Post-9/11 Arab American Drama: A New Historicist Approach to the Plays of Yussef El Guindi, Betty Shamieh, and Heather Raffo

Abstract

Although there is a body of Arab American literature that dates back to the late 19th century, it is usually said that Arab American drama was born on September 11th. Those attacks and their repercussions constitute a defining and dividing moment in the American history, in general, and the Arab American experience, in particular. In this respect, the present study traces the evolution of Arab American drama, concentrating on representative post-9/11 plays by Yussef El Guindi, Betty Shamieh, and Heather Raffo. Keeping in mind the racial, social, and historical constituents of Arab American identity, the study scrutinizes the experience of the 'suspect' and the 'victimized' Arab American. It also examines the theatrical experience of post-9/11Arab American playwrights in their attempt to rise above the social, political, and cultural segregations and restrictions imposed upon them by a racialized hegemonic discourse. In doing so, the study investigates the emergence of an activist Arab American theatrical movement which attempts to liberate Arab Americans from the various forms of violence, discrimination, stereotyping, and Otherness. This dissertation is a descriptive analytical study, depending on the theoretical approach of New Historicism which interprets the literary text as both a product and producer of history, culture, and social experience of its own age. Key words: Arab American (drama), New Historicism, 9/11 attacks, Ethnicity, Identity, Stereotyping, Violence, Hegemonic discourse, Self-representation.