UC Irvine Libraries continue to grow our collections on Arab American history and related topics that help document and honor the works of Arab Americans. To celebrate Arab American Heritage Month, this guide gathers a partial list of available online resources, media (both fiction and nonfiction), as well as books within the Libraries. Although some online materials are only accessible to faculty, staff, and students with a valid UCInetID, many of the resources are open to the public and all are available throughout the year as part of UC Irvine Libraries’ ongoing effort to foster learning and increase access to a wide variety of scholarship.

For research help with Middle East studies and related topics, contact Research Librarian for Student Success and Humanities Nicole Arnold at nsarnold@uci.edu or visit guides.lib.uci.edu for a complete list of Libraries’ Research Guides.

Online Resources

• Middle East Studies Research Guide
• Curated collection of films on Kanopy (requires UC Irvine login)
• Middle East and North Africa documentaries on Docuseek (requires UC Irvine login)
• Middle East studies documentaries on Docuseek (requires UC Irvine login)
• Middle Eastern history documentaries on Docuseek (requires UC Irvine login)
• Index Islamicus (requires UC Irvine login). This useful index of scholarship for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies covers academic literature on Islam, the Middle East, and the Muslim world.
• Al-Ahram Digital Archive (requires UC Irvine login). This archive provides access to the historical archive of Al-Ahram, one of the longest-running newspapers in the Middle East that has long been regarded as Egypt’s most authoritative and influential newspaper and one of the most important newspapers in the Arab world.

Books

• Arab America: Gender, Cultural Politics, and Activism, by Nadine Naber, tells the stories of second generation Arab American young adults living in the San Francisco Bay Area, most of whom are political activists engaged in two culturalist movements that draw on the conditions of diaspora: a Muslim global justice and a Leftist Arab movement.
• Beyond Memory: An Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Creative Nonfiction, edited by Pauline Kaldas and Khaled Mattawa, brings together the voices of both new and established Arab American writers, creating a compilation of essays and creative nonfiction that reveal the stories of the Arab diaspora.
• Inclined to Speak : An Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Poetry, edited by Hayan Charara, gathers poems from the most important contemporary Arab American poets that help shape and alter our understanding of the Arab experience.
• Telling Our Story: The Arab American National Museum, by the Arab American National Museum, is a rich visual and narrative collection celebrating the history, culture, and diversity of the Arab American community. The volume chronicles the founding of the Arab American National Museum from several viewpoints and offers a detailed tour through its major exhibits.
• Life Without a Recipe: A Memoir, by Diana Abu-Jaber, chronicles the author's struggles with cross-cultural values and how they shaped her coming of age and her culinary life, tracing her three marriages, literary ambitions, and midlife decision to become a parent.
• Arab Routes: Pathways to Syrian California, by Sarah M.A. Gualtieri, tells the story of how Syrians helped forge a global Los Angeles, countering a long-held stereotype of Arabs as outsiders and underscoring their longstanding place in American culture and in interethnic coalitions, past and present.
• Four Arab American Plays: Works by Leila Buck, Jamil Khoury, Yussef El Guindi, and Lameece Issaq & Jacob Kader, edited by Michael Malek Najjar, is the first published collection of plays by contemporary Arab American playwrights.
• How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America, by Moustafa Bayoumi, is about how young Arab and Muslim Americans are forging lives for themselves in a country that often mistakes them for the enemy.
• Arab American Drama, Film and Performance: A Critical Study, 1908 to the Present, by Michael Malek Najjar, provides an historical overview and critical analysis of the plays, films, and performances of self-identified Arab Americans.

Diversity of UC Irvine Libraries’ Collections

UC Irvine Libraries collect materials in all formats to support the university’s research, teaching, and public service mission.
We believe it is crucial that our collections reflect the diversity of our students, faculty, staff, and larger Orange County community. Thus, we are making an effort to collect materials that consider the needs and perspectives of historically underrepresented, marginalized, and oppressed groups. For more information, please refer to our Diversity Statement and Plan.

For additional information about UC Irvine Libraries’ efforts to celebrate diversity in its users, staff, collections, and resources, visit the UC Irvine Libraries Diversity webpage.