Beginning with early Arab American playwright, poet and novelist Kahlil Gibran and concluding with contemporary playwright Yussef El Guindi, this book provides an historical overview and critical analysis of the plays, films and performances of self-identified Arab Americans. Playwrights, filmmakers and performers covered include Ameen Fares Rihani, Danny Thomas, Heather Raffo, Ahmed Ahmed, Mona Mansour and Cherien Dabis. These artists, traditionally underrepresented in entertainment, publishing and academia, have created works that exemplify the burgeoning Arab American arts movement. By addressing cinema, stand-up comedy and solo performance, the author introduces audiences to contemporary genres that are shaping Arab American culture in the United States.

About the Author
Michael Malek Najjar is an associate professor of theatre arts at the University of Oregon. He lives in Eugene, Oregon.

Reviews
"The author is meticulous in his attention to the details of his examples and equally committed to the larger cultural and institutional history that these works represent and enable. Activist practitioners and academic critics contribute dynamically with their provocative and probing examinations and recordings of a major, if often overlooked, component of modern US cultural and political history...highly recommended" -Choice; "comprehensive and scholarly...engaging" -Aljadid; "offers a valuable and scholarly treatment of Arab American performance in refreshingly direct prose, introducing readers to the artists, works and themes currently shaping Arab American culture...an engaging and clear overview of the plays, films and performances of self-identified Arab Americans"-Studia Neophilologica; "Unquestionably, Michael Malek Najjar's new book will stand as a vanguard in the study of Arab-American culture and arts. Najjar is at his most fascinating when describing and analyzing individual works, both past and present"-Al Jadid Magazine; "An important examination of an underrepresented area...a ground-breaking inquiry into stereotypes, resistance, cultural inclusion and exclusion, and how artists engage in all of the above. A worthy addition to the cultural and ethnic studies bookshelf."-Kevin Wetmore, Jr., professor and chair of theatre arts, Loyola Marymount University; "Najjar's study offers an impressive appraisal of the trajectory of Arab American drama, theater and performance from its early origins to its latest and most embattled manifestation in the post-9/11 works. This is a highly recommended, wide-ranging and informative book."-Nouri Gana, editor of The Edinburgh Companion to the Arab Novel in English: The Politics of Anglo Arab and Arab American Literature and Culture



Book Information
ISBN 9780786495160
Author Michael Malek Najjar
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint McFarland & Co Inc
Publisher McFarland & Co Inc
Weight(grams) 390g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 15mm