Alsutany and Joukhader Homelands Analysis

The two texts we read for class (Alsutany and Joukhader) discuss the role that appearance has in forming identities. Alsutany, for example, mentions the discrimination that Arabs and Muslims often face. It may occur in the airport or in the workplace, amongst other places. Similarly, Joukhader discusses the discrimination that people in the Middle East may face. In the short story, Sam is fired from her job because Damon fears that she will be perceived as a terrorist. His fear is founded in the fact that the tattoos on her face are written in Arabic. These tattoos serve as a symbol for her Middle Eastern appearance because they are a permanent, visible reminder of her heritage. In each of these instances, a person’s appearance causes them to immediately be associated with a stereotype linked to that appearance. The Arabs, Muslims, and Syrians mentioned in these texts are associated with terrorism. These minority groups are always assessed in relation to this stereotype. As a result, they are defined as either fitting the stereotype or not fitting the stereotype. This is the “binary focus” (165) that Alsutany defines. She explains this concept by nothing that “Arab and Muslim identities are still understood and evaluated primarily in relation to terrorism,” (165). Damon’s reaction to Sam summarizes the mindset behind this phenomenon. He tells Sam “‘I don’t care what you are,’” (6). Like Damon, when people identify others using this “binary focus” they are more focused on what someone might be rather than what they actually are. This concept is something I would have had difficulty understanding and articulating had it not been for an experience I had over the weekend. I was a leader of the Ignite retreat through Campus Ministry, on which the administrators led an exercise to help us reflect on our identities. Retreatants considered how the way that they identify themselves differs from the way that other people identify themselves. One retreatant had an insightful reflection after this activity. She is white and she shared that she does not consider her race to be one of the primary ways she identifies herself. Instead, she focuses on qualities such as her personality. She thought that this is likely because she is not part of a minority group. In contrast, a member of the retreat team who is a person of color noted that she refers to her race as one of the primary ways with which she identifies herself. I think that these two tendencies shed light on the systems that are explained in the two texts. 
After reading these two texts I was able to acknowledge by own tendency to adopt a “binary focus” while working with students through Bridges. The majority of the students at Bridges are black and they attend Baltimore city schools. Unfortunately, my initial assumption is that this category of students is underachieving. As a result, I subconsciously identify students I meet at Bridges by whether or not they match my expectations for their academic performance. I recognize that this approach negates the individuality of each student. It ignores the fact that the majority of each of these students’ identities exists apart from my expectations for their achievement. I am working towards identifying these students in a more wholesome way. This has become increasingly easier for me to do as I build meaningful relationships with the students that I tutor. 

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