Dalia Abdelhady

Representing the Homeland Lebanese Diasporic Notions of Home and Return in a Global Context

This article examines the representation of home among members of the Lebanese diaspora in New York, Montreal and Paris. Lebanese immigrants view home as both a concrete reality that is achieved physically or in relation with others and a symbolic reference point that moves beyond territorial boundaries. These overlapping strategies allow them to imagine and recreate their sense of home and belonging (to both a past and present) that provide sources of stability used in dealing with life in the diaspora. However, these strategies also highlight a lack of desire to return to Lebanon as they illustrate how Lebanese immigrants bring home to their new settings in ways that question national forms of belonging and ethnic identification. As a result, the myth of return which was once considered a defining feature of diasporic communities is no longer a unifying point among members of the diaspora.

BEYOND HOME/HOST NETWORKS: FORMS OF SOLIDARITY AMONG LEBANESE IMMIGRANTS IN A GLOBAL ERA

This article draws on postcolonial understandings in order to offer a sociological analysis of Lebanese immigrants in Montreal, New York City and Paris. I argue that the concept of diaspora provides a framework for understanding the contradictory aspects of Lebanese immigrant experiences, as some immigrants may undergo a process of assimilation while others continue to hold on to their ethnic identities. Investigating Lebanese immigrant communities as a diaspora leads to the understanding of the ways immigrants construct solidarities that include their homeland, host societies, and the larger diaspora community in various parts of the world. As an analytical framework, “diaspora” incorporates multiple loyalties and attachments that are integral to processes of international migration. Thus, the framework of diaspora promises significant contributions to the understanding of the complex dynamics involved in migration and globalization.

The Lebanese diaspora : the Arab immigrant experience in Montreal, New york, and Paris

Acknowledgments 1 Global Immigrants: Three Views on Diaspora 2 Narratives of Identification: Between Ethnicity and Cosmopolitanism 3 The Power of Community: Beyond Homeland and Host Society 4 Cultures of Expression: Translation, Remembrance, and Global Burden 5 Conclusion: Global Predicaments and Cosmopolitan Quarrels Appendix: Profile of Respondents Notes References Index About the Author

GALILEO's CHILDREN: Italian Americans’ Difficult Entry into the Intellectual Elite

We examine the possibility of ethnic exclusion by U.S. intellectual elites for the case of Italian Americans, a large, identifiable group that has assimilated into the mainstream during the last half century but is still the subject of demeaning stereotypes with wide currency. Membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a fellowship of nearly 4,000 members drawn from throughout the academic, scientific, and artistic worlds, is used as a window into processes of ethnic stratification among intellectuals and academics. The analysis establishes that Italian Americans are represented in the Academy at a level well below their percentage among college and university faculty. Their frequency of election has increased substantially in recent years, but we conclude that the evidence is consistent with continuing ethnic disadvantage.

Women's Perceptions of Abortion in Egypt

A rapidly implemented qualitative study was conducted to investigate the perceptions of women about abortion in Egypt using in-depth interviews with hospitalised patients and focus group discussions with family planning clients and non-contracepting women. The most salient issue confronting the patients (whether the abortion had been spontaneous or induced) was their physical survival. The necessity to return immediately to their daily routines was most troubling to the patients who felt a need to rest and recuperate. The provision of post-abortion contraception was found to be problematic as women believed their bodily balance needed restoring first and that their fertility would not return immediately. The provision of counselling to reduce anxiety and fears, accurate and easily comprehensible information about miscarriage, induced abortion and future fertility and support for the womens need to rest are important aspects of post-abortion care.

The Sociopolitical History of Arabs in the United States: Assimilation, Ethnicity, and Global Citizenship

In an attempt to depict the sociopolitical worldview of Arab Americans, this chapter traces the development of an ethnic political community among the different waves of immigrants by illustrating the global, transnational and national social and political conditions shaping the context for the development of the community. The first part of the chapter summarizes the migratory patterns of the members of the community and highlights the dynamics that shaped their emigration, reception and formation of identity and community. The second part explores the theoretical constructs that shape our understanding of the Arab American experience. Traditionally, analyses of Arab American communities in the US have either stressed the various processes through which the group has assimilated into the American mainstream or traced the development of an ethnic identity and awareness of difference within the structure of American racial ethnic hierarchies. This chapter extends such analyses by highlighting the growing global awareness that shapes contradictory forms of identification and are best understood through notions of hybridity and diaspora. The chapter concludes by underlining the contested nature of Arab American identity and the challenges faced by members of the community at present.

Refugees in Europe: national overviews from key countries with a special focus on child and adolescent mental health

Many European countries are becoming multicultural at a previously unseen rate. The number of immigrants including refugees has considerably increased since 2008, and especially after the beginning of the war in Syria. In 2015, 88,300 unaccompanied minors sought asylum in the Member States of the European Union (EU) and most came from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Somalia and Eritrea. As a reaction to increased immigration, governments in many countries including Germany, Sweden and Norway implemented more restrictive immigration policy. A requirement for all countries, however, is the protection and welfare provision for all arriving children, regardless of their nationality, ensured by international and national legal frameworks. This paper provides an overview of the post 2015 immigration crisis in key European countries with a special focus on current demographics, refugee children, mental health studies, policies and practical support available for refugees.

The Transition from School to Work for Children of Immigrants with Lower-Level Educational Credentials in the United States and France

This paper compares the transition from school to work among Mexican-origin youth in the United States and North African-origin youth in France relative to the native-majority youth with similar low-level credentials. The goal is to understand the extent to which these groups experience ethnic penalties in the labor market not explained by social class, low-level credentials, or other characteristics. The patterns of employment for second-generation minorities play out differently in the two contexts. In France, lack of access to jobs is a source of disadvantage for North African children of immigrants, while in the united States, second-generation Mexicans do not suffer from a lack of employment. Indeed, the Mexican second-generation shows a uniquely high level of employment. We argue that high levels of youth unemployment in the society, as is the case in France, means greater ethnic penalties for second-generation minorities.

Review of Race and Classification: The Case of Mexican America (by Ilona Katzew and Susan Deans-Smith (Eds.)

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Ethnic and Racial Studies on 13th October 2010, available online: doi: 10.1080/01419870.2010.517016