Project Feature

Evelyn Alsultany, Assistant Professor of American Culture, was awarded funding as an Arts of Citizenship Faculty Fellow for her work with the exhibition, DisORIENTation: Arabs and Arab Americans in the U.S. Popular Imagination. This exhibit is being organized by the Arab American National Museum (AANM) in collaboration with the Michigan State University Museum (MSUM). It is scheduled to open at the Arab American National Museum in May 2011 and travel to the Michigan State University Museum and the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.

DisORIENTation examines stereotypical representations of Arabs in contrast to the lived experiences of Arab Americas from the early 1900s to the present. It takes viewers on a journey to show how Arabs have been represented over time, from exotic sheikhs and alluring harem girls to menacing terrorists and submissive women. The exhibit provides audience members with tools to identify, understand, and analyze the making of stereotypes, but it does not stop there. It juxtaposes images of imagined Arabs with the experiences of real-life Arab Americans, encouraging audience members to record their reactions and responses in a variety of ways. The exhibit places the history of Arab representations in the U.S. in the context of that of other minority groups.

The goals of the exhibit are to convey to the audience that: 1) Arab Americans have been an integral part of U.S. society since its inception; 2) there is a discrepancy between who Arab Americans are and how they are generally perceived by the U.S. public; 3) this discrepancy is the result of Orientalism: over generalized and distorted images and ideas produced by U.S. institutions, particularly the media; 4) stereotypes of Arabs are part of a longer history of Othering that has been faced by many ethnic groups; and 5) stereotypical representations are not harmless images but come with a range of consequences and impacts.

Evelyn Alsultany, Assistant Professor in the Program in American Culture is the guest curator for the exhibit.

From Evelyn's Perspective: "Working with the Arab American National Museum on DisORIENTation has been particularly rewarding because it gives me the opportunity to make my scholarship accessible to a wider public. What has been particularly challenging is the art of translating scholarly concepts in a way that is both accessible and retains scholarly intergrity and I have a learned a lot through collaborating with the AANM staff. At the same time, in conducting extensive research for this exhibit, I now have materials for a book project on representations of Arabs and the Middle East in U.S. popular culture over the last century."

Dahlia Petrus, graduate student in Middle East Studies and Student Advisor for the LS&A Comprehensive Studies Program, has served as the key researcher.

From Dahlia's Perspective: "Having the opportunity to work with Assistant Professor Alsultany and the exceptional team at the Arab American National Museum is a valuable experience for me as a graduate student. The project research will be the basis for my thesis on representations of Arabs and the Middle East in U.S. popular culture. I am discovering the importance of bringing these themes to a wider audience via the exhibition!

Devon Akmon is Curator of Research at the Arab American National Museum.

From Devon's Perspective: "Arts of Citizenship provided us with a tremendous opportunity to partner with Professor Evelyn Alsultany and the University of Michigan. Through our combined efforts, we hope to provide an informative and engaging exhibit by utilizing Dr. Alsultany's research and the Museum's community-based resources.