 1851-2006. (BU-px).

"Offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue."

JSTOR. (BU-px).

Archive of scholarly journals in electronic format, digitized from the first issue onward to a "moving wall" of two to five years ago.

LexisNexis Academic. (BU-px).

A full-text database that includes newspapers, wire services, transcripts of television and radio broadcasts, medical and health journals, trade journals, accounting literature, company financial reports, law reviews, statutory and case law.

Sage Race Relations Abstracts. 1980 - 2002.

Contains abstracts of periodical articles on race, race relations, and related topics. Mugar Z7164 R12 S12. Storage: Use Request Form

Social Sciences Citation Index. 1965 - . (BU-px).

Interdisciplinary index to 4700+ journals and collected volumes in the social and behavioral sciences. Provides access by author, citation and subject. Mugar Z7161 S65, (1956-1975). Storage: Use Request Form

Social Sciences Full Text. 1983 - . (ChRiv-px)

Indexes and abstracts core journals in such fields as anthropology, criminal justice and criminology, gender studies, geography, gerontology,  minority studies, social work, sociology, and urban studies. Includes full text of articles from 215+ journals as far back as 1995.  For retrospective searching (1907-1984) use Humanities and Social Sciences Retrospective, which indexes nearly 1,200 periodicals as early as 1907.

Sociological Abstracts. 1952 - .  (BU-px).

Indexes and abstracts periodical articles, conference papers, proceedings, dissertations and book reviews in sociology and related fields. 

Studies on Women and Gender Abstracts. 1995 - . (ChRiv)

Indexes and abstracts journal articles, chapters, and books on women. The focus is on "education, employment, women in the family and community, medicine and health, female sex and gender role socialisation, social policy, the social psychology of women, female culture, media treatment of women, biography, literary criticism, and historical studies." Formerly Studies on Women Abstracts (1983-1999), Mugar Z7962 S78. Storage: Use Request Form

Women's Studies International. 1972 - . (BU-px)

Contains citations or citations/abstracts from ten women's studies databases.

For additional electronic indexes, see: Electronic Indexes and Databases.

Bibliographies.

The Arab-American Experience in the United States and Canada: A Classified, Annotated Bibliography. 2006.

Comprehensive bibliography covering every aspect of Arab-American and Arab-Canadian life from the very beginning until 2005. Mugar E 184 A65 S85 2006.

Arabic-Speaking Immigrants in the United States and Canada: A Bibliographical Guide. 1985.

Bibliography of books, dissertations, theses, pamphlets, and articles. Lists Arabic newspapers published in North America. Mugar Z1361 A73 S28 1985. Storage: Use Request Form

Bibliography of Anti-Arab Discrimination, Stereotyping, and Media Bias.

Compiled by the Education Department of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

A Comprehensive Bibliography for the Study of American Minorities. 2 vols. 1976.

Contains nearly 30,000 entries. Arranged geographically and by culture. Bibliographic essays precede each group. See "the Arab American Experience," pp. 263-276. Mugar Z1361 E4 M529. Storage: Use Request Form

Immigrant Women in the United States: A Selectively Annotated Multidisciplinary Bibliography. 1989.

Includes 2000+ entries for scholarly articles, dissertations, and books. Organized by topic. Consult the "group index" to locate entries on Middle Eastern immigrant women. Mugar Z7164 I3 G33 1989. Storage: Use Request Form.

Muslim Women Throughout the World: A Bibliography. 1997.

Contains citations to nearly 3,000 English-language books and articles on Muslim women throughout the world. Arranged alphabetically by author. Coverage is from the beginning of the 20th century to 1995. Consult the index under "United States." Mugar Z7963 I74 K56 1997. Storage: Use Request Form.

Racism in Contemporary America. 1996.

Bibliographic citations to published articles, books, documents, theses, dissertations, reports and other materials. Arranged under 87 subject headings. Consult subject index under "Arab Americans." Mugar E185.615 W436 1996.

Select Bibliography on Arab Americans.

Compiled by the Arab American Institute.

Statistics.

Ancestry in America: A Comparative City-by-City Guide to Over 200 Ethnic Backgrounds -- With Rankings. 2003.

Race, Hispanic origin, and ancestry data for 4,206 communities with a population of 10,000+ and comparative ancestry rankings for the top 150 places. A companion CD-ROM ( Mugar Reserve Room HB3505 .A53 2003 CD-ROM) has data for all 33,150 populated places in the US, and comparative rankings for the top 600 communities for each ancestry. There are 217 separate ethnicities listed. Data are derived from the SF1 and SF3 files of the 2000 Census. Mugar HB3505 A53 2003.

The Arab Population 2000.

U.S.  Census Bureau report released in 2003 on the population of Americans who indicated an Arab ancestry in the 2000 Census.

Strength in Numbers: The Relative Concentration of Iranian Americans Across the United States.

Study released in September 2003 by the National Iranian American Council "detailing the relative size of the Iranian-American community in each Congressional district vis-à-vis the size of other communities."

We the People of Arab Ancestry in the United States: Census 2000 Special Reports. 2005.

"Provides a portrait of the Arab population in the United States."

Directories and Guides.

Guide to Information Resources in Ethnic Museum, Library and Archival Collections in the United States. 1996.

From Afghanistan American Resources to Welsh American Resources, a guide to 786 ethnic museum, library, or archival collections of more than 70 ethnic groups, as well as multi-ethnic collections and institutions, organizations and research-oriented centers. Mugar E184 A1 B92 1996.

Internet Sources.

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

"ADC, which is non-sectarian, non- partisan is the largest Arab-American grassroots organization in the United States. It was founded in 1980 by former Senator James Abourezk and has chapters nationwide."

American Iranian Council.

"The American Iranian Council (AIC) was founded in 1997... for the purpose of: providing for a sustained dialogue and a more comprehensive understanding of US-Iran relations; promoting the Iranian-American community and encouraging its participation in the efforts for a more democratic, transparent, mutually respectful and sustainable relationship between the two countries."

Arab American Institute.

"The Arab American Institute was organized in 1985 to represent Arab American interests in government and politics. AAI provides leadership training and strategies in electoral politics and policy issues that concern Arab Americans. The institute serves as a clearinghouse for Arab American participation in national, state and local politics and government; research on the Arab American constituency; and a forum for consensus positions on pressing domestic and foreign policy matters. Their About Arab Americans section contains links to articles, demographics, polls, reports, a bibliography, and more. There is also a downloadable Educational Packet.

Arab-American Literature.

Links to web pages on numerous Arab-American writers, from Elmaz Abinader to Abraham Rihbany. Maintained by a librarian at Palo Alto College in Texas.

Arab-Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland.

Full text of book by Mary Haddad Macron, originally published in 1979. Made available through the Cleveland Memory Project of the Cleveland State University Library.

Caught in the Crossfire.

PBS Special focuses on the lives of three Arab Americans in New York City since September 11.

Children of Al-Mahjar: Arab American Literature Spans  a Century.

Overview of Arab-American writers from the early nineteenth century to the present.

Cultural Orientation Resource Center, Center for Applied Linguistics.

Publications on the people, history, and culture of different refugee groups to help US service providers understand the new refugee populations. " Links to full-text monographs on Iraqi Kurds, Iraqis and Muslim Refugees. Extensive links to other organizations involved with refugee and immigrant resettlement.

The Detroit Mosque Study: Muslim Views on Policy and Religion.

Study conducted by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), "an independent nonprofit research organization committed to studying US domestic and foreign policy. ISPU's research aims to increase understanding of key policy issues and how they impact various communities within America."

Iraqi Refugees.

Part of a Baylor University web page on refugee and immigrant health issues, "this section details historical and cultural factors for Iraqi refugees in the U.S."

Kurdish Refugees.

From a Baylor University web page on refugee and immigrant health issues. Overview of Kurdish refugee history, culture, and health concerns.

Making Muslim Space in North America and Europe.

Complete text of essays on religious life of Muslim communities in North America and Europe. Edited by Barbara Daly Metcalf, this University of California Press book was published in 1996; the digitized version is available through the California Digital Library e-Scholarship Editions.

 

One Hundred Questions and Answers About Arab Americans: A Journalist's Guide.

"Like all people, Arab Americans are too often described in simplistic terms. Although the Arab culture is one of the oldest on Earth, it is, in many parts of the United States, misunderstood. There are no easy, one-size-fits-all answers....At the Detroit Free Press, published in the city with the United States' most concentrated Arab-American population, we try to better understand and explain these issues daily. After consulting with others, we offer this guide as a step toward more accurate journalistic portrayals of Arab Americans. The 100 questions and answers contained herein only touch on the issues."

 

Researching Your Lebanese or Syrian Ancestry.

Six-part essay on Syrian and Lebanese immigration to the U.S.

Restrictions on Civil Liberties, Views of Islam, & Muslim Americans. 2004.

December 2004 survey of public opinion conducted by the Media & Society Research Group at Cornell University.

The US Patriot Act: Impact on the Arab and Muslim American Community.

Study conducted by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), "an independent nonprofit research organization committed to studying US domestic and foreign policy... A detailed analysis of the Patriot Act and its impact on the Muslim and Arab American community... the study assesses the impact of the Act on civil liberties, immigration, banking services, employment, charitable giving, privacy and detention."