الفهرس 
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Abstract
This thesis explores the dilemma of cultural identities- in the light of diaspora and identity crisis- in selected works of contemporary Arab-American novelists and short story writers: Diana Abu-Jaber, Mona Simpson, Laila Halaby, Mohja kahf, and Evelyn Shakir. These works raise questions about the processes, methods, and practices of writing about cultural duality or hyphenated identities. My selection of the primary texts in this study is based on the fact that all of these texts depict the protagonists’ struggles with their cultures. So they negotiate their families, peers, and Arab traditions in order to determine their own sense of identity. A study of this literature facilitates a more comprehensive understanding of the history of Arab American literature, its recent trends, and possible futures. Moreover, this work supports a more awareness of the ethnic and minorities’ literatures, especially, the Arab American literature. This study adopts a thematic approach of transcultural, transnational, exilic, and diasopric identity.
The dissertation is divided into: an introduction, three chapters, a conclusion, and a list of works cited. The introduction “Between Arabia and America: Exploring Arab-American History and Contemporary Literature,” tackles a synopsis of history of Arabs in the American diaspora, and contemporary Arab-American literature. First chapter is entitled “Seeing Beyond the Frame: Religious and/or Cultural Roots,” traces the idea of searching for cultural and/or religious roots as represented in Mohja Kahf’s The Girl in Tangerine Scarf, and Mona Simpson’s The Lost Father. This section sheds light on the two protagonists’ keen search for their origins throughout religious and/or cultural journeys to Arab homelands.
Later on, the second chapter “Bridging Homeland and Diaspora: Second Generation Arab-Americans Facing Cross-Cultural Challenges,” treats the theme of bridging homeland and diaspora, and how the second generation protagonists make a shift in their relationships with their origins, homelands, and traditions as represented in Diana Abu-Jaber’s Arabian Jazz and Laila Halaby’s West of the Jordan. The third and last chapter “Taboos and Embargoes: Arab Homeland’s Stories in American Diaspora,” explicitly deals with the theme of banned areas and prohibited zones of Arab homeland’s traditions that may face Arab-Americans, especially, women as represented in a number of short stories “The Story of Young Ali,” “Oh, Lebanon,” “Remember Vaughan Monroe,” and “Not Like Today” in Evelyn Shakir’s Remember Me to Lebanon. Each chapter discusses a different perspective of duality, hyphenation, and double-consciousness in the terms of cultural duality, diaspora, and identity crisis. A conclusion comes last; it summarizes the main findings of the research. Finally, a list of works cited that is used within the text.