In the Shadow of Whiteness: Middle Eastern and North African Identity in the United States

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) identity in the United States. Although MENA individuals are legally classified as White, the racialization of MENA individuals throughout the 20^th and 21^st centuries mean that MENA individuals occupy an ambiguous ethnoracial identity in the US. They are at once classified among the most privileged ethnoracial groups while also being subjected to government surveillance, travel bans, and even hate crimes. Throughout, I argue politics plays an important role not only for groups to make political claims, but also in how groups are formed and transformed. Political decisions shape how people are legally classified and how society understands those categories. Politics shapes who individuals believe belongs in the US, solely based upon identity categories and whether identity groups feel dominant society is prejudicial toward them. And politics shapes the ability of individuals to express their identities on something as simple as a form.